About that fly...

Ooops--forgot to share the fly story--actually there are two Annie stories to mention.  There are these tiny little flies here--about half the size of a house fly--and they love to land on you--especially your face--and they don’t necessarily fly off when that body part is moved.  They are extremely annoying.  Well, Annie had one flying in front of her face and it flew into her mouth.  She was unable to keep from swallowing it.  So, of course, we had to tease her about it.  We kept reciting parts of the Old Lady that Swallowed a Fly story.  Driving Annie crazy. : )    Annie’s other incident was “losing” her retainer.  We were in the car a few days ago (at Yulara) and Annie suddenly said, “Oh no, I think I left my retainer on the airplane!”  Well, we were calm and said not to worry about it, because she was just terribly upset about it.  We said that it was fine, we’d get a replacement when we got home, that she would be fine until then--it’s only three weeks.  Then, less than three minutes later, Annie said “Oh, I found it!”  She remembered that she had been playing with it with her tongue in the grocery store because it is a little loose and when she got out to the car, she took it off and put it in the little space in the door--it was inches from her!  Oh Anneliese! 


                                               

Our accommodations have been interesting since arriving in Australia.  In Sydney, there were two bedrooms--each with a double bed.  Joshua slept in the third double bed in the attic which was accessed through a panel in the ceiling of one of the bedrooms--complete with a drop down ladder.   In Yulara (by Uluru--Ayers Rock), we had two bedrooms, one with a double bed, the other with two sets of bunk beds.  The rooms were separated by a room big enough for a small table and with a “kitchen” on one wall--dorm fridge, cooktop, and microwave.  There was no heater in that cabin--it was so cold!!!  In Kings Canyon, we had a double bed and three single beds.  There were also mice everywhere!!  Several were running around in the cafe (it’s doors are open to the outside), a few were in the bathrooms, several were scurrying around the paths at night and we had a few in our room!!!!!!!  They were tiny little black ones.  We chased out a few of them by sliding the beds around and opening the door, but they kept coming in somewhere.  One stayed with us all night.  When we stopped at a cattle station for gas and snacks, they had a sign that said that there was a mice plague, so forgive the smell (dead mice?).   We saw one running around.  Maybe they need to temporarily import some cats or owls.  At least our Kings Canyon room had a small heater on the wall that we ran at night before falling asleep that kept it somewhat warm.  Although the early morning trip to the bathroom was still cold.  And the shower was freezing (it is open to the outside by wide doors); any part of your body that was not being touched by the hot water was very cold!  

                                            


Also about King’s Canyon--they have signs all over about the wild dingoes.  Don’t feed them and what to do if you encounter one (back away and yell for help).  “The dingo ate your baby!”  (sorry, Elaine from Seinfeld--that line just keeps popping into my head.).  The bathroom had gates to open and then close behind you to keep the dingoes out.  The kangaroos and wallabies are nocturnal which is why we haven’t seen them yet.  We saw wild camels today!  They were imported a while ago and now live in the wild in the Outback.  


                                                 

This morning we went on the King’s Canyon rim walk--very exhausting!!  It is only 6+ kilometers long, but much is climbing rock.  You have to watch your every step, so it is hard to look around as you walk.  You need to stop to look around.  The trail was very well marked and most was very beautiful.  It is not very long, but still took us almost three hours.  Some of the walk was a bit dicey--hopping over crevasses and jumping down rocks, but it was doable.  We just had to stop every so often to catch our breath!  The beginning was difficult over 100 meters up a steep rock staircase.  There were also short little trails off the main one to check out for more views. 


                                       

We are now in Alice Springs--in a YHA Hostel in a medium-sized town with a great grocery store!!  They had fresh fruit and real food to make.  We made dinner in the small kitchen along with several other people.  Meatballs in barbecue sauce, pasta, and fresh fruit.  

We’ll try photos tonight! 

We Don’t Know Why She Swallowed the Fly!

Today we woke early and went to Uluru (Ayers Rock).  We had been planning to go see the sunrise, but it was very, very cold and we stayed in bed too late.  It gets very cold here at night!  It went from 27degrees to about 7 last night  (that’s about 80 and 44 Farenheit).  It was very cold going to the bathroom in the middle of the night!  Especially since the bathroom was about a block away from our cabin!   Most of us skipped the cold trek to take showers in a building that was open to the outside air.

Ayers Rock was orange and against the bright blue sky, just beautiful.  The rock itself is huge and covered with scars and caves.  The original Aborigine tribes have stories about each of it’s clefts and marks, but won’t share the stories with the uninitiated.  We saw some cave drawings and went on two short walks--one of which ended at a water hole.  The color against the bright blue of the sky was what kept drawing me.  Randy wanted to walk up the hill, but that was closed because of high winds and because over 30 people have died climbing up.  The aborigines ask that no one walk up because it is sacred to them.  There are many sacred spots for both men and women.  

We do not have internet that supports uploading photos, so my photos for yesterday and today remain not online--I will add them when we get a better internet connection.  

Then we drove for several hours and stopped for gas and lunch (we brought food to have foccacia sandwiches, fruit, chips, and water).  We stopped at a small little place called Curtin Cattle Station for gas and ate at one of their outdoor tables.  Very friendly people--they also had an emu and several large cages with birds to look at for free.  The  cattle station reminded me of the movie Australia which was supposedly filmed in this general area.  

Then to Kings Canyon.  We stopped and Randy wanted to take the Rim Walk, but it is supposedly strenuous and they suggest not starting after 4, so we hiked the easier Kings stream walk and saved the rim walk until tomorrow morning.  Then we checked into our lodging.  Well, they said that the rooms only hold 4 so we had to book a room and an extra bed in another room.  We found that no one else was booked for the room for the extra person so we decided to have a girls room and boys room but then found out that one of the beds is a double bed, so it will sleep five.  The one room was stinky, so we went to the other which doesn’t have bed reading lights, just a dim light in the ceiling.  

They have a great scam going here to take money from tourists.  Each settlement serving tourists is a “resort” with many places for tourists to stay with different expense levels.   The Ayers Rock “resort” also had a bank, shop, grocery shop, etc.  The “resort” here says that it has a store (the only one in the area) so that you can make your own food, but it does not serve enough of anything to make a meal.  So unless you bring food in, you must eat at their cafe, which has personal size pizzas for $18--and that is the cheapest meal (and does not fill your tummy).   So we ate a non-satisfying, tasteless  dinner for 75 Australian dollars (which is almost $80US).  

One fruit we will miss is mandarin oranges--not those things in a can--I mean real oranges with skins that you peel.  The ones in New Zealand were fabulous--so sweet!  The ones here are less fabulous, but some are still good. 

Oh well, off to sleep for another early cold morning. 

Outback At Last

Here we are, in the Australian Outback!    We flew from Sydney to Uluru this morning (another early morning!).  We are near Ayers Rock.  We saw the Olgas this afternoon after we checked in.  We flew Qantas again--we could use self check-in and carried on our bags with no hassles.  We were served lunch--a cauliflower salad with chick peas and pumpkin in a strange sauce--not good at all.  We all picked at it.  Nothing else (except a drink).  While we were filling out forms for our rental car, Annie realized that she left her hat on the airplane under her seat.  She went to the desk and, being a very small airport, they found it right away.  We are staying at a campgound in a cabin--it is the only reasonable accommodation in the entire area.  After we checked in, I realized that the car rental person forgot to give me back my credit card, so we had to return to the airport!  Then to the grocery store for some snacks for a late lunch--a bunch of fruit and some chips to go with our water.  Then on to the Olgas (Kata Tjuta).  They are a group of rock formations in the state park here.  We went to the Laughing Horses and walked a few miles there to the first lookout, then to the Gorge and walked a few more miles there.  Then we went to the sunset lookout to watch the sunset which is supposed to be spectacular.  Well, it was quiet and serene when we got there--about 45 minutes before sunset; a few other people were there. Then a family with obnoxious children came and other people began arriving and setting up camera tripods, then the tour buses started arriving, setting up tables to serve paper glasses of wine and cups of trail mix.  All of those people stood in large groups talking loudly, once even singing, totally destroying the quiet and serenity of the moment.  Oh well, it’s a public space, I can’t dictate everyone else’s behavior.  (Oops--almost put a “u” in behavior!).   The Olgas were beautiful and slowly changed from orange to purple in the sunset (6:06).   Back to the grocery store to get food for dinner and breakfast and lunch tomorrow.  

Evidently Ayers Rock is best seen at sunrise (thats 7:30), so we will eat breakfast on the way there and make a lunch, because we leave right afterward for King’s Canyon.  Randy said that the walk around the base is 6 miles, then there is the walk up.  The children and I will probably skip the walk around and save our feet and energy for the steep climb up.  

The Outback is mostly desert with conifers and some deciduous trees--all very short.  Small tufts of grass grow in the red dirt.  The ground is all either red dirt or red rock; the plants shades of green and brown.  The children love it--love the colors and the different landscape.  Also--best of all--it’s warm and SUNNY!!!!!  We changed into capris and only put our sweatshirts back on when the sun went down (it got chilly quite quickly--we are glad we’re not sleeping in tents tonight!).    

Crabs and Shells and Sails

We are now in Sydney (for one night)!  We went to the airport this morning and the crabbiest desk clerk at Qantas.  She told us that we are only allowed one carry on and that our backpacks did not count as handbags (even though I told her that is what I use mine for).  Every other flight (including the Qantas flight from LA to Auckland)  allowed us a large carry on (as long as it fit size and weight requirements) to go in the upper bin and a small carry on that fit under the seat in front of us.  But she said (quite rudely) “this is New Zealand.”  Wouldn’t one think that the rules an airline uses would be the same for all of it’s flights, wherever they came from?  So we had to check our bags which is a hassle (and put up with a rude desk clerk who never smiled).  Then we passed through customs to leave New Zealand (that seemed weird to us too), then through Australian customs when we arrived in Sydney.  We had brought sandwiches and apples to eat on the plane, but they served us so much food we didn’t need them.  Well, we didn’t declare that we had food on our cards, but Joshua mentioned to the person that checks bags that he had a sandwich when she asked us.  So she ended up hand checking all 10 of our bags (every single pocket very carefully), thoroughly washing out Annie’s shells, and confiscating our sandwiches, apples, and a flower petal Annie was drying in a book.  Then she took us to task for not claiming those on our cards--we seriously didn’t think they were a problem, and pointed out where we should claim those things in the future.  

On the flight they offered us either penne pasta or lamb for lunch (with salad, bread, a mint, water, drink, and tea/coffee), then an ice cream bar, then offered glasses of juice, then brought around water.  All in a three hour flight!  

Once in Sydney (after we escaped the bio-police), we took the train and walked to our apartment to meet with the manager.  He agreed to allow us to stay here for one night for the deposit we already paid.  We then walked down to the harbor to look at the opera house, and the downtown skyline, take pictures, and generally walk around.  Elizabeth Street (after the Queen) is lined on one side with parks (including James park and Hyde Park (just like London!)--very pretty and nice to walk in.  Takeaway pizza for dinner and a trip to 7-11 to get cereal for breakfast.

Tomorrow we fly out bright and early for the Outback!

A pardon?

So far our flight is not yet cancelled (quick touch wood!).  Today we went to a cool museum called Kelly Tarlton's Arctic Encounter and Underwater World.  Way cool.  The children loved it!  First we got to see Ray Encounter--where we saw Manta Rays up close and learned about them from a museum worker who got into the pool with them.  Then we learned about penguins and went on a ride into the Penguin area--that was my favorite part--up close and personal with King and Gentoo penguins!  We went on the ride three times!!  You ride in a little car around a track and see the penguins in their faux Antarctic climate.  Finally we see penguins--not in the wild, but the next best thing!  Then we went through a tube while sharks, fish, and manta rays swam around us.  Then we went to the fish area to see cool fish and other creatures.  Very well done and fun.  Low-tech, but that's OK too.  My only wish is that the glass hadn't been between us and the penguins; I know they need it there for the idiots who might try something stupid and hurt the penguins, but I would have liked to see them without glass between us--they were beautiful!  Truly awe-inspiring.  About a week ago, an emporer penguin was found on a beach in Southeaster Wales--where we had been a few days before and couldn't go to the park and the beach because of the rain.  It swam there from Antarctica; they said that the last time that happened was about 50 years ago.  Emporer penguins are about 4 feet tall!!  That would have been awesome to see!  They are waiting for it to leave on its own and finally had to post a guard so that people would stay far enough away.  Penguins are very curious and the penguin kept going over to the people who would come too close.





After lunch we took a long walk around Auckland with the children.  They even got to go near the tree that almost  ate me!  They were safe because it only eats Mommies.  Annie and I held hands as we walked and that was nice.  Will she still want to do that in a few years?  As a mom, I treasure each moment I spend with my children--even having Shelby sitting here beside me reading a book as I type.

Maybe another game of hearts before bedtime tonight.  Then to return the car and go to the airport tomorrow--wish us luck!

Help! I'm being held against my will in New Zealand!

Well, still here (in Auckland).  *sigh*  We have been successful securing another night in this lovely hostel.  They have been very flexible and gracious in helping us (and many other stranded travelers) out.  All Qantas flights for tomorrow (Sunday) have been cancelled (it is Saturday here).  They have booked us for Monday mid-day.  Depending, of course, upon that ash cloud.  Darn Chilean volcano!!!!!!  If that works out, we will have the late afternoon and evening in Sydney, we are to fly out early the next morning for the Outback (Ayers rock).  We are thinking of trying to shorten our stay in the outback by a day or two and spending that time in Sydney.  That depends upon whether Qantas will allow us to change that part of our flight without a penalty.  Because everything in Australia that we want to see is so far apart, we have booked a multi-stop travel itinerary with Qantas to fly to each destination.  It is too far to drive to each area (especially with the terrain we would have to cover--there aren't always direct roads to where we want to go).  But we are going at this one step at a time.  Our hostel helped us to try to book a room in Sydney (we cancelled our apartment) but they required a non-refundable credit card payment; worst case scenario--if the evil ash cloud is still there, we pay for an expensive lodging we can't use.  So, we were advised to go to one of the eight IYH hostels in Sydney (one is just a few blocks from the main terminal that we come into from the airport) and if they don't have a room (they still have many available), they'll help us find one.  So, again, one day at a time.

We reserve our rooms here and our rental car, one day at a time.

The children are enjoying playing games and reading.  We played a killer game of Hearts last night!  The girls are teaching Joshua to play chess.  Joshua is finally enjoying reading a much more challenging book than the Secrets of Droon and Wimpy Kid books.  He is reading the Dragon Keeper--a book that his sisters brought along (after he read all six of his Secrets of Droon books in the first week).  Joshua and Shelby started playing a New Zealand version of Monopoly--very fun idea!  And, of course, we have iPod touches loaded with movies and game apps.  They can't go online with them, but most of  the games work without internet.

This morning we went to a beach about an hour away from Auckland--it was black sand again--very pretty.  The rocks were all covered with tiny little black shells.

So, again, one day at a time.....

The tree that tried to eat me

Today we were supposed to fly to Sydney--did you notice the word supposed?  The ash cloud caused our flight to be cancelled so we are here in Auckland, again.  We are supposedly scheduled for a flight tomorrow at 6--my fingers are crossed, I’m touching wood, etc.  We called the Auckland AYH from our EcoHostel (actually a hippie dump) and they assured us that they had a room for 5 available.  We walked down to the beach by our hostel--evidently a world-known surfer area--which was very pretty--black sand, but shells everywhere since the tide had just gone out.  It was about an hour--easy there, but uphill the whole way back!  Then to the hostel in Auckland.  They did not have a five-bed room--only three rooms could handle a roll-away cot and they were all filled.  So, they offered us 5 spaces in other rooms--2 and 3, which would probably be shared with others.  We asked the price of private rooms with 2 and 3 and she gave them to us for much less than they usually go for.  So we have a “boys” room and a “girls room” with a parent in each room.  OK, but not ideal.  Then out for lunch at a local cafe, groceries for dinner, then the children stayed at the hostel (Annie online and Joshua and Shelby playing board games in the lounge) and Randy and I went for a walk to the Albert Park and around the Auckland University.  At the park was the tree that tried to eat me!  Like the tree that tried to eat Pippin and Merry in “The Two Towers” from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.  If you only watched the movie (instead of reading the books--shame, shame), it is only in the extended version.  That tree must be related to the one in the Albert Park here in Alberta.  It looked like I slipped on wet leaves and mud (it was sprinkling out), but it was actually the tree.  Anyway, those pants and sweatshirt are in the washing machine as I type this!  I barely escaped with my poor American life!  There was a statue of Queen Victoria in the park celebrating 60 years of her reign.  I remember in London the Victoria and Albert museum.  I can’t remember if they were married or had some other connection; but there is another connection in the park here in Auckland.  

The money here is odd.   They use New Zealand dollars (being in New Zealand, that makes sense).  The bills: 5, 10, 20, 50 (that is as high as we have had) have two little areas “cut out” and covered with a special see through paper with the number of the amount as a holograph in one; the other is the leaf that is their national symbol.   Then the coins--10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1, $2.  Most countries we’ve been to have their currency--dollars, kroner, pounds, etc. in one and two increments in coinage--not bills as we have.  Our country keeps trying to introduce one dollar coins, but people collect them as oddities and put them in boxes and prefer to use bills.  The treasury says that they could save a lot of money by having the coins and not needing to print the bills, but if given a choice, people will stick with what they are familiar with--in the this case using dollar bills over the coins.  I think we need to not give them the choice--just print the coins, and either stop printing the bills or collect bills from the banks and give them coins instead.  Then people would be forced to change and after a year or so they would be used to it (even the older folks).   I also know that our treasury said that it is expensive to continue printing pennies.  Partially because, again, people don’t spend them.  They put them in a jar until they have enough to take to the bank.  They aren’t worth much.  The way that New Zealand has solved that problem is, the smallest coin is 10¢.  At stores and businesses, they round the price to the nearest 10--either up or down and either you take the loss or they do and it evens out in the end.  It makes sense and saves a lot  of money in printing coins (ie:  pennies, nickels) that aren’t used often.  Just another way of doing things.  Not better or worse, just different.  

Randy keeps checking the Qantas website to find out the latest and we are hoping that tomorrow night we will be in Sydney.  We have an apartment booked there.  At this hostel we don’t have an en suite bathroom so we have  to go down the hall to the toilets and showers.  Oh well.  I keep telling myself I can’t do anything about it, to just take it as it comes.  Hoping the next blog is from Sydney!