Loading...
Start a new Travel Blog! Blogabond Home Maps People Photos My Stuff

Kiwis and Kangaroos

a travel blog by exumenius


view all 438 photos for this trip

Show Oldest First
Show Newest First

Halloween in the Granite Belt - Night 21

Stanthorpe, Australia


Digging out Rocks with Jana
The work load here at Dragonweyr is beginning to thin considerably. We put the finishing touches on the long bike trail this morning by pulling the last few remaining rocks and chipping off those that were too big to remove. After morning tea, I grabbed the axe to Split some wood for Adrian. Memories of Splitting wood with Grandpa during maple syrup gathering on the back 40 fill my head. I thoroughly enjoy making wood, it must be something about the challenge of the perfect ax swing, hitting the log exactly where it will best Split.

Next up, we headed east to the small collection pond along the driveway to remove small cypress trees which were clogging the shore. Root structures in the sandy soil are generally very weak, and trees up to about four inches in diameter were easily pulled out with a little effort and some mattock work.


Swimming in the Dam
As the sun came out, it began to heat up and eventually nearly all of us ended up in the pond with some help from Daniel and Aaron.
Jane and John had a Halloween campfire planned for us, but another round of showers moved in around the dinner hour and washed out our plans.

What I Learned Today: I rather don’t mind living without a mirror.


permalink written by  exumenius on October 31, 2007 from Stanthorpe, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

Going Away Dinner - Night 22

Stanthorpe, Australia


Chilling at the Forge
All that remained of work for the day was chopping the remaining wood and moving a large stone in the backyard. As such we were finished with our conservation duties before morning tea. The Hobbas were planning a large going away dinner for this evening, so the rest of the day was spent preparing for the meal. Additionally, Adrian fired up the forges once again to give us all another chance at smithing. I failed miserably at making an arrowhead.

The Hobbas handled most of the dinner prep so the afternoon was spent lazily playing cards and cleaning for our departure tomorrow. Borrowing a bike, we all got a chance to take a run down the mountain bike trail we had built…and a good ride it is.
The evening dinner was fantastic. An appetizer of Swedish Split pea soup and fresh rye bread, followed by a first course of a sweet Korean beef dish and rice. The main entrée was a lamb roast with potatoes, pumpkins and vegetables all cooked by their son Garth in the outdoor hearth. Ice cream with fresh fruit from the garden served as a desert for anyone who had room left in their stomachs. A great way to end two good weeks at the Hobbas.

What I Learned Today: The brakes on bikes over here are reversed: the front is on the right, the rear on the left. I nearly learned this the hard way while coming down a hill.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 1, 2007 from Stanthorpe, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

A Crazy Day in Stanthorpe - Night 23

Brisbane, Australia


Group Photo
The day began as any other at Dragonweyr; a morning walk, some breakfast, a bit of cleaning. Strange events, however, would soon conspire. Today was our last day at this project, so rather than work we spent the morning taking down tents and packing up our tools and belongings. With our self-imposed 9 am deadline approach everything seemed to be coming together nicely. On the last trip down the ladder from the loft, Matt slipped and fell off the ladder, his elbow breaking his fall to the concrete floor. At first the injury appeared to be minor – a bit of lost skin and some serious bruising. The packing concluded and we were off by 9. In the twenty minutes it took to get to Stanthorpe, his arm had begun to swell and movement in the joint was no longer possible.

Though my Republican friends swear up and down that medicine in a country with universal health care is slow and substandard, we were able to get him in to see a doctor at the Granite Belt Clinic immediately. The doctor’s opinion was that it was fractured, but she needed an x-ray to confirm, so John drove Matt to the local hospital, a few kilometers away for an x-ray. This is where things get weird.

The rest of us decided to hang out on a bench about 10 meters from the clinic’s front door while they were away getting an x-rays. Not ten minutes later, while trying to park in angle parking, an elderly woman drove up over the sidewalk and straight into the reception area of the clinic, nearly killing a man walking on the sidewalk. Apparently she hit the accelerator instead of the brake, as the wheels were still spinning on the sidewalk as she tried to burrow further into the building. Luckily the reception area was empty at the moment and no one was injured. Matt and John, with x-rays in hand, returned 30 minutes later (again proof of the perils of socialized medicine) to a clinic with a much larger front door. Rather than close down for the day, the doctor’s office kept right on accepting patients and the police and fire removed the woman from the vehicle and eventually the vehicle from the building. In retrospect, had she parked just six stalls down, she would have likely injured a large contingent of conservation volunteer workers.

The diagnosis on the arm wasn’t good; three breaks, one which has a one centimeter gap. Pins and a plate will be required and are scheduled to be put into place on Monday at a hospital in Brisbane. Luckily for Matt, he is a British citizen and the two countries have a reciprocal medical insurance agreement, so all his bills will be paid.

Our caravan of despair finally returned home around 4 pm to find that the other volunteers had ordered pizza, a welcomed indulgence after two weeks of camp food, which though very good, just isn’t the same as steaming hot delivery pizza. After unpacking and settling back into civilized life, Daniel and I headed down to the pub around 9 for a pint or two. Finnigan’s Chin is a decent looking Irish Pub, the closest one to our house. Being a Friday night we expected a good, young crowd, but were treated to anything but. The clientele was a mix of late teens misfits gathered around the pool table, some biker-trash older women and middle aged men, who judging by their dress, had been hear ever since the whistle blew at 5 pm. To make things even stranger, it was karaoke night, an invitation for people to show their absolute worst sides. A thin, androgynous being whose voice was slightly feminine murdered Billy Ray Cyrus’s Achy Breaky Heart. This was followed up by Dennis’s thrilling Beach Boys cover and topped off by a group of three mid 40s women ear-screaming rendition of that annoying song from Grease. It was right then and there that I had my first “What the fuck am I doing here moment” since being in Australia. Seriously, what was I doing here among these strange creatures 7000 miles from home listening to the most god awful singing of the worst songs ever written and paying $5 a pint for an Australian version of Guinness? Living, I guess. Just following some odd path I have unknowing laid for myself.

What I Learned Today: If one is banking on a long life, don’t sit or stand for very long on sidewalks in front of angle parking in cities where much of the population is over 80 and still driving.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 2, 2007 from Brisbane, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

Sanctuary of the Veils - Night 24

Brisbane, Australia


Petting a Roo'
As a thank you to us volunteers, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary here in Brisbane gave us free passes to their exhibit. We decided today would be as good of a day as any to use them, since Aaron, Jana, and Matt would be leaving the house after this weekend.

While we were waiting for the bus downtown,


A Koala and I
one of Dan’s old roommates from the hostel, Callum (22, Scotland) happened to be headed in the same direction with two girls from the hostel, Anna (21, from N. Ireland) and Sabine (19, Denmark). Our group of five became eight and we boarded the bus for the nearly hour ride to the Sanctuary. The place turned out to be more of a zoo, than an actually sanctuary, although many of the animals they kept were previously injured. The koalas were broken up by age and gender into separate living arrangement. The furry little beasts sleep 18 to 20 hours a day, so Koala watching isn’t exactly an adventure sport. Feeding only on eucalyptus leaves, they cling to trees for pretty much their entire lives. A strange little piece of evolution.


Drinking on the Boat
On a more exciting note, the Sanctuary also had various birds, reptiles, a few wombats and a pair of dingoes. Sadly, the Tasmanian Devil was out on loan to another zoo. There was also a Kangaroo petting area, where one could get up close and personal with some pet kangaroos and some angry emus, who seemed to like pecking at shiny objects such as cameras and jewelry. At 1:00 there was a demonstration of sheep dog herding techniques. The sheep dogs run these strange circles all the time, just like Tipper does at home, confirming our suspicion that she had herded in a previous life.

Rather than take the bus home, we jumped


New Friends on the Boat
on the cruise ship that comes by daily for a ride back to the city. Sitting in the sun and drinking beer, the hour and half ride was much better than taking the bus. Toohey’s Dry might be my new favorite Australian Beer. I happened to be sitting by a guy from Sydney who was a major jet boat fan and he had been going to Seattle for years to watch the annoying speed boats during SeaFair each August.


Drunk on the Train
Later in the evening we met Callum and Daniel’s other old roommate, Chris at Birdee, the bar at The Bunk hostel. Part open air, it was immediately next to the swimming pool and offered $8 pitchers of beer. A grand place in my opinion. The girls had other plans for the evening but made vague promises to try to meet us out later on. They never showed. After countless pitchers at Birdee, we headed down the street to see a concert at a bar called the Zoo. Quite a bit classier than the Seattle establishment of the same name, cover was a bit expensive because a band, The Veils, were playing that night. We paid it anyways and went in to enjoy the show. Beer was reasonable, by Australian standards and we quickly grabbed a pool table. Once the music started everyone migrated to the stage to listen to The Veils, whose music is your basic new rock sort of stuff. Not bad, but not overly good either. After a late night meal on Brunswick Street we returned to the house around 1am, I think.

What I Learned Today: I am sucker for an Irish accent

permalink written by  exumenius on November 3, 2007 from Brisbane, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

Life Maintenance - Night 25

Brisbane, Australia

Nothing of any significance occurred today.

I awoke shirtless lying on top of the sheets,


Brisbane at Night
throat parched, bladder full, stomach queasy; my first Australian hangover, pretty much the same as those back home. I spent the remainder of the morning drinking water and preparing myself to do little to nothing with the day.

In retrospect, it wasn’t a total loss. I updated some journal entries, bought some bus tickets, made a few reservations for future travels, emailed, and took a good, long walk through Everton Park. After being busy for a couple weeks at a time, you need a day to just get your life back in order.

What I Learned Today: In the end, time is the only currency that really matters. Spend yours wisely.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 4, 2007 from Brisbane, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

To Bribie - Night 26

Woorim, Australia

My assignment this week was to do bush regeneration on Bribie Island, a large sandbar northeast of Brisbane. It would also be my first week with Team Leader Chris. We loaded the troupee for an 8am departure. Joining me this week would be Daniel, Hong, Han, Rex, Mark and Lena. The drive isn’t far and after fighting Brisbane traffic for a bit, we crossed the bridge onto Bribie at around 9:30 am. The island itself is populated mostly by retirees and we weren’t the least bit shocked to see nothing but old folks upon our arrival.


The Mexican Chef
Our lodging consists of three man cabins at the Bongaree Caravan Park, directly across the road from the Moreton Bay side beach. To the immediate south is a lawn bowling club that at 10 am on Monday was full of octogenarians acting out their last athletic endeavors. We were working at Buckley’s Hole Conservation Park, just a mile or so south of the caravan park. Arriving at the park, we were greeted by two rangers from the Caboolture Shire Commission, Ed and Shane. Shane would be our day-to-day assistant, while Ed was on hand to give us an informative, detailed introduction to the uses of the park, its wildlife and how man has changed the area over the years.

Weeding, weeding, weeding would be our main task. Many invasive species have taken over the shores and prohibit the native plants from growing. Names such as Mother of Millions and Mother-in-Laws Tongue speak to the aggressive reproductive powers and painful nature of these plants.

As opposed to working John, Chris requires each person or groups of people to cook one night of the week. Lacking any real interest in cooking American food, I offered to do a Mexican food night. This stunning meal consistent solely of a do-it-yourself taco bar, which worked really well considering ¼ of the


Taco Night in Bribie
volunteers are vegetarians and the refried beans and veggie mince served as a sufficient surrogate. It all turned out surprisingly well, there was enough food to go around and the meat tasted very well, much better than anything I’ve ever had at Taco Bell.

What I Learned Today: Lawn bowling clubs in Australia seem to serve the same purpose as country clubs in America: to retain the division of classes long after retirement.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 5, 2007 from Woorim, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

More Weeding - Night 27

Woorim, Australia

Today was the running of the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s version of the Kentucky Derby. To celebrate we did more weeding at Buckley’s Hole.

At lunch I took a walk on the beach and


The Dreaded Weeds
came upon a huge group of small blue crabs, though I didn’t have my camera with me. They move in a sort of pack movement, like ants or bees and when approached will quickly burrow themselves into the soft sand.

After work I went down to the library and was relatively unsuccessful in uploading more photos. For dinner with had both Korean and Chinese food.

What I Learned Today: The Korean word for ‘Fuck You’…..but I quickly forgot it.



permalink written by  exumenius on November 6, 2007 from Woorim, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

Rain, Rain Go Away - Night 28

Woorim, Australia


Bribie Beach
Ominous clouds hung low in the sky again this morning, but the rain held off as we had breakfast and eventually drove to Buckley’s Hole to do more weeding. Just after break, when we were preparing to switch gears into some tree planting, the skies opened up once more. Shane led us on a brief tour of the island and we then returned to the cabins to wait out the storm. If it quit in time, we planned to return and plant in the afternoon. It didn’t and we didn’t.

I spent the afternoon reading John Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, a tale of his hike to the summit of Mount Everest, in which eleven people ultimately lost their lives. Though I have no desire to climb anywhere the use of supplemental oxygen is practically a must, it did remind me of how much I miss hiking in the Cascades, or anywhere above the tree line for that matter.

I finished the book and took a long walk down the beach promenade in the blowing wind and light rain to think about what I am going to do with my life when I return. Before I left I promised myself I wouldn’t let this concern get


Weeding on Bribie
in the way of my vacation down under, but I cannot but to ponder what it is I should do. The larger answer is obvious: find something you love to do, regardless of the pay…but what is it I love to do, or rather, my problem is narrowing it down and finding a compromise so I don’t have to sacrifice one enjoyment at the expense of another.

What I Learned Today: In 1996 Goran Knapp packed his gear, rode his bike from Sweden to Kathmandu, hiked to base camp and then climbed to within 300 feet of the summit of Mount Everest only to turn back because the snow wasn’t quite right for safe passage to the peak. That’s determination with the knowledge of when to quit.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 7, 2007 from Woorim, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

A Change of Pace - Night 29

Woorim, Australia


Bribie Beach
We began the morning with tree planting. Though there wasn’t a whole lot of them to do, we managed to stretch the job out until noon. Around 1 pm the sun finally showed its welcomed face, the first time since we had been out to Bribie Island. To enjoy the great weather, Daniel and I decided to walk the few kilometers home after our work was done. On the way, we came across legions of the small soldier crabs that I had seen the day before; and this time my camera was handy.

For dinner this evening we had a ‘clean out


Bribie Island
the fridge’ barbeque. All over Australia (well Queensland, at least) are these public electric barbeques. Just push the button and you get ten minutes of grill time, freely renewable whenever the time runs out. Lena and Chris were in charge of the vegetables, so took to cooking the meat. Despite the low lighting and unfamiliarity of the grill, my chicken turned out delicious.



Bribie Sunset

What I Learned Today: I am actually a pretty good cook and enjoy doing it.

permalink written by  exumenius on November 8, 2007 from Woorim, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment

Last Day of Volunteering - Night 30

Brisbane, Australia

After packing up our gear and giving the cabins a thorough clean we made our way down to Buckley’s Hole for one last go at the weeds. Again the morning sky was cloudy, but soon gave way to a beautiful spring day. Shane was off for the day, so the CVA crew worked in anonymity until about 11 am and then called it good. While geographically it didn’t seem like we made much ground, in fact we had removed many hundreds of pounds of weeds (and planted a fair amount of trees and shrubs) thus greatly improving the growing environment for the local flora. A quick lunch by the sea and we were back at the volunteer house by 2pm.

My volunteer session in Australia being over, I’d like to say that I had a great time doing it. Would I do it again? Absolutely. With this company? Never. First off, I think the jobs were poorly estimated, thus we spent too much time doing nothing. Secondly, there were too many Koreans. Don’t take me for a racist, I have nothing against the Korean people, it is just that most of us choose these opportunities to experience a variety of cultures and when 60 to 70 percent of the volunteers are all one nationality, that doesn’t quite fit the expectations. That and most of the Koreans volunteers are doing it for the certificate which they tell me goes a long way on the resume. I’d much rather work with people who are in it because they care, not because it will help them down the road.

I finished my laundry and finally had some


Beers at Birdee's
success uploading photos to my journal. Around 7 I left for the Valley to meet Daniel, Callum, and Anna at Birdee’s. Once again the bar was hoping, leading me to vote it best hostel bar in Brisbane (though I have only been to two of them). Chris and Sabine showed up as well, along with some Irish girls. We played a supersized version of Jenga, which I am proud to report I did not once spill. I even met some local Brissy girls – a first for me. After setting a mandatory going home time of 11 pm for myself, due to my early bus the next morning, I finally managed to pull myself from the bar at 12:15. Getting off the train in Albion I heard someone yell my name and who is it but Koala (actually Rex) the sleepy Korean guy. He reaches in his jacket and pulls out two beers for the walk home. A fitting end to my volunteering days at CVA.


Barroom Jenga
Not having an alarm and not trusting myself to wake up in time, I took my mattress and sleeping bag out to the covered porch, trusting the sun and the birds to wake me in time for my bus the next morning.

What I Learned Today: Giving myself a curfew is a colossal waste of time.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 9, 2007 from Brisbane, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
Send a Compliment
Viewing 21 - 30 of 153 Entries
first | previous | next | last

View as Map View as Satellite Imagery View as Map with Satellite Imagery Show/Hide Info Labels Zoom Out Zoom In Zoom Out Zoom In
find city:
trip feed
 author feed
 trip kml
 author kml

   

Blogabond v2.40.58.80 © 2024 Expat Software Consulting Services about : press : rss : privacy