The Red Centre - Ayers Rock

The area in the Northern Territory in the middle of Australia is called the Red Centre for good reason. The earth is the reddest I have seen anywhere. It is a mixture of red soil and sand and in the rain, the color deepens. We were able to experience that. Lucky us. As all the guides and people who worked at the Ayers Rock Resort, only about 3% of all visitors ever get to see it rain there.

Remembering my post of a few weeks ago about traveling with a good attitude, we strapped on our happy faces and our fly nets and set out for adventure beginning with the Desert Awakenings tour. Up at 5 a.m. (which was really 3:30 a.m. Perth time—the time changes 1 ½ hours to Ayers rock) we dressed quickly and waited in the hotel lobby for our ride out into the desert before sunrise.

Our 4WD van picked us up and whisked us out to an unpaved road where we bumped our way to a large sand dune with a flat top. A short hike up and we found ourselves at a little picnic area with chairs and a “buffet” table set with pastries, juice, coffee, and tea. Our cook, Zach, had been up even earlier and out at the “barbie” preparing our breakfast. As the sun began to streak the horizon with a strip of orange, we could make out the shadow of Ayers Rock in the distance.

Eventually, the horizon colored more with the glorious beginnings of a colorful sunrise and for an instant the sun actually appeared only to be lost quickly in the passing rain clouds in front of it. It was not the glorious sunrise that lights the Rock with reds and oranges and flames the sky with its fiery color but it was a quiet and reflective morning in the middle of the desert as the world around us was changing guard—night creatures burrowing in for the day and day critters coming out of their nighttime hideaways.

Zach and Emma our guide served us their version of McBush tucker—a breakfast sandwich of egg, crispy bacon, and lettuce. The real star though was the damper Zach cooked in aluminum foil. Damper is a round loaf of bread cooked over a campfire. It doesn’t have a lot of taste but has a nice heavy texture and served with a little maple syrup, went down quite well with a second cup of coffee.

Our tour continued with stops around Ayers Rock (Uluru as the Aborigines call it). The rain moved in as did the flies. We were grateful to have bought fly nets to go over our hats. The flies go for your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. They don’t bite but they are quite a nuisance. I don’t remember that problem when we visited years ago in July. It was probably the difference in seasons.

After a short stop at the cultural center where Bob and I watched a video of Aborigine women finding food in the bush, including the biggest fattest grubs I’ve ever seen, we returned to the resort to find something a little less intimidating to eat—a hamburger.

Sunday Worship Thought

Another Sunday on our Australian adventure found us out in the Red Centre at Ayers Rock. After our breakfast on a sand dune as the sun rose, we rode through the desert to the Rock as our guide explained the flora and fauna of the area.

I had been disappointed that we hadn’t had a more “spiritual” experience at the sunrise. I was sure that was where I would find my worship time. Instead it was while riding through the brush and bushes and sparse trees.

We stopped by one of the larger trees called a desert oak. The tree was said to be about 400 years old and on its softly needled branches, we could see small round pods a bit like pine cones except completely sealed. Our guide explained that fire was an integral part of the regeneration of the desert. These pods needed heat in order to pop open and release their seed. Other plants needed to go through a fire to regenerate as well. The fire gets rid of the old growth and the roots of the plants then give new life.

The scripture that speaks of fire refining us came to mind. While I’ve always thought of it in terms of making gold and precious metals pure, this brought a whole new meaning to it. We go through trials/fire and sometimes parts of us die (like pride) in the process and new parts are born (like deeper faith). Other times our trials release seeds that create new growth in others as they see us go through trial.

But God wasn’t done with his lesson yet that morning. Our guide continued to explain how the desert oak spends many years of its young life sending down a tap root to securely anchor itself with a source of water. Once that is accomplished, the tree can begin to concentrate growth on the branches above the ground.

How like us who need to tap into the Living Water and anchor ourselves there before we try to branch out in life. What a worshipful morning!

Perth - Laundry day and the Aquarium

While doing the laundry on a trip may sound mundane, it is actually quite an experience especially when you are in a foreign country. While Australia doesn’t seem all that foreign—they do speak English, the laudro-bar as it’s called down under, was in a way.

The lady running the place was a young Brazilian who graciously changed our paper money for the coins we needed for the machines and then explained about how long it would take for the clothes to dry. She was exactly right too. After we got the dirty clothes into the washer, we had some time to take in the rather eclectic décor.

Mounted on the walls were collages, poems, artwork, lessons of life and philosophy, etc. that was all reminiscent of the 1960s era. Bright colors and paisley-like designs made me think of decorated Volkswagon buses but instead they were old ironing boards. It kept us entertained for a bit and then we sat on a fleece covered bench and waited for the clothes to be done. It was a fun way to spend the morning actually.

Wanting to stay out of the sun and heat (temps were reaching to about 102 F.) we opted to visit the aquarium in Hillary’s Harbor near us. We were pleasantly surprised at how extensive it was. There were specimens from all over the west and southwestern coast of Australia including the most beautiful sea dragons that look like seaweed when they float in the water. What a treat since we have never seen them while diving!

One of the most popular displays was the shipwreck reef area where there is a deep water tank of sharks, very large stingrays, a big loggerhead turtle, and other large fish I couldn’t readily identify. Visitors step on to a very slow moving track and let it carry them in a large circle around and through the tank as sharks and rays swim over their heads. We were also there in time to see divers feeding the sharks.

A favorite display of mine is the large circular tank holding graceful jelly fish that pulsate through the water that is blue-lighted. It is one of the most peaceful exhibits to watch. In the water as a diver it wouldn’t be so inviting since jellyfish have a nasty sting. But in this environment they are a beautiful sight to watch.

Dinner was on a terrace in front of a restaurant on one of the back streets off the main beach road. It was a pasta and pizza place with reasonable prices and delicious pasta, salad, and garlic bread. Prices for food in the restaurants have been a lot more expensive than we remembered from other trips over here. It makes it a challenge for the trip budget. When the going gets tough though, the hungry usually get to a grocery store where there’s a section with salads and/or sandwiches.

We spent our last evening in Perth/Trigg sitting on a park bench listening to the waves roll in until we were too sleepy to hold our heads up. Guess I should have taped some of those sounds to play at home when it’s hard to fall asleep.

Perth - The Mint and Swan Valley

Some of our planning for this trip fell a little short when we found that we had allotted more time for some activities that was necessary. The good part of the problem was that we were able to add a few last minute things to the list. One of them was the Perth Mint.

Like the USA, the west coast of Australia experienced its own gold rush. The mint was built in 1899 in response to the need for a place to refine and mint the gold from the prospector's finds. Today it still mints precious metals and during the tour, you can see some of the work being done.

The premiere attraction on the tour however is watching a worker pour a bar of gold. The gold is heated to thousands of degrees (I couldn't convert celsius to fahrenheit at that level). Amazingly it cools enough to be solid in just a few minutes. Then the bar is put in water to further cool it so it can be picked up in a bare hand. Unfortunately the demonstrator could not pass the $200,000 bar around for inspection but he apologized with a big Aussie grin. Unfortunately as well, we were not allowed to take pictures of anything inside.

As temperatures climbed into 38 C/101 F range, we struck out for the Swan River Valley area. It is one of the wine areas of Western Australia. We thought a good ride in an air conditioned car would beat the heat. And it did for a while.

Our first stop was in Guildford where we took a walkabout along a marked heritage trail and got a glimpse of a darling town that was built in the 1850-60s. Some of the houses and buildings are original. There was a stretch of downtown that was dedicated to antique stores and invited more exploration than we were able to give.

One of the reasons we like exploring on our own rather than with a tour group is that we often see things we wouldn't with a guided tour. For instance, when was the last time you passed a store that sells anything and everything you would want for prospecting? And then around the corner and down the street, we found a mobile dog wash. The Hydro Dog is a trailor pulled behind an SUV or a truck and is plugged into the dog owner's house electricity to operate all the nifty dog washing equipment. This dog's owner says his dog looks forward to his weekly wash.

The heat was rising now. We headed back to the car.

As we drove the circuit that was suggested by the information center in Guildford, we stopped at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory for a look-see and of course free samples. The dark chocolate was superb. For a bit we watched through the windows into the work area as caramel centers were showered with rich milk chocolate. Luckily there were free samples of those too. I think it kept the observers from drooling on the glass.

About two-thirds way around the loop, we stopped at a winery that had a large restaraunt. The Sittella's outdoor eating area on a large balcony overlooked grape vineyards and a grove of olive trees. It reminded me of our lunch in Italy in the Tuscany area except there was no medieval walled town in the distance.

After a short stop in Whiteman Park where we realized that we just weren't up to being out in the heat, we came back to our B&B and cranked on the A/C and began planning what we could do that was cool for the next day when temps were due to climb even higher.

Of course as always, the day ended with another glorious sunset. (Sigh).

Wordless Wednesday

Perth - Yanchep and Rottnest

Just north of where we stayed in Trigg is Yanchep National Park. It was a lovely drive along the coast and then inland. We arrived around 8:45 a.m. and the visitor center, tea room, and confection store were not open yet so we drove down to the lake. As we pulled in, two heads popped up from behind the boulder in front of our car.

If you look at the picture, you can almost imagine one kangeroo saying to the other, "Let's go Gertrude. The tourists are arriving already." With that, they hopped off and disappeared. The park must have hundreds of kangaroos though. The evidence they left behind dotted all the grassy areas reminding us of the Canadian geese problem we have back home.

On our way back to the visitor center, we found the boardwalk that leads through a grove of eucalyptus trees that are populated with a dozen or so koalas. These furry guys were settling in for the day. They are nocturnal so they were looking for a good spot to hang on and fall asleep.

Within the park is an old hotel, the Yanchep Inn. It had a beautiful lobby and dining area with rich dark wood. This would have been a good spot to spend the night and get a better look at the kangaroo population either at dusk or earlier in the morning.

Along our walkabout to some caves in the park, we also encountered some black cockatoos. I never knew there was a black variety. They were quite impressive.

On another morning out, we caught a ferry from Fremantle to Rottnest Island just a half hour boat ride off the coast. We had heard that Rottnest was a "must see" and found that it was full of wonderful sandy beaches and areas that looked like excellent snorkeling spots but we aren't beach people--especially when the temperatures are in the lower 90s F and there is no place to escape the sun. The interior of the island has a few lakes but for the most part the whole island is just rocks and sand dunes with low scrub bushes and few trees.

Rottnest has a bus service called the Bayseeker that leaves from Thomson Bay where the ferry docks and goes around the island stopping at 18 different places from which you can access the beaches and a couple of the resort areas. You can buy an all day pass and hop on and off at your leisure. We rode all the way around once (about 45 minute trip) and then after lunch, went back to a beach where we could stick our feet in the Indian Ocean and then wait in the shade for the bus to return.

As we strolled through the small shopping area we noticed this little critter out looking for a new outfit. Proabably one of those hats to keep the sun off his head. The animal is a quokka, a marsupial related to the wallabies and kangaroos.

Though it is supposed to be fall here in Australia, the temperatures have not shown that to be true. They reach into the mid 30s C. That's upper 80-90s F. and before we left the area, temps were reaching 102-4 F. The sun is relentless but get in the shade and you can enjoy a cool breeze from the ocean. It also cools off amazingly in the evening just as the sun goes down in a glorious sunset disappearing into the Indian Ocean. God paints a masterpiece every evening.

Perth - Fremantle

Perth or more specifically, Fremantle the area at the mouth of the Swan River is said to be the city the convicts built. Many of the historic areas and buildings were constructed with convict labor. The convicts earned early release by working on the buildign projects.

We drove from Trigg to Fremantle and found a spot to park so that we could follow the walking tours that I had downloaded and printed out from Fremantle Trails. We started with the Waterfront Trail which took us from the port area where the ferries leave for Rottsnest Island and followed around the shoreline. It was a pretty walk taking in a couple of historic areas and buildings including the Round House, Western Australia's oldest public building. Below the Round House was a tunnel that was built for whalers to bring in their goods from their ships.

The architecture in the area was a strange blend of Victorian stone buildings and wooden structures that were an Old-West-meets-New-Orleans mix. The most notable of the latter was the Hotel Esplanade.

Our second walk was called the Convict Trail and was supposed to trace the impact of the convicts upon the city from where they were first brought ashore at the South Jetty (which is no longer there) to the buildings that were constructed by them--most of which are no longer there. In that respect the walk was a bit disappointing but along the way, we found some great pedestrian malls that were fun to walk through.

The Convict Trail for us culminated in a tour of the Fremantle Prison--one of the surviving buildings constructed by the convicts. The prison offers several different tours but because of the heat and tired feet, we opted to take only one. It was an hour and a half of extremely interesting and entertaining stories.

The prison was operative up until the early 90s when it was barely saved from demolition and now is Western Australia's most popular tourist attraction. One of the more interesting niches of the prison was the room with the gallows. Forty-four people were hanged there including one woman.

We had a third tour, the Discovery Trail, in hand but discovered that we had already seen most of what was on the map. With the heat and humidity (summer in Perth was not letting go), we opted to head back to our B&B to cool off and nap a bit. After all we are on holiday (that's vacation in Australian).

And lest I forget to mention it, Bob got his Aussie Burger with beet root at the prison's cafe. He's been looking forward to that for a year now as we were planning this trip. Guess those convicts ate pretty good.

Sunday Worship Thought

Western Australia, the Perth area, is very dry right now coming out of the summer season and entering fall. Saturday was the first possibility of rain in months according to one fellow at a tourist information center. While the populated areas of the city and outlying communities look green, the areas where there is no irrigation for vegetation are quite brown. We found this to be the case in much of Whiteman Park as we drove through it.

With only wispy clouds in the sky, there was certainly no promise of rain. But suddenly I noticed one small cloud—puffy and thick, not large enough to contain rain but perhaps a predictor of things to come. And then I remembered the story our pastor related a few weeks back.

On a Sunday morning, he spoke of Elisha praying for rain for the drought that gripped the area. As he prayed, he sent someone out to check the horizon and sure enough the report came back that there was a cloud “the size of a man’s hand” appearing. Eventually the drought ended as the clouds poured refreshing rain.

I lifted my hand. The little cloud in the sky above looked to be the size of my hand. So okay, mine’s a little smaller than a man’s but the idea is the same. Clouds grow in size as they bring relief in the form of rain to a parched earth. So do the promises of God as they bring relief to a parched soul. What may seem insignificant, God can make refreshing and nourishing to those who pray for “a cloud the size of a man’s hand” –or a woman’s.

Perth -- Trigg Island

Perth is the capital of Western Australia. We arrived in the city after a four hour plane flight from Sydney. Like the two coasts in the States, the time change was three hours. Toward the end of our flight as the skies cleared and the plane began it's approach, I looked down on the driest land I've ever seen. There were few trees and what there were appeared to be brown rather than green. Riverbeds were a white color--perhaps salt deposits left behind?

As we neared Perth however the landscape changed from flat dry red dirt to a hilly terrain and more and more trees were evident and growing greener as we got closer to the ocean. Residential areas dotted the scene increasingly and soon the city itself came into view. I let out a sigh of relief as we landed. For a short time, I'd wondered if we'd be spending the next six days in a dry dusty spot in the middle of nowhere.

We picked up our rental car and drove north of the city to Trigg and located our B&B--home for the next week. This is only the second time we've stayed in a B&B. Our first experience turned us off to the idea. We were careful to research and be sure that it had ensuite bathrooms. (The B&B we booked in England had a shared bathroom--not a pretty sight in the morning.)

The Trigg Retreat turned out to be a beautiful house in a residential area a couple of blocks from the beach. Our hostess, Susan, welcomed us and showed us around, then left us to settle in. The room came with a little refrigerator in the closet (wonder if it would work at home) and supplies for making tea.

The bathroom was large and spotlessly clean. This was a place I could feel at home in. Our breakfast consisted of wonderful fresh fruit, juices, cereals, yogurt, toast, cinammon bread, croissants, and delicious pressed coffee. A hot breakfast menu for $10 was available as well. Each morning we ate in the small garden patio area and enjoyed the cool fresh morning air.

After unsuccessfully trying to find a church with an evening service to attend, we ended up at a pizza place in the little town of Scarborough just south of Trigg. The pizza was a little different--not your usual mozarella and their pepperoni was called hot sausage but it was excellent.

Hunger satisfied, the evening waning, we returned to our room and programmed our Never Lost GPS for the next day's trip to Fremantle. The GPS reminds you to mind your speed. It should also remind you to stay on the left side of the road. It takes a while to adjust. 'Nuf said.

Sydney--The Blue Mountains

Just north of Sydney are the Blue Mountains with beautiful vistas and views of mountain cliffs and valleys and plateaus. Unfortunately like most mountainous areas, they are subject to weather systems and we arrived by City Rail from Sydney to find that a weather system had moved in causing light drizzle and misty clouds that moved through the valleys and up the mountainsides.

A little disappointed but undaunted, we set out on the Blue Mountain Explorer Bus. and heard from our driver that it was a good day for looking at things up close. His suggestion was to walk the trails and enjoy the waterfalls, the forest and the birds that inhabit them. We set out on his recommendation and found some stunning waterfalls that cascaded over ledges, a forest that was mysterious with the mist that hung in between the firs and eucalyptus trees, several cockatoos and a pair of kookaburras.

By the time we were done with our “walkabout” the valley had cleared a bit and we were able to enjoy the views from the lookouts taking in the famous Three Sisters formation. We stopped by Scenic World but passed on the cable rides and railway which we had done the last time we were here.

Back on the bus, we hopped off at Leura, described as a vintage town, it was basically a shopping opportunity but a nice little walk up a tree-lined street lined by boutiques and restaurants. We didn’t seek out the teapot collection said to be in the thousands. Neither of us was eager to explore teapots.

Instead of getting on the bus and returning to Katoomba, we opted to jump on the City Rail there at the Leuna station to return to Sydney. It was an interesting trip back into the city as we were on the “school run.” Lots of excited voices comparing their day. My favorite comment, “Well, that was another unexceptional day of school!”

Wordless Wednesday

Australia's Best Dessert - From Guest Blogger Susan Muira

Susan Muira, a friend and fellow traveler and writer has started a blog, Taste The World, that links the love of travel with the love of enjoying different foods of the world. Today she graciously offers this guest post as we travel from Sydney to Perth. I'm looking forward to finding some of this delicious dessert soon!

Thanks Susan!

As a fellow traveler and writer, I was honored when Karen asked me to guest blog while she’s engaged in a walkabout on Australia’s west coast. I can’t wait to hear all about her adventures in Perth, Australia’s sunniest state. It is known for being laid back and easygoing, with plenty of surfing and barbequing going on.

I’m as interested in the food of other countries as I am in the sites. Did you know Australia is known for its world class cheeses? And of course they are also famous for vegemite, a sticky spread that never really caught on in other countries, though the Aussies love it. This dark brown spread is thick like peanut butter, but that’s where the similarity ends. Vegemite is made from leftover brewer’s yeast extract combined with various vegetable and spice additives. Yum – wonder why that never became an international hit!

There is, however; an amazing dessert that you just can’t miss if you visit Australia, and in case such a trip isn’t on your horizon, I’ll give you the recipe. Pavlova was named for the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who toured the country in 1926. There are many variations of this Aussie favorite, but basically it is a meringue cake with a light, crispy crust covering a marshmellow center and topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. If that sounds good to you, give it a try!

PAVLOVA

4 egg whites
1 1/8 cups sugar
1 tsp. Distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 Tbs. Cornstarch
Whipping cream
Fresh, ripe fruit, peeled and sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg white and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. In separate bowl, mix together vinegar, vanilla and cornstarch until smooth. Pour cornstarch mixture into egg white mixture and beat until thick and glossy, about 4 minutes. Cover baking sheet in parchment paper and draw an 8-inch circle in the center. Spoon or pipe mixture inside the circle, to within a little less than an inch from the edge. Place in preheated oven, reduce temperature to 200 degrees and bake 1 hour. Turn oven off and leave Pavlova to cool inside. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Decorate cooled Pavlova with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Sydney - Manly Beach

Along the coast near Sydney are several very nice beaches. We chose to explore Manly Beach which is a half-hour ferry ride from the Circular Quay area near the Opera House. The ferry ride gives you an appreciation for the location of Sydney—on the sea but protected by a harbor with lots of smaller finger harbors off of the main one.

Manly itself is a retro beach town from the fifties. A bit reminiscent of South Beach but much more down to earth. From the wharf, we walked a pedestrian mall called the Corso that led out onto the beach. The surf was up and so were the surfers. We watched surf lessons as we splashed along the water’s edge.

Following the boardwalk, we found the Manly Scenic Walk that reportedly would take us to an old anti-aircraft bunker. We started out on a path that deteriorated a bit but we were determined and continued on. The rocky path led us to a huge stone wall and like Alice, we climbed through the hole. The other side wasn’t Wonderland but it was a land of wonder—much like Bill Bryson talks about in his Sunburned Country book.

A few feet up the path we found four large spiders with webs stretched over our heads. I stuck my hat back on took a deep breath and passed as quickly as possible underneath them. A little further, we found the fellow in the picture. He was about the size of a man’s hand from tip of leg to tip of leg. Looking at where the path seemed to lead—into scrub, no shade, and probably more critters, we prudently decided to turn around and head back. Yes, back under the spiders again.

Along our return trip we came upon two lizards. One was spotted and about 8 inches long. The other was a nice iguana looking fellow who posed for lots of pictures and drew a crowd. His expressions seemed to say, “Hey, all I wanted was a day in the sun here mates!”

All we wanted was a day at the beach. We certainly found much more than that.

Sydney--The Opera House

The distinctive design of the Sydney Opera House is recognized worldwide. Its architect, Jorn Utzon, received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest international award, in 2003 for his work. It took years to design and build (1957-1973) and is still being molded and designed and refurbished to fit Utzon's plans for the building and its surrounding area.

From a distance, I always thought the Opera House resembled a ship with many sails but as it is described, the roof consists of "sets of interlocking vaulted shells." Think of outdoor venues you may have seen with a stage and a "shell" over it but now imagine it in motion and a camera catching several images on one exposure. Whatever you think you see in its design, you come away with an appreciation for its complexity.

There is much history and many stories and personalities that make a backstage tour a must when visiting Sydney. On our last visit, we also took in an opera (in English thankfully since we are not opera buffs) and a play. There are several theaters or venues inside the opera house offering a variety of entertainment--not just opera.

Several restaurants are available for pre-show dining with Guillaume at Bennelong having the best views and equisite meals.

Up close or from across the harbor, the Sydney Opera House is a must see for any visitor to the city.

Wordless Wednesday