Mogsie's Wanderings

Shiver My Timbers

mogsie08-09 — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 12:45:00 GMT

Perth was cold. Well, maybe that's not strictly true, but at just 20-22 degrees it was much colder than I've become used to and I had to dig out my long trousers and fleece! Goodness knows what I'd need if I came home right now - I've become such a softy I'd probably need several jumpers. Having said that it did warm up a bit when the sun came out but I've definitely moved to a different climatic zone. And, now don't you all fall over in shock at this, but the first couple of things I went to do I was too early in the day for! Whoever would have thought I would be too early for anything before I started travelling?! Anyway I went walking and exploring the city instead . Heading down to the river I joined a great walkway/ cycle path which runs all along the riverside. The river was wide, calm and blue and sparkled invitingly in the morning sun. I strolled all the way along until I met the freeway again and skirted round the centre of the city until I reached a set of stairs leading up to King's Park. The steps were steep - very steep - and consisted of about 10 flights of 15 steps each, and although very narrow are obviously used as the step class for the locals! People were racing up and down them several time until they looked as if they were about to expire and collapsed in a heap at the top until they could regain their composure and hobble off trying to look cool and composed. Nutters is all I'll say! I left them to it and went for a lovey walk in the park instead. Amongst other things it contains open recreational ground, the botanic gardens with themed areas and walkways, nature trail, cafe, gallery, and offers some amazing views out down the river and across the city. The gardens offered a lovely mix of sunshine and shade through dense planting trees and bushes. Mostly green foliage but occasional dashes of colour added contrast. There were Boabs and Banksias, a conservation garden, water garden, Tuart trees, grevillias, lookouts and little information boards dotted all around. Part of the walk took me over an elevated metal and glass pathway which crossed the treetops offering a different perspective to the place again. At the water garden I watched in a pond as a shoal of tiny fish devoured a fallen leaf - attacking it just like ants with a leaf on the ground. In a little stream a pair of ducks were taking their large brood for a swim while further round in a pond another family were resting after earlier exertions! They were really funny as in the pond stands a statue of mother and child. mother duck was sitting with her family on the next door plinth as if to say "she's only got one - look at my lot"! They were dozing happily anyway and totally unperturbed by water fountains spouting randomly and getting higher and higher all around them All the kids in the area were loving it daring each other to go closer ans closer until the strongest of the fountains would fire off soaking anyone in the way. It was just a lovely place to while away time. Another enjoyable visit was to the West Australia museum. All the usual exhibits were there: animals and people; stars ans space, aborininal history and so on, but what I particularly liked was a temporary exhibition of nature Photographs. The ANZANG (Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Ginnea) awards promote photography in and around their countries. There were some stunning immages of animals, landscapes, man's impact, good and bad, on the environment, action shots and stills. If the accommpanying book wouldn't have just about doubled the weight of my rucksack I would have been tempted! All in all though Perth was a wee bit disappointing - its an attractive enough place but with not an awful lot within the city for the visitor. I think its more a city for its inhabitants or for those using it as a base to explore the surrounding area. I left it and headed down to Fremantle and to meet up with Mike and Lesley. They took me for a drive along the attractive looking riverside before going home for a fantastic roast dinner. After 4 months of pretty uninspiring dinners you've no idea how much I appreciated that home cooked roast chicken, tatties, pumpkin, stuffing, neeps, brocolli and gravy, followed by Apple pie and ice-cream and all washed down with a glass of wine or three! Mmmm Yumm! It was wonderful. Thanks guys. Next day we had a bit of a drive round the area and stopped at Resolution Point where you could look right down the river across a large sand spit towards Fremantle. Two or three dolphins swam in the river and a couple of black shouldered kites circled overhead. We drove back to Freo alongside the coast and beaches and although the sky was grey overhead there was still a turquoise hue to the sea. In town Mike took me to the Shipwreck museum: a fascinating place. During the 1600s a number of ships belonging to a Dutch group, VOC, were plying their trade back and forwards to the Spice Islands and Java in Indonesia. Navigation was still an inexact science and several ships were lost around the Australian coast. One of them, the Batavia, forms a central part of the museum's collection, with its story being told and artefacts on show. There is a section of the boat on display and although it looks quite sizeable, when you see images and scale models of the ship you realise the segment is only a very small part really. It would have been a huge vessel. Also on display are maps from the same era and its amazing how accurate the cartography is. The whole west coast of Australia is pretty much as it is. The separation of Oz from Indonesia is not quite right, and Tasmania is somewhat off course, but they obviously were very much aware of its existance. Other things on display included tools, coins and dishes recovered from the various wrecks, along with pipes, ships bells and anchors and a selection of weaponry. There was even a millers stone which had been recovered, and with only half of it being restored the concretion on the other half clearly illustrated how much work had been done by the marine archeologists and historians. I spent ages looking round the place. Its one of those museums where you can become engrossed by something different every time you visit, I'm sure. When I left there I had a stroll round the attractive town cntre although with wind and rain it was a quick wander before I took the lazy way out and hopped on a bus instead! I ended up at the maritime museum which was not a patch on the shipwreck one. Certainly its in a big,striking, architect designed building but the inside doesn't live up to the exterior. It was largely just a haphazard collection of boats from through the years and with not much information about the history behind them. Amongst them however was Australia II - the yacht which won the Americas Cup for Oz back in the 80's. It struck me how little and old fashioned it looks now when you remember how revolutionary it was at the time. On leaving there I went back to Mike and Lesley's and another delicious dinner - salmon this time. I'm telling you they run a fantastic hostel!! I'd organised to go to Rottnest Island next day and was able to leave from the jetty more or less at the end of their street. It was quite a windy day and when we were all handed out sick bags and warned it may be choppy I realised it might not be the smoothest crossing ever! As soon as we left the port walls and hit open water the buffeting started. The boat crashed over waves, the spray hitting the windows like a bucket of water flung directly at them. It certainly wasn't winter in the Minch but for several passengers it was a bit too much. Presumably in order to get fresh air into the cabin the door out to the bow was left open but it really just served to provide a shower for the first few seats. We rocked and rolled through the waves past a few tankers sheltering from the ocean and safely arrived in Rottnest, not too late. Even with the stormy seas it looked appealing: pure white crests on deep blue sea, creamy white beach, and orangey-yellow buildings lining the sea wall. I went to hire a bike and it being a short and not too hilly island I opted for the basic single-geared type. I took my "kit" down to the hostel - the old army barracks- and my dorm was formerly the commanding officer's room, but whereas he would have had it to himself it now sleeps ten. Bag deposited I set off to cycle down to the western tip 10-11km away. The island is beautiful and so made me think of West Coast Scotland and any one of a number of the islands and bays there. The tisting roads hiding sheltered little bays of rocky lined, white sanded hideaways. The sea was clear and even on a stormyish day you could see the range of colour with the gentle aquamarine at the sandy shore giving way to the blue-black of the deeper and rougher seas. Even the grasses and wildflowers, although of different types to home, had a similar appearance and colourings. Remnants of long ago wrecked ships dotted the coastline rotting and decaying with the frequent battering by the tides. I soon regretted my choice of bike though: single geared into a strong headwind on a twisty and undulating road is, I consoled myself, very good for the calf and thigh muscles! Fortunately the land and seascapes gave plenty of excuses to stop admire - and push! Once I did reach Cape Vlamingh at the far end of the island the effort was suitably rewarded. A dramatic raggedy cliffed meeting of seas on a blustery day offered stunning and mesmerising scenery. Most of the wildlife was staying under cover but the beautiful sight lost nothing for all that. I wandered round the boardwalk staring at the different outlooks and amazed by the density of the spray. It then dawned on me that the wind and spray had caked my specs in a mist of salt and with just a little bit of fresh water and cloth I could remove the cataract effect! Heading back I clung to the Northern side of the island rather than the south I'd come down and fortunately it was a bit easier going with the wind in my face less often. Dotting up and round the bays I gradually made my way back towards Kingston. On the way I climbed up Oliver Hill - the high point on the island and sight of gun placements during the war but now offering a good vantage point to look out over and admire the island from. Heading back to the settlement at Thomson's Bay I passed a couple of little lakes and there was so much foam blowing across the road from them it was just like cycling through fairy liquid washig up bubbles! I've rarely if ever seen so much foam in such a small area. Finally returning to the barracks for the night my legs knew they'd had a good workout! As the evening went on it got quite chilly with little to stop the wind blowing through the hostel - for soldiers in spartan conditions it must have been a miserable posting at times. Fortunately by next morning the wind had dropped and the sky was bluer so I cycled round to a lovely little bay called Parakeet Bay. It was small, perfectly proportioned and I had it all to myself apart from a couple of little birds doing their utmost to keep me away from a rocky outcrop where I presume they had a nest amongst the ledges and crevices. I left them to themselves and sat further round drinking in the atmosphere. I risked a little paddle but the water certainly wasn't warm enough to entice me to swim. After a while engrossed in the beauty of the place I looked up to see I'd been joined by a big yacht "parked" right in the centre of my line of sight - I hadn't even heard it arrive. After a while I returned to the main settlement and joined a walk to look foe Quokkas. They're the funny little marsupials now almost confined to the island and which gave it its name. The first Dutch sailors to visit the island thought they were large mutant rats so gave the name Rottenest - Rats Nest. Nocturnal by nature, and totally herbivorous, the quokkas were to be found dozing under the bushes beside one of the lakes on the edge of town. Water is of particular importance to them and while they can still get plenty moisture at this time of year, in the parched summer months they will become more visible as they scour the arid landscape for any water they can find. They are quite tame as they have no natural preditors, and a joey will stay with mum until its too big to get back in her pouch - about 10 months old. Only giving birth to one the mother will carry a second egg which will lie dormant and degenerate if baby one survives but which will develop if it dies for any reason. The quokkas also seem to have a built in weather forecasting system: somehow they seem to be able to detect if it is to be a long harsh dry summer when chances of survival are slimmer and tend not to breed that year! Many a meteorlogical office would like to know there secret I'm sure! Leaving the quokkas to their slumbers I returned to town and went on another guided tour, this time round some of the historic buildings. Used as a prison for aboriginals from the 1800s up to the early 1900s we toured the quod which had acted as their sellc and where they endured tough cold, damp conditions - particularly hard for those transported down from the tropical North. While many were harshly treated and suffered from many ailments as a consequence, there was some freedom of movement around the island on Sundays when they had a reprieve from working in the salt mines (at one time all the salt for Western Australia was produced on Rottnest and little trains carried it from the lakes from where it was excavated to a storeshed before it was transferred across the sea to the mainland) or carpentry workshops. The prison authorities were frequently in conflict with the captain and crew of the pilot boat- they seemed to be vying for importance and status between themselves. The pilot boat had a chequered career while stationed on Rottnest. Initially housed there in answer to the growing number of wrecks claimed by the reef laden waters, communication problems limited their successes and eventually led to the resiting of the boat back in Fremantle after miscommunication between the boat, lighthouse and a ship led to its wrecking on the rocks. With the introduction of motorised boats, too, it was quicker for them to respond from Fremantle than it had been when they had to rely on rowed boats. After a visit to the museum and reading more of Island life I had to reboard my ferry and head back to Freo. The return trip being much less bumpy than the way over. Lesley generously lent me her little car for the next few days so I was able to go off touring the South-west corner. I headed to Margaret River for a couple of nights, then Walpole and Albany before returning to Fremantle for the night before leaving Western Australia. Margaret River is a lovely little town, and as many of you may know its a well known wine region. So, I got myself onto a wine tasting tour and had a really great day! We went to four different wineries and had several different samples at each. All of them were small family owned and run enterprises aswell which was nice. The first one we went to was called Church View. They produce mostly whites especially Semillon-Sauvignon Blancs and I slurped along happily though some of their wines were slightly sweeter than I would choose for myself. Our next stop was at Treeton where again we had 4 or 5 tasters and my favourite was a shiraz. Sitting having some cheese and biscuits on their patio area just beside some of their vines, in the sun, with a large glass of that and chatting with the rest of the group (there was only myself another couple and the driver) was a very civilised and enjoyable way to pass a little time before our next stop! We were also entertained by the estate's soft lump of a dog - Sam. He sat in an old wine barrel watching us while we tasted, then as we ate our cheese and biscuits he came top sit with us head cocked to one side staring at us and the biscuits until we gave him one or two and he went back to his barrel. He may be daft but he's certainly not stupid! A short visit to a muesli business and chocolate factory (lovely samples at each) to sober us up before our next estate. The Bettenay estate was in a beautiful sheltered and picturesque little spot and after trying two whites and two reds we moved on to a couple of light rose wines, lightly fortified, and infused with hints of chilli - one hotter than the other. They were actually really nice although the stronger of the two had a real afterkick which sent me reeling! I reckon it was just aswell I had a cold and my tastebuds were a bit dulled!! The final stop of the day was at Adinfern estate where we had yet another 4 or 5 lovely wines to sample. (I cant quite remember how many exactly I don't know why my memory fails me slightly over the course of that day!!) After staggering out of there Pat dropped us off safe and sound back at our accommodation. It was a great tour and nice to visit the smaller estates rather than the big names which are more readily available at home. It also meant that there was a good bit of friendly banter exchanged between the owners and the visitors making for a fun day out and certainly no skimping on the samples on offer! When I left Margaret River I stopped at Lake Cave. Its not huge - about 62metres long and about 68metres deep - but it was enthralling. Originally a much larger and deeper cave, the original roof collapsed hundreds of years ago to expose a large crater. Nowadays you descend down walkways in the crater past Karri trees growing in the bottom of the hole and estimated to be about 350 years old. The limestone walls were mainly sheer but there were still examples of previously covered stalagtytes and stalagmytes on some of the faces, now slightly blackened as a result of sooting from bushfires which have passed through the area. Many were also covered in fine fleecy looking cob-webs making it look slightly eerie. Once at the bottom of the crater we went down a stairway into the cave as it exists now. It was lined by dripping straws, stalagtytes, stalagmytes, heliotytes and towers. The hollow straws drip rapidly and if they become blocked for any reason (a bit of grit possibly) then they slowly evolve into 'tytes'. No-one seems to be able to explain heliotytes which twist away horizontally forming a gravity defying structure balanced in mid air. Towers form when the tytes meet stalagmytes rising from below. With the surfaces of the cave in various formations it was easy to pick out some resembling different objects: dragons. cherubs, animals and so on. As the name of the cave suggests there is a little lake of water on the floor and with some gentle background lighting the reflections become clear and beautiful. Most striking was the central 'hanging table'. Two thick pillars support a flat base not far above the water surface creating a somewhat hypnotically mesmerising image. A subtle change in the colour of the lighting creating a wonderful show and with it being so peaceful it was easy to linger a while. Back at the surface, however, I carried on stopping briefly at Cape Leeuwin. The most south-westerly point in Australia it is the sight of Australia's tallest lighthouse and also where the Indian and Southern oceans truly meet. The coastline reflected the ruggedness that the meeting of two such powerful forces bring - dramatic rocky coastline with little sandy beaches, and whales passing in the distance. Travelling eastwards now as I headed towards Walpole I paused in Pemberton to see "The Gloucester Tree" Its 61 metres tall and has a spiral "ladder" of rungs embedded in the trunk so that you can climb to the top for spectacular treetop panoramas. Standing at the bottom seeing the rungs vibrating as people gingerly backed down (its only wide enough for one and an almost vertical climb in places) I knew there was no way in this world I was going up. I had visions of me stuck with trembling limbs part way up too terrified to go further up or down!! I contented myself with a ground level bushtrail instead before continuing on my way. After a meander round the friendly and scenic little township of Walpole I went to see a giant Tingle tree. Tingle trees are unique to that corner of South-west Australia and there are 3 types" Red, Yellow and Rates. The Rate tingle was named after John Rate, who persevered with research to prove that there was a third distinct variety (only two having been recognised for many years), but who ironically was killed by a falling limb from one of those same tingle trees! The reds are most interesting in that they are a very hard timber and exceptionally strong but can't be used in construction as it warps and bends. The trees are butress based and can grow to 60m high and 16m in girth. It has a very shallow root base that spreads out only about 1m at the most underground acting a bit like an angle bracket to support the tree. The base of the trunk is often hollowed out by diseaes, termite, fire or whatever, but the tree will still survive and thrive for its 400+ year lifespan. The famous giant tingle I visited is about 16m round and is wonderfully gnarled and hollow based. its supporting legs look wrinkled like a huge elephant's foot yet was beautiful too! Wandering round the area there were also lots of vividly coloured birds of varying kinds flying around catching the eye as a dash of colour passed by and more were calling noisily in the background. Blue wisteria plants tangled through the undergrowth adding a splash of colour to the ground foliage. It was a super place to spend some time. From there I headed to the "Valley of the Giants". Part of a national park area there are a couple of trails through the Karri forest and Tingle trees, including a treetop walkway suspended at about canopy level to allow you to appreciate the forest at leaf height. The walkway is up to 40m high amd about 600m long and gave a lovel vantage point to enjoy the beauty if the place. My highlight of the visit though was a guided walk on the forest floor. Tony the guide was great and talked non-stop about the trees, bushes, animals and so on switching effortlessly from one to the other and back again as we were prompted to ask questions. He talked about the tingles and Karri trees. Karries have a very smooth almost white bark on their very tall straight trunks until winter turns to spring when the thin white layer dies back turning darker and greyer. As summer moves on the thin bark peels away in great strips exposing a rough stringy bark with lovely yellowy-red colouring. The leaves too have a marvelous pink-green colour. He pointed out the tunnel network used by the bandicoots as their highway round the forest floor, and explained how some trees (I can't remember which ones now - there was so much information imparted) give off a strong aroma like a female wasp to encourage the males in to the flowers to ensure its pollen is collected and transferred to the next tree. Another titbit of information he had for us was how if there is a problem with a tingle tree not getting enough light it will rapidly sprout another limb from wherever the light does hit the tree. Once it reaches the canopy level and balance has been restored redundant limbs will be shed. He also pointed out huge burles on some of the tree trunks. Any disease is pushed out to the edge of the trunk like a huge wart where it can sit without causing further harm. Woodturners love it as it creates great colourings to work with, but when the park first opened they had touble for a while with over zealous wood turners coming with chainsaws to collect the easy pickings from the boardwalks! All in all it was a really enjoyable and informative visit. (and somewhere you'd love, mum and dad) When I left that area I headed to the pretty port town of Albany stopping at a picturesque little cove called William Bay. A short walk down through thickly vegetated dunes brought you to a curving band of light sands edging the large stones and rocks filling the bay and protected at the rear on three sides by the land climbing away from the coast. It was windswept and wonderful. Leaving a wet Albany behind I returned for a last night at Mike and Lesley's before the took me to the train and I bade farewell to the Western state, having really enjoyed the month or so I spent travelling round it since arriving in Kununurra. It's certainly a state of contrasts. In many ways a true reflection of all Australia has to offer.

Life's a Beach

mogsie08-09 — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:45:00 GMT

It had rained heavily for much of the night, but by the time we rolled into Broome at breakfast time the sun was back out and the temperatures were back up to my now customary (and expected) 30+degrees. I headed out to explore the town and landed at the "Pearl Luggers". Broome was really founded on the pearling, or to be more precise, Mother-of-Pearl industry and this fascinating little centre told the story. There were a couple of boats, from different eras, used in the peak of the pearling booms and after having a look at them we were taken into a little museum out of the worst of the heat to hear more about the history and the rise and fall of the trade in Broome. In short: a failing farmer attended an aboriginal corroboree and seeing that all the young men were wearing decorative mother-of-pearl loin guards. He asked where the shells came from and was shown to a nearby beach where there were literally tons of them strewn along the shore. Knowing the shells were needed for button making, he spotted the key to the end of his financial woes and gathered a boat load and set off for the markets in Melbourne. Unfortunately a storm blew up, his boat was lost and so was he! However, word of his haul was out and the money-men appeared in the area to harvest the shells. Initially it was free-diving and having to work at depths of up to 15 metres to gather the shells from the sea-bed it was hard and dangerous. The death rate from those involved was high because of the pressure put on the body by diving so far and surfacing so quickly in desperation for more air. Gradually hard-helmet diving was introduced, but that "technology" was in the infancy of its development and the dangers were still very real. In search of cheap labour prepared to take the risks involved, the sea-lords recruited from the Asian countries, especially Japan where there was a tradition of pride and honour to show the stregth and character of a man in undertaking such risky and dangerous work. Diving continued until the 2nd World War when the Japanese (who by that time made up 1/3 of the population of Broome) were imprisoned as part of the war sanctions which required the 'enemy' be rounded up lest they be potential sabboteurs or fighters. After the war most returned to Japan to help in the rebuilding of their country and/or in disgust at the way their adoptive country of many years had treated them. That, and the increased use of plastic buttons, hit the industry hard and it went into decline. It did continue on a smaller scale but it was still a very tough way of life. Several layers of shetland wool long johns and jumpers were worn under a rubber wet suit along with iron and leather diving boots, lead body weights and the copper helmet completed the ensemble, meaning a man could be carrying 140+ extra kilos of kit - about twice his natural body-weight. Accidental, and deliberate, deaths were common with feuding crews put together by the sea-lords as an apparent means to ensure the boats returned to port with their pearls and didn't just 'do a runner'. Hard helmet diving continued in Broome until the 1970's when line diving became more prominant, but nowadays, with sea stocks much depleted, it is mostly farmed cultivated pearls which are harvested around the area. And that, believe it or not, is the abridged version of the pearling story!! I found the talk and exhibition fascinating and captivating though, and really enjoyed my visit. To round off our visit we were given a taste of the pearl meat. It had a texture like smoked salmon, but with it having been marinated in vinegar and soy sauce it was the sweet vinegary flavour (similar to the gravy with my Shanghai buns!) which dominated. It was by no means unpleasant, but neither did I rush out to buy a stock for tea. Pasta or couscous and veggies does me quite fine! Having had a good dose of history I decided I was in need of some exercise so went on a three hour sea kayaking trip. With a little light cloud cover and a gentle breeze to prevent it getting too hot it was perfect for the trip. We set out from the far end of Cable Beach and paddled through the gentle waves. There are a set of dinosaur footprints in the seabed which are visible at low tide but that day the tide and swell was just too high to be able to make them out. (but I did see pictures of them on leaflets so it wasn't just a case of the guides laughing at the tourists looking for dinosaur tracks before anyone says anything!) We paddled on round Gantheaume Point and got a very quick glimpse of a turtle before it submerged again. Not much further on we stopped at a little beach and had a look at a couple of blow-holes in the sandstone cliffs. There was a super fossil of a fern embedded in the roof of the cave and a little bit of dinosaur bone next to it. It was amazingly distinct. We then had a little swim in the warm sea to cool off a little and enjoy the fine day before being tempted back to shore by juice and nibbles. Relaunching our boats we started to make our way back to our starting point. On the way we saw a couple more turtles and pair of brown boobies. Boys behave - that's diving sea birds, similar to gannets in that they dive and swim to catch their fish. One of a pair of ospreys which nest in the framework of the lighthouse (its got an open structure rather than the traditional brick to make it less of a solid mass for cyclones to hit) was standing guard over the nest very proudly and shouting for all it was worth for food from its mate. Seeing the ospreys here, and previously at Kununurra, was a nice link to home. Back at the beach we got the boats loaded back onto the trailer and returned to town. Walking round town later was a bit like strolling across an artists paintbox there were so many vivid colours: the sky was blue, the sea turquoise, red sand, yellowy-green playing fields, black roads, white kerbs and gum tree trunks, and green bushes and mango trees. Every garden seemed to have big heavily laden mango trees with the fruit overhanging the boundary fences. If I'd been just a few days later I'm sure the fruit would have been riper and I could have given them a gentle shake to encourage them to fall but as it was they were still too green so survived for another day. With history, nature and exercise boxes now ticked a day of rest and laziness was called for so I headed to the beach. I went back to Gantheaume Point and wandered round the rocks admiring the views and looking, again unsuccessfully, for the dinosaur prints. I did however find Anastasias Pool. One of the first lighthousekeepers there had carved out and built a bathing pool for his wife just below the high water mark. She had had arthritis type problems so couldn't clamber down to the water's edge to ease her joints. The pool was frequently refreshed by the tide and gave her a bathing pool with a view. After wandering round the rocks for a while I made my way to Cable Beach proper. Leaving the dune road the contrast between the iron rich red and silica laden white sand in such a short distance was incredible. With no cloud cover either the sea was a most beautiful aquamarine-turquiose shade and sparkled like glass in the sun's rays. Gentle waves broke dulux white on the pearly sand and I walked all the way along, admiring the odd purple wildflower at the top of the beach adding an occasional dot of contrasting colour. It was really peaceful with hardly a soul to be seen until I eventually reached the area patrolled by the life-guards. It was a mass of people, towels and umbrellas. I never understand why with such an expanse of sand so many crowd together. With most like me only interested in a liesurely dip in the shallows they could easily have spread out more. I got a fine bit of space yet still in sight of the patrols and had a fantastic swim. The water was warm and the gentle waves allowed the child in me to enjoy swimming and surfing through them. Before too long the power of the sun got too strong, and with a family starting to play cricket next to me despite the miles of available space I gathered my things and started to walk back towards the esplanade, but as I reached the finest of the dry sands it became to hot to walk on in bare feet and I had to get my sandals on double quick. Funnily enough I've never had that problem on Lossie beach. I carried on along to a rockier patch and had another dip, paddle and general plowter about in the little shallow rock pools until it was time to get the shuttle bus back to town and prepare for moving on.

Next stop down the coast for me would be Coral Bay. It is a fair distance down from Broome and involved changing in the middle of the night at a little closed roadhouse onto a shuttle bus which travels up the peninsula to the bay and Exmouth beyond. We'd been an hour or so late in leaving Broome beacause of a shortage of busses due to mechanical problems. (The coaches pretty much run non-stop up and down the coast from Darwin to Broome to Perth, which is a distance of over 5000km one way, so you can imagine the wear and tear that causes in a short period of time, and with Greyhound based in the East there is a feeling that the "chiefs" don't appreciate the difficulties on the ground). Anyway, we set off late and had hoped to make up time on the way south, however, sadly we lost another half hour at one of the stops en route: All unaccompanied minors travelling have to be signed on and off the bus by a guardian before the drivers will leave. At South Headland a girl of about 11 or 12 who'd been returning from a holiday at her auntie's was due to be picked up but no-one was there to meet her. Despite various emergency contact numbers having been given nobody answered the phone calls either. It was such a shame that a young child has to experience that lost feeling and that nobody was desperate to welcome her home. Eventually the police were contacted to come and meet her so that we could progress. I felt so sorry for her as she was obviously upset by the whole experience yet trying to put on a brave face. We finally set off again and reached our transfer point about 1 3/4 hours late. The poor passengers transferring from the north bound bus, or who came in on the departing shuttle had had to wait all that time in the middle of nowhere and dead of night for us as the two services are timetabled to connect at the same time. Anyway, we were soon on our way again and arrived safely in Coral Bay. The name of the place gives the clue to the surroundings: one dead-ended street, the backpackers, a caravan park, a hotel, a couple of shops, a couple of daytour operators, then just miles of coral fringed beach stretching out from the shallow sheltered bay. The bus to the highway only runs on certain days, and the one we took in was the last one for 4 days, but I knew instantly that it would be no hardship for me to spend that time here. Its my kind of place. Over the following days I had to endure: Swimming in the gorgeously blue sea (the tour operators bemoaning the water was cold at only 20-21 degrees!); Snorkelling from the beach admiring the abundant coral just yards from the shore and marvelling at the myriad of different fish and stingrays all around me; reading and sunning myself on the quiet beach; trailing miles along dunes and white sandy beaches; paddling in the little rock pools; trying to spot turtles approaching the stretch of beach they use every year to lay their eggs; marvelling at the shark nursery where daily at low tide some of the adult black-tipped reef sharks will take the juvenniles -like a kind of day care facility -teaching them to find food for themselves; taking a boat trip and snorkelling with manta rays and going on an escorted scuba dive. Life was indeed tough!! Lazing around happily around the beach, rocks and rockpools it kind of transported me back to all those years of beach walking around the coves at Kilchousland. I swear if I'd closed my eyes I would have heard the clatter of taxi doors as everyone arrived from town. Snorkeling with the manta rays was awesome. They are so huge (about 3 metres across)but so graceful - gliding around 'mouths' wide open scooping up and filltering out all the food they can muster. We followed 2 or 3 and just became engrossed with them totally shutting out anything else around you - until you got a maskful of flipper from the snorkeller next to you as you hadn't been paying attention to you surroundings. It was magical. The diving was another thing altogether. Having done a few resort type dives previously I hadn't expected to get nervous about it when the time came to go but I did. It felt strange with the mask and regulator on and I'd a bit of trouble equalising my ear pressure to start with, and then the seal on my mask couldn't have been tight enough so it filled right up with water causing me a moments panic. Managing to clear it myself though seemed to settle my nerves and I began to relax and realy enjoy the freedom that being underwater gives you. Just then though we were signalled that it was time to resurface -typical. I think you'd really need to do more than one dive on a trip, certainly as a novice, to really be able to enjoy it. There are two main types of coral: brightly coloured, generally fronded, soft coral and hard coral which generally has more earthy colour tones of greys, browns purples and yellows but has a bigger variety of shapes. Its that hard coral that the inner Ningaloo reef (which stretches along the peninsula on which Coral bay sits)mostly consists of. In some places its very dense and one of the operators explained to me that generally nature carries out a natural pruning and thinning process as storms and cylcones hit lifting the old and decaying coral out of the sea letting the younger areas develop. without a cyclone in the area for about 30 years now he reckons they're well overdue for anther one. He may well be right, but I was more than happy to enjoy the area as it was in fine weather! However after a few days and with so much more still to see in Oz, I left Coral Bay and headed for Denham on another peninsula further down the coast.

The curse of the transfers struck again though: first off the shuttle was an hour late in picking us up, then when we got to the Minilya roadhouse there was no sign of the south bus and no estimated time of arrival. We waited and waited and waited getting excited as every set of headlights drew closer only to be disappointed as another road train whizzed by. I tell you, never on my trip so far has hitching seemed so appealing. Finally, about 3 hours late our bus arrived, people and luggage got transferred, and we were off. Reaching Overlander we had to transfer to the next shuttle, and our driver Trevor was half asleep! It was a horrendous journey as we tried desperately to keep speaking to him to ensure he stayed awake, but he couldn't really hear us over the noise of the fan and radio. We got him to stop for a break and tried to speak to him about it but he maintained he was ok, was just always like that and knew what he was doing! He was a bit better after the break but never were we so thankful to get to our destination in one piece.

Denham is just a very small coastal town within the Shark Bay World Heritage area and in, as you can probably imagine, a wonderfully picturesque setting. I spent a lot of time at the discovery centre. The Shark bay area is one of only a few sites around the world which qualifies for world heritage status by meting all four of the key requirements and the centre tells the story. A mixture of photos from around the area, stories about some of the old ships wrecked along the coast, background information on the geology of the area, flora and fauna, and audiovisial displays with different people who live and or work(ed) in the area speaking about how they are connected to the area and the conservation and management of it. It was a wonderful little centre and each time you'd visit I'm sure you'd pick up another little interesting fact or snippet of information. Another great day was spent at Monkey Mia. One of the star attractions there are the dolphins which swim into the shallows of the bay and are fed by DEC staff(dept. of Environment & Conservation) and a few people picked from the onlookers. They assure us they closely monitor how much is given to each dolphin to prevent overfeeding and to ensure they don't become reliant on that foodsource. It was lovely to see the dolphins so close to shore but I watched from further back as I waited to go on a guided aboriginal bushwalk. It turned out to be a fantastic walk. The guide, called Capes, tok us from the coastal white sands to the arid red desert and talked about plants, animals and a bit of traditional culture. He emphasised the belief that the natural environment is all important and as people we have just a small part to play in it - we should show respect and introduce ourselves when entering a different area. We were shown shells which would serve as cups and pots. Animal tracks were pointed out to us: kangaroo, lizards, emu and echidna. He pointed out how the feet of the echidnas "face backwards" fooling many who've tried to track them! We smelled the leaves of Myrtles used traditionally as medicinal soothers (they have a minty menthol smell a bit like Vicks)ang with slightly antiseptic properties, Charlie's Tree with Vitamin C rich currants, trees whose sap can be mixed with the ground seeds of another to form a resin which can be used to fix broken tools or fill teeth! We ate the nuts from Sandalwood trees, and chewed the leaves of another tree which is meant to help generate saliva, but I hated it: it dried my mouth rather than anything. Think of trying to chew a fuzzyfelt or bit of paper covered in sand and you're pretty near the mark I reckon! We saw goannas and other lizards, and several birds which Capes mimicked the calls of and explained how the birds' different calls would alert people to the presence of different animals and so different hunting techniques would be used as appropriate. He spoke too about the tribal system, comparing it to our clans traditionally coming from different areas, and finally ended with drawing the symbols for home in the sand and the letters EUR which sum up the fundementals of working with the natural envioronment: Educate; Understand; Respect. It really was a fantastic walk. Back at the resort I sunbathed at the beach and admired the views over the bay and the fields of seagrass to the cliffs beyond. I spotted turtles swimming just off the jetty, but none of the dugongs which some of the others saw on a boat trip (About 10,000 thats 10% of the worlds population of Dugong live in Shark bay), and I perused the information office and displays. My final day in Denham was also my birthday and it was also a fantastic day and one that for only the second time in my life I was able to celebrate in shorts and t-shirt.(thanks everyone who sent messages it was much appreciated) The wind which had kept the temperature bearable over the last few days disappeared leaving it a scorching day. I packed myself a little picnic, borrowed a bike from the hostel, and set off with the intention of having a scenic tour around the area and my first stop being at the ocean park, which dependant on which literature I read was somewhere between 7-10km from town. A perfectly normal cycling distance. What follows however is an explanation and not an excuse!! The bike had no gears, was a bit rusty, and in need of a good oil and clean up. However, I peched on along up a series of gradual climbs for a while. Without my hat my head was soon getting toasted, but with it the beads of sweat gathered on the headband before trickling down my sunnies leaving me in need of a set of wipers! Realising I was only just over 5km from town and with potentially the same again before I reached the park I decided enough was enough and pulled into the side of the road for a rest and a drink before turning back. I'd only taken a couple of gulps before a 4x4 pulled up behind me. The people had seen me stopping as they passed, and concerned that I may have had a puncture or be in need of a lift somewhere, came back to check on me. Thanking them, I explained that I was merely in need of a drink and a change of direction. It's really lovely though when a stranger shows you an act of thoughfulness like that. We went our separate ways and I had an easier return ride to town, stopping to see a couple of local properties built from shell bricks. There is a nearby beach (shell beach!) which has particularly calcium rich shells. After periods of rain these shells fuse together and can be cut out as blocks and used in construction. In times gone by there would have been several properties built with them but nowadays only a few remain. Bike safely returned I put wine in the fridge to chill, made fruit crumble for me and my 3 travel companions to enjoy later, and spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. I soaked up the sun, paddling and splashing my way from one end of town to the other, realising that what I'd originally taken to be seaweed was actually strands of seagrass plucked from the meadows in the bay and washed ashore in great clumps with the tide. It was noticable that while the sea at the hostel end of town was warm, it was positively hot at the far end. Whether that be due to currents or if there's a thermal stream nearby I know not, but it was lovely. I rounded off my day sitting on the shore eating fish and chips and watching the sun set over the bay into the sea. A real girlsy evening followed with us eating our pudding and custard as we sat in front of the telly watching the Australian equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing. All in all it was a great birthday and it didn't matter in the end that some cheeky B*gger had pinched our wine from the fridge! All that was left to do was to survive the early morning shuttle run out of town with sleepy Trevor. We set off pre-armed with a list of inane questions we could ask him to keep him awake, but all that served to do was take his eyes off the road altogether as he strained to hear us, so we remained quiet and alarmed. Then a kangaroo jumped out and thundered off the side of the van. Although I don't think there was anything even a fully alert Trevor could have done to avoid the roo, I do think the recovery could have been a bit more controlled. However, it did wake him up for a bit, and with us getting him to stop again for a break further on and again airing our concerns we finally reached Overlander, clammy handed and anxious, but safe, and delighted to see our bus waiting for us. Thankfully the rest of the bus journeys were fine and my next port of call was Kalbarri.

Kalbarri is a lovely little town with a range of options for visitors. Each morning the local pelicans are fed on the green. Pelicans are not particularly greedy birds as a rule and don't tend to overfeed so even though they know they are guaranteed a feed, not every bird turns up each day. Numbers can vary from zero (though thats rare) to 20, and one of a local band of volunteers feeds them while imparting a few nuggets of information to the watching crowd: pelicans are nomadic rather than migratory tending to wander from place to place across Austalia; they mature about 4years but can live up to 20 years; once hatched they live in colonies with the older birds keeping the young ones under control by giving them a slap with their bills to chastise them! and relatively intelligent creatures they have been known to come to and hang about the green until help arrives if they're injured. Other wildlife encounters in Kalbarri included a visit to a parrot breeding and conservation centre and a seahorse stable. The parrot place was fine, but really once you've seen a dozen or so different parrots the novelty wears off - especially when you bump into an eccentric divorcee fishing for a feather through the mesh of a cage but simultaneously wanting to tell you all about her travels with her spiritual mentor. I quickly made my excuses and left! The seahorse place was abit more interesting but mainly because I'd never thought about their farming before. The stable breeds horses for the pet industry to prevent wild ones being taken and thereby conserving natural stocks which had been depleting. There were horses from one day old hatchlings right up to older specimens and of a variety of breeds. There are 34 different breeds worldwide but this stable only concentrate on 16 warm water living types which are more suited to domestic aquariums. It was strangely fascinating viewing but I'll not be racing out to get some of my own when I get home. There were a few attractions out of town to which no public transport was available so Annika, Kat and I decided to hire a car and go sightseeing. The car was automatic and I was driving but had never driven an automatic before and it took a bit of getting used to. As I reversed out of the parking space I managed to bring us to a very abrupt halt as I put in the "clutch" to change into 1st and move off!! We were at least able to vouch that our seat belts worked! I've no idea how many times over the course of the next couple of days that I managed to bring us to a quick stop, but fortunately it was always while slow speed manouvering. I managed to cope ok on the open road! On our first day we headed down the coast stopping at various cliffs and lookout points on the way. There was some amazing rugged cliff faces and wonderful coastal scenery. The layers and layers of sandstone and limestone were clearly visible in varying shades of pinks and yellows. It very much reminded me of a lot of Eastern Scottish coastline. At one point we were entertained by a pod of 8 or 9 dolphins playing just offshore and it really reminded me of home and the cliffs along the coast between Buckie and Sandend. From there we carried on until we reached Hutt River Province. That is one bizarre little place if ever there was one. Its about 75km square and its own little independant principality. Established in 1970 by the now Prince Leonard and Princess Shirley Casley, it seems essentially to have originated from an objection to wheat growing quotas which were being introduced by the Australian government. A loophole in the constitution was somehow discovered that meant a substantial change in economy and land use gave grounds for a separate state to be established. Bizarrely, and somewhat eccentrically, this couple set about creating their own little principality. It now has 13000 citizens, its own church, money, passports, flag, poatal stamps, crests and coats of arms, army, honours system, and about 130 ambassadors and consulates around the globe. Quite how it came to be that the family were so disgruntled that the went as far as they did I have no comprehension. There is even a Hutt River national anthem. Apparently, though (though Princess Shirley never mentioned it to us) its existance as a state only survives for the lifetime of the prince and princess, and although Shirley showed us round and stamped our passports as we entered and left the province, there was no sign of Leonard who is, according to our hostel receptionist, ageing and not in good health. All in all it was a very strange place but worth the 30km drive on corrugated unsealed road to appreciate just what a little empire it is! The next day we set out early morning and headed inland to the river gorges in the national park. Our first top after we negotiated the long sandy road in and avoided the kangaroos by the roadside was at the "Z-bend". A short walk took us down to the lookout: fantastic layers of sandstone forming deep, sometimes sheer and sometimes sharply rugged, cliffs towering above the little river zig-zagging below. Bushes and trees clung to the cliff walls and surrounding countryside dotting the reds and pinks of the rocks like green pockmarks. Leaving there we headed back along the track to The Loop. Here the river takes a huge loop (!) through the gorges creating almost a peninsula of cliff overseeing it all. (You've got to hand it to the Ozzies there is never any doubt as to why a landmark is so named!!) Starting out on the 9km hiking trail we passed a formation known as Nature's Window - a square rocky frame providing a perfect vantage point to look through. The layers of rock are even more visible than at the Z-bends forming a horizontal pyjama stripe effect of pink yellow and black, and with such varied textures too. Some parts are polished smooth while others have a wonderful rippled appearance just like wet sands, while others again are even more rumpled looking like someone had scrunched up a bit of tinfoil then tried unsuccessfully to flatten it out again. Down on the valley floor the dark river is sporadically bordered by little beaches of golden sand. Looking down from atop there were plenty of animal tracks visible ehere they'd obviously been down to the river to drink but now they were well out of sight. It was early in the day still, and there was a fair degree of cloud cover but already it was hot walking. Temperatures are usually about 10 degrees hotter in the gorges than in the town and already in the 20's when we left Kalbarri it was certainly much warmer now. We trekked on admiring the landscape and enjoying the walk even if the terrain was quite rocky, rubbley and hard going at times. After an hour and a half we reached the first of the big swings in the river's course and the path made its way down to the waters edge through a series of red river gum trees. With the water so calm the reflections were great - making the water seem very dark as so little sky was reflected in the water thanks to the tall cliffs. We carried on a little bit further but with not enough time to complete the circuit and return the car on time we retraced our steps. Apart from the steep climb back up the cliff we decided the walk was just as good doing this as the outlook was somehow different going in the opposite direction. By the time we got back to nature's window it was almost busy with vistors and tour groups vying for the best vantage points so we were glad we'd left when we did. A final wander round town was all there was time for before we had to leave Kalbarri and I moved on for a short visit to Cervantes en route to Perth.

Just a few km out of Cervantes lie the strange desert rock formations of The Pinnacles. These are thousands of pillers of limestone of varying heights, anything up to 5 metres tall, and covering an area of over 17000 hectares. Some are quite smooth while others are textured and jagged with little holes and cut-aways through them. The layers of rock are clearly visible in most but as the sands continue to shift more are being revealed as others are reconcealed. The pillars were created by layers of calcium rich shells and sand being compacted over time. The deposits created large solidified dunes which were filled in over time by further sand blows. Vegetation grew on the surface and the slightly acidic water draining through the leaf mulches ate away at the limestone forming the pillars and towers. Its an incredible sight: they spread over such a vast distance but look so strange and alien in a way and especially eerie in the showery dusky light that we were viewing them under. Walking amongst them though it wasn't difficult to spot some resembling the shapes of turtles, hippopotamus, kangaroos, cathedrals and so on. It was a fascinating visit and a sight worth seeing, but I was also glad to get back to the hostel and out of the stange phenomena called rain which we experienced! With dryer weather and some time to spare in the morning before our bus to Perth we went for a walk along the beach and it was immediately apparent just why this area is known as the turquoise coast. With clear water, blue-ish sky and sandy beds the water was reflecting various shades. The sand was white, the shore covered in salty green grasses and flowers and a few islets of rock sat just off the coast. It was beautiful and so reminiscent of the west coast of Scotland. It made me think of Gigha. With a bit of breeze even the sea had the chop and white horses so familiar at home. Strolling along the deserted beach we became aware of lots of blue jelly fish dotting the sand with straggly tails and inflated ballon like bodies: Portugese Men-of-War. Not lethal but nonetheless capable of a poisonous sting we gave them a wider berth. Rounding the point the sand became smoother, the jellyfish fewer and bird numbers greater. We reached a jetty and left the beach for a little cafe. Sitting drinking cappocinos in the sun, admiring the view and listening to the piped easy-listening music we reflected on the tough lives we're currently living! However we soon had to leave for the city.

Arriving in Perth, it felt odd being back in a city - much bigger and more impersonal than the towns and villages I have become accustomed to, but no doubt with plenty for me to discover.

Into The Red

mogsie08-09 — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 07:05:00 GMT

I bade farewell to Airlie Beach at 2.15am and spent the next 31 hours travelling to the red centre of Australia. The bus is perfectly comfy and all the drivers I've had have been great but 30+ hours on a bus is nowhere near as much fun as 30+ hours on a train. However, there are advantages to being short and one is that its far easier to get stretched out to sleep in a bus-seat and so after changes of services at Townsville, Mount Isa and Tenant Creek I finally arrived in Alice Springs. "Alice" was hot and the sun beat down relentlessly but I like the town. Its not fancy by any manner of means but despite the heat I feel quite at home there. I've decided its because its a similar size to Elgin and has the mixture of flat lands, mountains and river that makes it so familiar. Ok, so the Laich o' Moray isn't quite a sandy desert stretching miles into the distance and the MacDonnell ranges providing the backdrop to AS don't equate to the Cairngorms, and the Todd River is much drier than the Lossie (well completely dry v fast flowing), but I'm sure you get the gist! And if not you can just blame it on the heat getting to me!!

Anyway, I'd arranged a trip to Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock)and Kata-Tjuta (aka The Olgas) so got picked up from my hostel early in the morning. Heading down the road the sands began to get redder and redder as we got closer, the sky remained deep blue and the grasses became even more sun bleached. We passed a few camels - the one-humped dromodaries rather than the bacterian ones of Mongolia - and saw lots of wedge-tailed eagles but only one or two kangaroos. We stopped en route to view Mount Conner. Its a huge flat topped granite rock not quite as high or as long as Uluru but very impressive none-the-less. It looks so imposing rising from the desert plains. In complete contrast to it, just across the road from the viewpoint, is a massive salt lake. It stretched off white and flat into the distance and could scarcely have been more different, and was really offset by the deep red sands surrounding it. Leaving there we carried on to Kata-Tjuta. They are a series of domes, over 30 in all, made up of a conglomorate of stones and looking like massive mud-pies plonked into the landscape. We had a brief walk up the gorge between two of the largest hills (Walpa and Olga) before heading back to the star attraction of Uluru itself. It was too hot and windy for the rock climb to be open so we all went on a series of guided walks around the base of the monolith and were given some of the traditional explanations for the different scars and markings on the rock. (I don't know why people are still allowed to do the hill-climb: the aboriginal people find it offensive as to them its a sacred site, to date over 40 people have died on the climb resultant from exhaustion or heat-stroke as there is no shelter from the intense heat once you start, and there is plenty to see as you cirumnavigate it). Uluru itself is massive - it rises over 1000feet from the desert floor and is about 10km in circumference. Although from a distance it looks smooth sided its actually full of little fissures, caves and cut-aways, and there are a few areas which in the wet would become waterfalls and riverlets but which mostly are dry. There is one small waterhole which is hidden from sight until you are right upon it which will dry up only very occasionally - mostly the water can be up to 12 feet deep. It lies at the foot of an area where 3/4 of the water falling on the rock will drain into and because of the nature of the sandstone will continue to leach water for several days after it stops raining. Its only really as you stand at the foot of Uluru that you appreciate its size and bulk. Looking up from the base it stretches way above you making you feel very small in comparison.

Leaving the base of the rock we headed to the sunset viewing area and sat drinking champagne (well, fizzy wine) and enjoying a BBQ as we watched the sun go down and the rock change colour slowly at first then in a quick series of shaded of red and ochre until the sun disappears below it and it turns deep purpley-grey. It is just an awesome sight, but its really looking back at the photos afterwards that you appreciate how many different shades it turns. All too soon the drivers called us all back to the bus and we had to make the long trek back to Alice Springs dodging cattle, camels and Kangaroos on the troad as we went. A long but enjoyable day.

From Alice I went to Katherine, a town which serves as the crossroads for the roads travelling North to South and West to East across the "top end". I may have felt it hot in Alice but Katherine was even more so. It was at least 39 degrees during the day and only a little cooler at night. I went in search of shade and walked along the riverside path to the Katherine hot-springs. The water was lovely and clear and a pefect temperature for lazing around in. The stream cut down through the sloping banks of paper-bark gum trees and there was a lovely fresh, almost pepperminty, aroma permeating. With only a handful of other people around it was great because although the pools were reasonable deep and you could swim a little, it was narrow, so if it was busy you wouldn't be able to move much without bumping into someone else. Duly refreshed from my dip I walked on further to a little area billed as a nature reserve. It was really just a picturesque area of park by the riverside and seeing a couple of other people in the water I was about to join them. Then I saw the sign: "Beware - saltwater crocodiles are known to frequent this area". Well, I reckoned the others could take their chances but I thought that I'd more chance of outrunning them to make my escape if I stayed on dry land so found a shady spot under some trees to have my picnic instead! It was beautiful with the greeny water, orangey-red sand, lush white trunked gum trees with crisp green foliage and azure blue skies. The trilogy of red, green and blue is a bit of a trademark colourscheme for central Australia, I think. As I sat admiring the view and munching on a lovely crisp, sweet, juicy apple there was a sudden "whoop" as a great big hawk of some kind swooped down from behind me and pinched my apple straight out of my hand. I was heck of a glad it was accurate as I'm sure it could have done my hand some damage if it had got it and not my lunch. I just hope it appreciated the apple as much I was doing! With the threat of crocs appearing from the river and birds pinching my picnic and the sun beating ever hotter I decided to head back towards town along the opposite side of the river to my morning's walk. I had not long set off when a young kangaroo sprang up from the undergrowth beside me and bounded off at a rate of knots. It was certainly a day for the wildlife! It was a hot walk back and the fallen leaves underfoot really cracked when you trod on them rather than the gentle crunch you get at home. I guess they are baked hard by the heat rather than gently dried. With the trees thinning out and little shade overhead I was happy to reach town, but first had to cross an old railway bridge to get there. It was made of metal and wood and clunked and rattled as I walked, with the wooden supporting beams underneath looking a bit too worn and rotten for my liking, doing nothing to dispel the notion that it was deteriorating rapidly. I didn't linger, eager to get to the shade, but it seemed to get further away as I crossed the bridge. Needless to say I traversed safely as no doubt will numerous others behind me and I'm sure its just an illusion that it gets longer as you cross!

Katherine was a nice enough wee town, but very much an outback stopping point. I didn't have an awful lot else to offer so I started to turn to the west and caught the greyhound to the town of Kununurra. It was a much twistier and more undulating road that took me across the Western Australian border than the endless straight tracks I've become used to, but the scenery largely remained the same tri-coloured scrub land. There are strict restrictions on the movement of fruit and vegetables across large parts of Australia, so at the border quarrantine officials came on board to check our hand luggage before inspecting the freight and luggage holds below us. I half expected to get another stamp in my passport it was so thorough, but before too long we were cleared to progress and enter Western Australia and reached Kununurra just a half hour later.

If it was hot in Katherine, it was positively roasting in Kununurra - temperatures not falling below 39 degrees here. I decided to have a little wander round town and just about melted. If you can imagine a snail leaving a sticky trail behind it marking out it's path that was me, except that the trail I was leaving was of the melting sunscreen running down the backs of my legs and of ice-cream melting and dripping of the stick before I could enjoy the benefit of it! Cooler climes definitely have there plus points: icecream that's icy, and the ability to buy a bar of chocolate which won't be liquified by the time you've finished opening the wrapper! Despite that, there was a nice vibe to the town and I reckoned I'd like it so I organised a couple of jaunts (involving air-conditioned transport!)

The first one was a trip out to the Lake Argyle dam and a river trip back to town for sunset. The dam was built as part of a huge hydro-electric and irrigation scheme involving Lake Argyle and Lake Kununurra. The hydro scheme provides all the water and power for Kununurra, Wyndham and 90% of the power requirements of the nearby massive Diamond mine. (The Argyle mine apparently produces over 75% of the world's diamonds but try as I might I didn't see any stray ones lying around or being handed out to tourists as souvenirs of the area) The water is used on the Ord River Irrigation scheme: a gravity fed irrigation system to provide viable farming land. Excess water is pumped out to sea as its apparently cheaper to run desalination plants in the south to draw water than to pump down supplies from the top-end. It just seems a bit incongruous to me that part of the country is in drought conditions yet here excess water is pumped out to sea. There were far more facts and figures about the scheme, all of which I've now forgotten, but I thought you would have been fascinated by it all dad. The sheme is acknowledged as the most efficient in the world given the size of the operation. Even the huge dam wall was constructed without using concrete: its entirely built from locally blasted rock. Anyway, it was there that we transferred from the bus to the boat and what was a fantastic 4 hour, 55km trip back to Kununurra. Powered by three 200hp outboard engines it was fast, but smooth, and incredibly manouverable and with a flat hull needed only about 1m of water below it so we could stop in lots of little creeks and channels to look at the local wildlife, waterlife, birds, trees and anything else that caught the attention of our skipper, Jeff. The river was wonderfully scenic with the steep red rock cliffs, numerous shades of green foliage and the obligatory azure blue sky. As we raced along the draft/breeze took the sting out of the heat, but it was still warm. If you stuck you head into the breeze it was a bit like standing in front of a hair-dryer and blowing it in your face! Along the way we spotted lots of freshwater crocodiles, fish, white bellied sea eagles, osprey, somewhat smelly fruit-bats, ducks, geese, pelicans, Kookaburras, cockatoos, jesus birds, doves, cormorants and many more. You name it and we saw it. We even managed a stop for afternoon tea at a spot named Echo Point where we were treated to lovely pumpkin scones and a gorgeously moist carrot cake. It was juicy and flavoursome with lovely big chunks of pineapple and no coconut or walnuts in sight. I'm sorry to say mum it was even nicer than yours - and that's going some. There were scones left over that we got to take away in doggy-bags but there was no cake left! (and, no, before you make any comment I didn't eat it all!) Before leaving it was demonstrated to us just why the point is so named. I've never heard such a clear echo as that which came back a couple of seconds after the shout. It was incredible - not muffled or anything. As we continued our trip we passed a couple of rock formations, one looking just like a soldiers head and the other just like the face of an elephant, before arriving back to town as the sun was going down. It cast a wonderfully orange and pink hue over the water which created lovely calm and attractive silhouettes on the water. A beautiful picture to sign off our tour with.

My other tour took me out to the El Questra Wilderness Park. Originally a huge 1million acre cattle station, it has now diversified a little and also provides tours and accommodation across some of its grounds. The first stop of the day for us was at Emma Gorge. Part of the Cockburn ranges which are some of the oldest known in the world, the walk was only 1.5km or so but it was a hot, stoney and rocky path uneven path following the river's course. The river is one of the few in the area which doesn't dry up and is used as the water supply for the resort it is so pure. We were there early morning but with limited cover it was a hot trek and I wouldn't have fancied it much later in the day. Once we finally reached the head of the gorge however we were treated to a small turquiose coloured pool at the foot of a rock drop in the river before arriving at a wonderfully sheltered wayer hole behind. The red cliffs behind overhung the pool forming a bit of a sheltering enclosure and a gentle waterfall fell from the clifftop. In the wet its a raging torrent but just now it was like a gentle shower spray. Some ferns and the like clung to the cliff faces and drips created a raindrop effect into rthe water below. Swimming there was great and so cooling after the trek in with the water just slightly warmed by a small thermal spring trickling into one corner. Returning to the resort we were treated to morning tea of iced water and/or coffee, lemon cake, pineapple and watermelon slices. So refreshing and just what was required. it also gave us time to look at photos showing the devastating effects Cyclone ingrid had had when she'd struck the area in March 2005. Leaving Emma Gorge we drove along the extremely rutted, dusty and corrugated Gibb River Road (at least I can say I've done a bit of it) to the Zebedee Springs. These are hot thermal springs at the foot of high sandstone cliffs and surrounded by palm trees. While it was a nice stop the springs were small and the underwater terrain was rocky making it difficult to negotiate, but I did manage to find a little area at the foot of a cascade which created a mini jaccuzzi for me to lounge about in for a while. I'm telling you this travelling lark is hard work!! We stayed there until it was time to go to the township for our lunch: Steak, barramundi, mashed tatties and salad. (I've not been able - or wanted- to weigh myself since I left but I'm sure I must have put some of the weight I lost back on it's certainly not been a diet of rice and peas all the way!) The township is really the staff quarters, shop, bar and camping ground for El Questro and is nestled in a bend on the Pentecost river Pentecost river. With some of the station cattle wandering around the relatively lush grounds it was a lovely lunch spot. In the afternoon we were taken for a boat trip through the Chamberlain gorge. The 'cruise' was very slow and in the heat too slow but it was made up for by the Champagne (well, fizzy wine) and fruit we were given as we went! Also, at the head of the gorge there were loads of fish to be seen: cat-fish (or silver cobbler as its increasingly called for reasons of sounding more appealling on a dinner menu), barramundi, and the stars of the show- Archer Fish. Given tiny pieces of bread to hold in our fingertips over the edge of the boat we were spat at by them as they tried to knock it out our grip! Their usual method of feeding is to spit shots of water at flies and insects on little branches overhanging the river to knock them ito the water and hence onto their feeding table. the bread trick mimicked those flies. the fish were incredibly accurate with their water pistol impersonations and can apparently shoot water up to 2metres. with the force the water spout hit you I could well believe it. As we headed back to shore an old stockman, Bud Tyson, regaled us with tales of his working life. Unfortunately I couldn't hear all of his anecdotes, and, well fed and watered and in the heat on a slow boat I may have momentarily dozed!! Something I certainly couldn't do as we returned via the corrugations of the Gibb River Road again to Kununurra.

On my final day in Kununurra I walked to the Mirima (or Hidden Valley) National Park at the edge of town. It is known as the mini Bungle bungles with similar striped rock patterns but on a smaller scale. The usual trilogy of red rock, green vegetaion and blue sky was as abundant as ever with wedge-tailed eagles circling overhead. The noise was what struck me though. It became gradually louder and louder as I walked: crickets, birds and various other "beasties" chirrupped, croaked, buzzed and twittered called. I wish I could have taped it as I can't explain what it was like but it was a real wall of sound that I'd never heard like that before. It was fantastic and so exotic sounding but also slightly eerie. I was disappointed inside the park proper to find much of the area destroyed by relativly recent fires and so the walks to the areas I wanted to visit were closed off and I never did get to see the Bungle domes. I returned to the hostel and had just finished lunch when there was a huge peal of thunder, lightening flashed and the rain started to pour. It continued all afternoon, the temperarure dropping to 28 by tea-time. They say animals can foretell changes in weather, so whether that was what the racket was about in the morning when I was at the park I don't know, but if it is a mark of the start of the wet season then I am maybe moving on at the right time. My bus left town about 8pm and it was still pouring. There had been more rain in these last few hours I was there than there had been since before March! Meanwhile, I was heading further west again - a, hopefully, dry Broome will be the next port of call.

Remembering Douglas Ord

mogsie08-09 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:00:00 GMT

After a fantastic flight, and with my now customary post-flight thoughts of gratitude to Douglas Ord and Peter Hughes, I landed back in Australia for the third time, and 10 years almost to the day since my first visit. A landmark that at one time was impossible to envisage!

I liked Brisbane the first time I was here and I've enjoyed it again this time. The city straddles a winding river and is a nice mixture of tall modern tower-blocks and older traditional Queenslander buildings, so I spent a fair bit of time just wandering round the city and along the riverside. The Roma Street parklands were also great for meandering through. A mix of ponds, water cascades, bright floral gardens, ferns, lawn and kids playpark makes a wonderful little haven away from the bustle of the city.

Another day I caught the bus out to Mount Coot-tha and headed up the hill to the lookout point perched on the top. On a really clear day you can see right across the city to the coast, but that day was slightly overcast (a phenomenon I'm no longer accustomed to!) so you couldn't see much further than the city itself. Nevertheless you could still see for miles. From there I walked down the hill to the beautiful botanic gardens at the bottom and spent a good part of the day wandering round them. It is zoned into different areas and I loved the japanese garden. It has a little stream falling down over a little rock cascade and throuch a grassy area with stone edged paths and which is surrounded by colourful plants -azaleas maybe? You know my horticultural abilities so they were maybe something else but it was very pretty. Little wooden shady pavilions border the garden to so I sat admiring the views, having my picnic and people watching as folk passed through. It was obviously the season for school trips and a few different classes went by and the younger kids especially seemed to love the mix and having a bit of space to run around in so it was fun to listen to them giggling and playing. The other area I liked was the sub-tropical rainforest. So much dense greenery of all shades with little snatches of sunlight coming through some of the fronds of ferns and palms. There were lots of bush turkeys and water dragons scuttling through the bushes aswell which was great to see and hear. As I went to leave I discovered a "Wollmia Nobilis"!! Apparently its one of the rarest plants in the world and was thought to have died out until 38 specimens were rediscovered in 1994. Now there are 3 small populations of the Wollemi pine or dinasaur tree, as its known to its friends, and this one living in a cage in the garden. I can't honestly say it looked spectacular or particularly amazing but I'm sure some people think its great.

I suppose for someone without green fingers I spent a lot of time in parks and gardens but even with my limited expertise I could appreciate most of the planting.

The manager of my hostel in Brisbane lives out towards the coast and offered me a lift over if I was wanting to head in that direction next. With no definite plans I took up the offer and ended up having a fantastic time in Noosa - staying longer than originally planned. The area is really 3 small townships along the coast and river Noosa and backing on to an area of national park - very scenic, sporty and lively and a great place for holidays or day trippers to relax and have fun. The hostel there was good too and only 5 minutes walk from the shore - perfect for me. I got a surfing lesson booked and enjoyed it but don't think I'm a natural! It all started well enough with me managing to stand up first time but it was almost all under water from then on! When the instructor held my board and shouted to tell me when to go it was ok, but if I had to catch a wave myself, forget it. I either started paddling too late and was engulfed before I could even try to stand, or I was too early and by the time the wave caught me I was already landing on the shore! I think I should stick to body boarding or to the kayaking that I enjoyed later. I had a couple of hours paddling round the river and towards the river mouth. There was just me in a single kayak and another Japanese girl who was in a double boat with Stefan our guide. He was French but arrived in Oz via a spell working as a school book seller covering the area around Lossie, Inverness and up to Tain! We nosed up creeks and round sand bars before stopping in a sheltered little bay for a swim. It was just a nice temperature for swimming - both air and water- and there were a few fish swimming around aswell just to complete the picture. It was a real fun afternoon.

The next day I went walking in the national park and covered miles. I started off around the Coastal track. The sea was sparkling aquamarine and the surf was crashing pure white against the dark rocks and cliffs and into the sandy coves; the trees and bushes were dense green with just a few dashes of colour from the occasional flower along the edge of the path, It was wonderful and as I walked I passed various landmarks with names such as The Boiling Pot, Dolphin Point, Picnic Cove, Hells gates and Devil's Kitchen which should give you a clue to the fantastic scenery I was passing. (with the exception of dolphin point where there were none to be seen) Descending one hilly path I reached Alexandria Bay with a lovely sheltered sandy beach - it also transpired to be the local nudist beach! Not persuaded to join them, I carried on over the next set of cliffs and descended down a series of steep steps onto Sunshine beach(It stretched for miles with fantastic waves crashing onto it and overlooked by some lovely looking houses nestled into the hillside behind) and was rewarded with the altogether prettier sight of two humpbacked whales patrolling the shore! They zig-zagged back and fore, not breaching but surfacing regularly as the searched for food. It brought back great memories of my whale-watching trip in Canada. Eventually the whales disappeared and I continued up into the town and back along another track through woods and bushes. At one point I got the fright of my life as I almost stood on a bit of "log" only for it to scuttle off into the undergrowth and for me to realise it was actually a lizard of some kind! I continued through the increasingly dense rainforest heading back towards the rangers' hut searching for the Koalas which supposedly live in the park. I didn't see any but the ranger assured me one had been in the gum trees outside his hut not half an hour previously. Typical! I saw lots of marvelous wildlife (and some not so marvelous) of all sorts but no Koalas. I've never yet seen a wild one and am beginning to think I'm destined not to!

Finally deciding to leave the charms of Noosa I went up to Hervey Bay, a few hours up the coast, and organised a trip to Fraser Island. It is a world heritage site and is a sand island that is densely covered in rainforest, home to lots of wildlife, and blessed with several clear freshwater lakes. I joined a self-drive camping tour, and as such we had to sit through a couple of safety briefings and videos before heading down to the camp-shed to pick up all the gear we'd need for the 3 days we'd be away. Tents, cookers, food, sleeping bags, table, cutlery and crockery, water, luggage and people were finally packed neatly away and we could set off. I'm telling you, though, packing a rucksack with a year's stuff is childsplay in comparison to stuffing everything into a 4x4. I am glad there were just 6 of us in our car - its supposed to take up to 10 people but we managed to fill it pretty well, and over the trip we seemed to take up more and more space despite gradually using up our supplies! I definitely need a lesson in the from the Bayfield school of car-packers! Almost as soon as you leave the ferry the tarmac disappears and you start on the sand tracks which serve as roads when not just driving on the beach. They're deeply rutted soft sand and as we lurched about equipment clattering around in the storage shelf above our heads, I fully realised the importance of the pre-trip driving instruction we'd had and tried to remember exactly where my travel insurance policy was!! It was beautiful though as the pale golden sandtracks meandered through the rainforest with sun only periodically throwing flahes of light through the trees to highlight the many different shades of green around us. Stopping at a boardwalk along Wanggolba creek the water looked a pale murky colour util you realise the water is actually crystal clear and its just the sandy bed that's brown. We rounded a corner and a great big snake was curled up at the side of the path - sound asleep thankfully. I've no idea what kind it was (probably a harmless carpet snake) but was quite pleased that when it woke and looked up at us that it just, more or less, gave a sigh as if to say Oh god, not more tourists, and went back to sleep! Leaving there we headed onto the main highway on the island - The 75mile long Eastern beach. Its a road, a runway for planes, a path, wildlife haven and a leisure facility all in one which is a bit strange. Its odd seeing speed limits and road signs planted along the beach. We raced along to our campsite for the night, however, having to keep an eye on the incoming tide to make sure we reached it before the waves closed the road for the night.

Next morning the tide hadn't yet retreated enough to go further so we explored the wreck of the Maheno - a liner which was blown ashore during a cyclone in 1935 and which, although rapidly rusting and deteriorating now, still sits on the shore road after it was unable to be reloated. Its an eerie sight and quite amazing that so much of it still remains when you see the force of the waves crashing over it.

Eli Creek was the next stop - a real oasis. Again, the fresh water which twists its way down from the forest to the shore is crystal clear. With dense vegetation along the boarwdwalk bordering its banks the water is refreshingly cool and you can paddle and swim back down the creek and right towards the sea when the tide is in. As sea swimming off the island is essentially a no-no given all the nasties such as sharks, jellyfish and stingers, it was a great place to relax and cool off from the hot morning sun.

Later when we reached Indian Heads - a high cliff providing great views over the island and out to sea- we were able to watch stingrays at the foot of the cliffs and whales further out to sea as eagles soared overhead searching for prey. It was a real back to nature experience. The only thing we were missing were the dingos which are supposedly so prevalent on the island. However as we made our way to our evening camp we saw a young one playing in the sand. It had a lovely face and didn't look at all threatening - just like a daft puppy scuffling around. As we sat after our meal at night chatting and drinking another larger one came to the dunes above us and had a sniff and a stare. As soon as we went for our cameras, though, it scarpered. They certainly weren't living up to the billing they'd received as being dangerous wild animals to be avoided as much as possible!

The final day of the trip saw my two favourite attractions on the island: Lakes Wabby and Mckenzie. Lake Wabby is the deepest on the island and reaching the lookout above it the view was spectacular. The lake is a dark greeny colour thanks to the blue skies above and the buttermilk yellow sands which stretch back on three sides of the lake. On the fourth side the rainforest reaches right down the steep hillside and into the waters edge. Walking down a track (which is signed as being 1km on the way down and 1.2km on the way up - work that one out if you can) to the lake its even more spectacular from the bottom. The sand is really a series of steep sand cliffs encroaching slowly into the lake. It's soft aswell and your feet sink into the hot sand as you walk. Apparently it can get so hot in high summer that you can't actually walk barefoot on it without burning your feet. The sun shining into the bowl just acts as a big oven with no through air to provide any cooling. Lake Mckenzie on the other hand is wide and open and a magnificent aquamarine shade with gorgeous fine white sand beaches. The eucalypt trees predominating around it provide wonderful contrasts of shades of green blue and white to the panorama. The water was fantastic for swimming gently heated by the reflection of the sun on the white sand below. Just an idyllic place to spend our last few hours on the island.

On the ferry on the way back to the mainland some of us were befriended by the ship's cat. Called Butter (guess what colour she is!) she has only been on board a couple of weeks as the last cat was pinched! She was brought from a rescue centre and is meant to hunt and chase the birds that roost on the boat at night and create a mess. She is just an absolute softy however and spends her time walking from passenger to passenger climbing up on the lap of anyone who'll pay her any attention and purring loudly. They don't think she's even looked at a bird let alone chased one. I was thinking that we should maybe introduce her to Stella for a lesson or two!

From Hervey Bay I caught an overnight bus and came up to Airlie Beach for two days of sailing round the Whitsunday Islands. It was fantastic. Our boat was called Silent Night, was 50 foot long and had a lovely sleek looking dark blue hull. There were 11 passengers (of a variety of nationalities and a range of ages from 23 to 68) and 2 crew (Jack the deck-hand and Brendan the skipper) on the boat and everyone just seemed to get on together so that we had a fantastic couple of days. Not long after leaving the marina the sails were raised and we sped along passing some of the green banked islands, the sea having changed from the emerald green of the marina to the deep sparkling blue of the open water. With us perched along one side of the boat, feet dangling over the edge, sea spray occassionally splashing our feet, you didn't realise how much we were banking until you turned to look across the deck and saw the opposite rail not far above the waters surface. It was smooth and wonderfully enjoyable. Reaching an area called Caves Cove we got kitted out in the mandatory "stinger suits" to go snorkelling. Basically lycra wet suits you can just imagine how fetching we all looked. The only saving grace is that with everyone wearing them nobody has any room to laugh at anyone else! Leaving there we headed to our anchorage for the night at Maureen's cove. It was a lovely evening and a very quick setting sun gave way to a mass of stars. As we sat having a drink and chatting, Brendan turned on a mast light which seemed to instantly attract a dolphin to our boat. It surfed and swam around us for a while before diving and disappearing only to be replaced by a squid shining as if it had a little bulb inside it! A magical evening. Retiring to our bunks at night the gentle rocking of the boat had us all sleeping in no time - despite first having one of those times when the giggles took over the 4 of us in the central berths and us laughing riotously and nothing at all!

Shortly after breakfast the next morning we went snorkelling again and there was far more marine life to be seen than the day before, but nothing like we saw when we moved round to Mantaray Bay. There were lots of little fish and a couple of big Maori Wrass. Feeding them a little bread they darted around even faster - the little fish swimming right up to you until the bumped into your mask and body and you could reach out and touch them. brilliant. The coral, too, was more varied - more types and more colour. Setting off again from there we were soon able to raise the sails and I was able to help, fulfilling another long held desire, and it was great to enjoy the serenity of gently sailing along in sparkling waters under blue sky and hot sun. There were several other yachts around plotting a similar route to us but none were so close that it felt they were encroaching on "our" trip or that you were part of a parade of boats. As music quietly played, the water lapped against the hull. Idyllic! Later we reached Tongue bay and were tendered across to the shore for a couple of hours or so. A short woodland walk took us to the lookout point above Whitehaven Beach. Stunning is all I can say - exactly like pictures I've seen previously on calendars and postcards. Gorgeous white silica sands and emerald bluey-green waters. The sands are blown and rippled forming little lagoons, then further out on the beach edges the sea "proper" with a gentle white lapping of waves on the shore. Boats bobbed about in the bays and an occassional plane passed overhead. In the lagoons there were loads of stingrays sunning themselves and an occasional LITTLE shark darted about. Having come down from the lookout to the beach I paddled and sat trying to take in the beauty of my surroundings. On the way back for the lift back to the yacht I went back to the lookout and it was amazing how the picture had altered as the tide raced in. Still outstandingly beautiful but with the turquoise blue now predominating rather than the pearly white. Heading for our evening anchorage in Hook Passage I got to take the wheel for a little, but, going a little zig-zaggedly I tried to correct course only to throw my (thankfully half empty!) glass of wine over me and the deck. It just goes to prove you shouldn't drink and drive!! Fortunately Brendan was there to take over contol.

Heading back to port under sail the next morning (and with no wine in sight), several of us were able to have another shot at taking the wheel. It was daunting at first but the skipper was a good teacher and it gradually began to feel more natural - its amazing how responsive the boat is. It was a nice way to spend the morning but it also passed too quickly. We threatened a little mutiny to force Jack and Brendan to turn Silent Night around so we could continue but failed in our efforts. The appeal of time off being a stronger pull for them. All too soon we had to lower the sails and motor into the marina again. It was a fantastic couple of days: Jack looking after and feeding us well, and Brendan ensuring we had a fantastic sailing experience. I would definitely recommend a trip on Silent Night to anyone coming to the area. Back on dry land I could still feel the gentle swaying of the boat as I spent the afternoon back in picturesque little Airlie Beach. We met up for a couple of drinks at night before saying our final farewells.

My trip up the East coast has been brilliant. It's been everything I hoped for, but now I reckon its time to move on and I'm heading inland. Next stop will be the red centre, and Alice Springs. Who knows what lies in store there, but time will soon tell.

Farewell to the Northern Hemisphere

mogsie08-09 — Sat, 6 Sep 2008 12:30:00 GMT

I arrived in Shangai to find a busy bustling city, but not one that I've found particularly attractive. Its probably captivated me least of the places I've visited so far. Having said that there were some attractions which I enjoyed -one of them, me being me, involving food!

I spent an enjoyable morning in the Yuyuan Gardens. The grounds were created in the time of the Ming dynasty as a place for the royalty to relax, observe the river and its traffic and to enjoy a bit of peace and calm. They are therefor very much gardens in the chinese tradition and style, namely lots of water, rocks, pavilions and just little touches of greenery. The carvings on the pavilions are beautifully intricate detail on the doors, around the roofs and on the beams and tables. There are wonderful little characters and carvings atop the roofs too which adds a bit of fun and superstition. The rocks are tpyical of those I've seen in other chinese gardens and are of a kind that looks like they've got holes and crevices in them - kind of sponge-like in appearance. To my eyes it looks artificial though apparently its not! All the walls are whitewashed which contrasts with the dark wood, water and foliage. The planting that is there are large statement trees and bushes with only limited flowers -just now anyway. Maybe its different at other times of year. The ponds are stocked with huge goldfish which flashed orange through the greenish hue of the water and obviously used to hoards of visitors more or less came to the surface asking for crumbs. Who says fish have no memory - this lot knew exactly what they were doing! Overall it was all verty serene and nice to sit protected from the noise and hustle of the modern city outside.

Leaving the gardens I went looking for lunch I saw a stall selling the little steamed buns I've developed such a liking for, so went to join the queue of Chinese people that hinted to me it'd be good. Well the queue went on and on and on until I reached the end. It transpired that the Nan Xiang Steamed Bun shop is Shanghai's equivalent of the Anstruther Chip Shop! I queued for over an hour getting hungrier and hungrier as we gradually got closer and could see through the picture windows to the buns being freshly made and steamed on site. There was no choice, but a portion contained 16 buns which was steamed in a single layer in the traditional bamboo steamers over a gentle heat so only about 20 portions could be cooked at any one time. They were absolutely delicious but by the time I was served I knew exactly how Marj and Hank must have felt when they went to Anstruther!

Another day I went to the Shanghai museum which was excellent. Every section had English language leaflets availabe, and English and Chinese labelling of the exhibits, so it was easy to find out a bit more about what you were looking at. And, for me, there was just enough info to let you know a bit about each topic without it becoming dry and boring. The halls were spread across several floors and covered everything from the Bronze age to ceramics and pottery to chinese art and calligraphy to furniture, costume and currency! I loved some of the furniture and could easily have taken some of it home ... but didn't think I'd fit it all in my rucksack. What was really smart, too, was the lighting in the art rooms. It was obviously motion sensitive, so each painting was in darkness until you moved towards it and the lights brightened then dimmed again as you moved off - cool! I guess it was for the benefit of the artwork but me and a few kids around enjoyed experimenting to see how close you had to get before the lights came on or went off!!

Leaving Shanghai I got an overnight train to Hong Kong and my final stop in Asia. Hong Kong, like Shanghai, is prettier by night than by day. With all the huge skyscrapers lit up it makes an impressive backdrop against the darkness. Hong Kong also has what they call the "Symphony of Lights". Each evening a 15 minute laser and light show is played out to music on some of the tallest buildings along the shoreside. Its a real crowd puller and is an impressive sight.

While in HK I took the tram up the steep Victoria Peak. As you climb you go past floors of skyscrapers which must be well above ground level, but because of the incline you run beside them. It was a bit strange to think you were looking in to an apartment several storeys off the ground. Just before reaching the top there was a fantastic view back down through the tram to the harbour below, but by the time we got to top-station and went out to the viewing areas the cloud had rolled in and the torrential rain started in true monsoon fashion! Typical. Everyone huddled together waiting until it eased enough to venture out. I headed off round the "circular" walk of the peak and got some really good views of the surrounding area and islands. I don't really know how I did it but I never did find myself back at the starting point of my circular walk, instead I got lower and lower down the hill until I was back on the western outskirts of the city. I headed back through what was obviously more the traditional chinese shopping streets past bags, bowls and jars of various dried mushrooms, seeds, and other "things" until I got back to the harbour.

I caught the Star Ferry back to Kowloon and collected my stuff before heading out to the airport in order to catch my first flight of my circumnavigation. And so about 12 1/2 weeks after leaving Elgin I finally reached Hong Kong airport - a journey I could have done in about 12 1/2 hours if I'd flown, but I wouldn't have had nearly so much fun, seen nearly as many great places nor met so many interesting people. The Southern hemisphere has a lot to live up to if it is to match my trip so far.

From Little Hutong to The Great Wall

mogsie08-09 — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:40:00 GMT

Leaving Mongolia was a bit of a wrench. If I hadn't had non-refundable accommodation booked in Beijing I could easily have stayed for longer, but at the appointed hour me and a large contingent from the hostel boarded the train for China. It was quite a slow but uneventful journey as we trundled along and eventually we the border. We had all the now customary paperwork and searches and progressed to the Chinese side where the fun began. We had the usual immigration and customs form to complete but the search of our baggage was a bit more rigourous this time. Almost everything had to be emptied from our packs and all books were closely examined - presumably to ensure there was nothing offensive in them, but my guidebook was given close scrutiny. Finally a sniffer dog was paraded through the train and as we waited for our passports to be returned the train was shunted back down the line and into a big shed. Trains in Mongolia and Russia run on a 1.5m guage which is slightly larger than most of the rest of the world so the bogies all had to be changed before we'd be able to progress through China. In the shed the carriages were all uncoupled from each other before we were raised on huge hydraulic jacks and the "old" bogies removed and shunted down the line collecting the others behind as they went on their way. At the head of the procession the new narrower ones were rolled in and stopped below each carriage as appropriate before the wagons were lowered and the connections to the new undercarriages secured. Once the cars were whole again we were hauled out of the sheds and back to the station where the immigration officials marched out solemnly to board and hand back our passports - until they appeared to realise "their" carriage was heading past them and they broke into childlike sprints to keep up! Once we had our passports and they'd disembarked again, there began a bizarre series of shunting backwards and forwards noisily clattering and clunking and ,I presume, collecting more wagons but we went back and forth at least 7 or 8 times before we eventually stopped and then carried on our way through China, eventually arriving right on time into Beijing.

In Beijing I headed out to see the Olympic stadia. The Birds Nest really did look impressive and there was a real nice buzz to the place with so many people milling around. Without a competition ticket I couldn't get too close but the atmosphere was great - definitely encouraging me to try for tickets for 2012 once it comes round. I met up with Naomi and Matt the next day and after dinner I suggested heading back out to at least see the closing ceremony fireworks from the avenue leading to the stadium. Arriving at the subway station though everyone without tickets was shepherded out in the opposite direction and we were allowed nowhere near the approach road. We couldn't even loiter near the station, could barely see the sky from the dip we were in and certainly there weren't big screens for the crowds gathered and so, as the soldiers arrived in force to add a bit of weight to the marshalling, we gave up and went home. Back at the hostel a crowd of us gathered and watched it on the big screen there! As the fireworks went off we were allowed onto the roof of the hostel, and although we could only see a distant glow from the main display my friends the Russians did us proud. They had commandeered a section round the lakes behind us and set off a secondary display to start their after games party. It was a great show and a fantastic end to the day. Despite what was universally agreed as a cringing display at the ceremony from the London 2012 contingent many of us will be keen to attend and enjoy the fantastic atmosphere which the games bring - I'll certainly be applying for tickets (and Fraser if by that time you think you want to go, then I'll take you too).

With the games over I enjoyed spending time wandering the hutong around the local area. The hutong are the narrow alleyways which criss-cross the city and which are home to many Chinese people. The homes are small, crowded and basic - mostly with no bathrooms or running water - but each alley has public toilets (which by the end of the day and in the heat of the summer you can often smell before you see!) and a watershed where fresh water can be dispensed for those that need. Its a fascinating sight as people congregate in the street outside their homes chatting, playing games or apparently just contemplating life in general. The alleys are busy aswell, with bikes, scooters, trikes and rickshaws racing back and fro in all directions loaded with any manner of goods from rubbish to shopping to seemingly all someones worldly possessions. To top it all cars and taxis will try to squeeze up and down the twisty streets too so there's never a dull moment for the people and world watchers! Its also, believe it or not, around these streets that you get some of the best street food. Its all freshly prepared on little stoves in small outlets or even from the back of carts, using fresh ingredients and virtually always cooked to order. It was certainly tastier than the food I got from the night-market. The stalls there were too ordered and regimented by Chinese standards and were obviously catering purely for the tourist market displaying all sorts of wierd, wonderful and revolting ingredients: there was everything from the standard dumplings and kebabs to scorpion, starfish, silkworms, and odd bits of goodness knows what - you really wouldn't want to know!

One day, though, I met up with Chin, a friend of Maureen's and had the most fantastic lunch: we had Beijing Duck at the Quanjude Roast Duck restaurant. Mmmm ... Delicious!! (Jill and Lesley, I may have enjoyed our crispy duck at the Emperor before I left but it had nothing on this) The skin was so crispy and sweet and the meat so juicy and tender ... I'm drooling again thinking about it. Traditionally every part of the duck is used but the two of us couldn't quite manage that -even with my apetite- so we just had soup and duck! I was even given our duck's commemorative certificate of origin when we left!

Other sights to catch my attention included Tiananmen Square and "The Forbidden City", Jingshan Park, The Lakes, and of course the Great Wall. Tiananmen square is huge but not as impressive as the smaller Red Square of Moscow, certainly by day anyway. Maybe because the surrounding buildings are lower and not so imposing or maybe because there were still lots of olympic and paralympis stands, displays and hoardings around which kind of segmented it, or maybe just cause its virtually all just a greyish mass, I don't know. By night when the floodlights were on it was nicer. It certainly draws the Chinese though and there were streams of them queuing to photograph and get into Mao's mausoleum. Its a strange world.

The Forbidden City on the other hand is amazing. The size of the complex, the colours on the buildings, the intricacy and detail in the decorations are incredible. There are huge areas that the public aren't allowed to visit but I spent hours there and still probably didn't see the half of it. You can imagine it being a real safe area of seclusion for the emperors of the time. Its just a pity that for some of the furnished pavilions the public are kept back at a cordon a little distance from the entrances so you can't really see in to the beautiful interiors. There are some temporary exhibitions aswell which cover such things as costumes, weddings, gifts and treasures and are interesting but somehow they seem a bit remote from the palace buildings in which they are housed. The garden made a nice shady resting spot with lots of trees and rock ans was a nice stopping off point before going to Jingshan park which was created from the earth excavated from the moats surrounding the palace and in its day was stocked with deer, rabbit, hares and songbirds. Today it provides a viewpoint over the city and a place for chinese kids to be taken by their patents to meet westeners and practise their English!

The lakes - Qianhai and Houhai - were not far from my hostel and a lovely tree lined area to walk round, listening to the birds and peoplewatching. The area is well used as a playground by the locals. You can hire boats to enjoy the water- you just have to dodge the many swimmers. Despite the colour of the water and the signs advising to the contrary it is well used for fishing and swimming by the locals as part of their daily exercise regimes. There are also little gym parks around the shores -like our playparks but filled with larger sized equipment which the adults can gather to talk, play chess and to exercise gently. A bit different to Moray Leisure Centre!

A real highlight though was the day trip to The Great Wall. We were taken to Jinshanglin about 2.5hrs from Beijing then hiked the 10k to Simatai before returning to the city. Arriving at Jinshanglin we had two options to get up the hill: an 18 minute cable-car ride or an additional half hour walk. I opted for the cable-car and almost instantly regretted my decision! I hadn't really given any consideration to my hatred of cable-cars, the height and gradient of our climb, or chinese attitudes to general maintenance! When the couple in front of me left and someone picked up a big plank of wood to whack some plug or other back into the car as they moved I thought "oh sh*t"! As I set off I remembered the shuddering sounds and slight swinging sensation which makes me so nervous. I ended up sitting stock still, holding onto the rusty shelf in front of me, counting the minutes to the top and trying to decide if it was better or worse with your eyes closed!! My suffering wasn't in vain however. As soon as I got out the car the views were stunning. Green mountains as far as the eye could see with wall and watch-towers perched atop and heading off in both directions. Setting off on the hike some parts were so steep it was a struggle to clamber up the steps, other sections were quite crumbly and the terrain was quite difficult. other bits were a good mix of slab stone and gravel and was relatively straightforward walking. The watch-towers too did indeed provide great vantage points to look out on the surrounding countryside for marrauding Mongols. Every so often -usually as I paused to draw breath after a particularly steep section I marvelled at the work it would have taken to build, the fact that so much remains intact all these hundreds of years later and the sheer beauty of the whole area. It was nice that it hadn't been too "touristified" and that it wasn't particularly busy or crowded. There were a few hawkers trying to sell postcards, t-shirts, books water and cold drinks, but you had to admire their tenacity to carry their wares up the hills in the first place! Arriving at Simitai there was a gorge where the wall had crumbled away and a wooden suspension bridge crossed the river below us. It was a steep descent down an old iron ladder staircase to reach the rickety looking bridge. The rattling of the planks, the gaps between them, the swinging of the bridge and the drop below ensured I didn't linger long on hte crossing. Once across there were three choices for the descent to the bus waiting in the village below: a zip-slide; another cable-car; a walk. No prized for guessing which method I took. It was a thoroughly enjoyable walk on a smooth paved path to the bottom. All in all it was a fantastic experience and one not to be missed, but strong footwear, a nerve for heights and a good sense of balance were fefinitely necessary. Lou, it may suit you and your bobble-hatted ramblers, but I don't think it'd be suitable for some of the Glenrothes Strollers for instance!

I have enjoyed my visit to Beijing. The city has obviously undergone a lot of construction and redevelopment in the lead up to the olympics to make it easier for English speakers to get around, yet, to my eyes anyway, it seems to have retained the feel of a being a distictly Chinese city. I just hope the big multinationals which are springing up all over the city don't dilute that over time and leave just another capital city like so many other round the world.