This is Alice Springs? Sat, 12/10/16

Boy, howdy, what a nice send off from the City of Melbourne -- a squadron of hot air balloons ascending in the early morning overcast.  At 7:30am, our Road Scholar group left for the airport, and a 3-hour Qantas flight to Alice Springs.

Once in the air, the landscape below evolved from multi-colored quilt blocks near coastal Melbourne to an almost-nothing expanse of brownish, irregular-shaped plots as we flew inland.  Long, squiggly or zig-zag lines, like we've seen on Aboriginal shield designs appeared, which is fitting in the Outback ... ancient peoples would know about these things.  Occasionally a straight dirt track arose and retreated into the distance. Strings of smooth, darker-colored hills stood out at intervals against the drab brown.  Further inland, I saw no roads, nor anything like a building's shiny roof, no sign of human habitation -- just an overall sepia emptiness. It's a vast desert we were flying over, with no visible mountain ranges, although from 30,000' up, it was plain the land below twern't pancake flat. 

The sky was hazy.  Time passed.  With my face pressed to the window, I began to see sandy stretches a-swirl with shades of gray, white, tan, and dusky brown, which reminded me of a mocha latte ... perhaps dry lakebeds?  More minutes passed and then I spied large, white salt beds (?) splotched with black ... made me think of inkblots or a Rorschach test -- weird! An hour or so out of Alice Springs, I noticed the ground had become myriad shades of red. As we approached Alice, dark wavy crevices or ditches, with curlicues, snaked away toward the horizon, like our arteries branching out from our heart.  

Earth pigments -- burnt umber, raw sienna, tan, maroon -- make up this desert.  Holy moly, it's the direct opposite of Milford Sound!  Suddenly, a cluster of those shiny roofs I'd been looking for appeared below, with a long straight track, going somewhere.  As the plane began its descent, I thought I saw a river. Is that possible?

Knowing we were seeing only a small portion [from the air, no less] of such an immense desert, I wondered to myself, "Is this what I thought the Outback would look like?" I had no preconception.   I just knew it'd be hot. 

Yup,  this is Alice Springs. But, wait, it's green!  Aha, the same weather system that brought wet, windy, and cooler-than-normal temps in Melbourne, dropped two inches of rain on Alice, lowering humidity and ushering in slightly lower temps while we'd be here.  Lucky us!

Look at the blue eyes on this dude!
An Australian Raven, squawking up a storm at our hotel.

Today, we transferred to our hotel before going on to other venues!  After checking in, Jimmy and I went for a walk about the grounds; that raven was the first of many novel birds I heard and saw in the Outback.  Yep, we put away our jackets and broke out the shorts and T-shirts, but I don't think the temp reached 90℉.

After orientation and lunch, we hit the streets (by coach) for Alice Springs School of the Air. Alice has an abundance of cool, decorative murals.

 

Learning how the School of the Air works:  It's main focus is educating those children (primary and early secondary) in remote and outback Australia.  Often computers, printers, etc., are supplied, and the Internet has become a big tool for these kids.

I love this example of Australian Aboriginal Art -- works that show dots, cross hatching, maps of circles, spirals, lines and dashes -- the long-established pictorial language of Western Desert Aboriginal People.  Not only is this simple dot style beautiful, it has a more hidden meaning and deeper purpose -- to disguise the sacred stories told in the paintings. We understood the story told above.  Heck, we almost bought a piece like this, but our walls need less, not more!  If you Google "Aboriginal Art," you'll see some fantastic art works.  After "attending" Air School, our group returned to the hotel.

Linda trying on her sand fly face/neck net.

She may need it tomorrow!

Lots of Galah Cockatoos Out and About in Alice Springs!

From our hotel, Jimmy and I walked "to town," crossing a bridge over the bone-dry Todd River to see what we could see, so to speak.  Answer is, not much.  Alice reminded us of towns on Rte 66, parched and forgotten.  Nothing was open on a Saturday afternoon; we saw a lot of "For Lease, For Sale, Available" signs in front of empty stores.  A few hollow-eyed Aborigines sat on a corner, with their dot paintings for sale, repeating "no pictures" as we passed by.  We spotted them later as they ambled back to their encampment beneath the bridge.  Depressing.  (Aborigines don't want their images captured.)

One section of a long mural at the back of Alice Springs' grocery store.  I guess most people know that camels were brought into the Outback years ago for transport and heavy work, and when they were no longer needed, they were turned loose to fend for themselves. Nowadays about 75,000 wild camels roam the wilderness.

Tufted pigeon, looks like it could put your eye out.
We saw a bunch of these guys.

Our first evening in Alice was excellent!  Dinner from the grill at Olive Pink Cafe, with Aussie folk singer and songwriter, Barry Skipsey to entertain.  So much fun!  Barry was the perfect entertainer ... not only did he have us singing and clapping, he had wallabies listening and birds singing!

A small flock of wild Australian Ringneck Parrots joined in.

Hah -- he enlisted Brian and Alla to help out on this song skit, and they were such great sports.  When we'd finished dinner and the entertainment was over, an astronomy talk was presented away from the lights, but the moon itself was very bright.  Parked in chairs to look up at the Southern Hemisphere night sky, spotting a brilliant Venus was easy, as were other constellations, tho we soon learned it was the wrong time of year to see the Southern Cross.  Oh well, if that's our biggest disappointment on this trip, no worries, we'll heal just fine!

Going and doing in Melbourne, Fri 12/09/16

Aren't we the lucky group of people to see and do so much Downunder in a really short period of time?  Two weeks in Australia is just enough to see basic sights and we are making the most of our brief time in such a huge country.  Of course, that means we are Out and About ... every day.

No rain this morning, tho the sky was cloudy as we scooted out the door at 8:30am, on foot, with the National Gallery of Victoria as our first destination.  It was a short, but visually stimulating walk. After the gallery, the rest of our day will be up to us.  Hmmmm, what'll we do?

And again we passed right by Flinders Street Railway Station, which was okay by me.  It's one of Melbourne's most recognizable landmarks; how could it not be?  Whoops, do I see the top o' Eureka Tower in the picture, too?  More scenes along the way, below:

I'd never heard of it or seen it, but this is called knitted street art yarn bombing -- decorating run-of-the-mill tree trunks in front of everyday buildings on Swanston Street, one of Melbourne's main drags (and where our hotel is).  Kind of cool Christmas ornaments!

This photo doesn't even look real, but this is the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).  Striking design -- an artsy-fartsy building!  We were in for a treat this morning with a short lecture and guided tour of NGV's Australian Art collection by Dr. Ruth Pullin -- an excellent "tour guide."  This collection of the NGV is free, and features artworks spanning thousands of years, from the art of ancient civilizations right up to contemporary art.

Aboriginal shield diversity.

Above, our crew (along with a few mixers-in) listens and learns a thing or two.

We all liked this painting -- "Shearing the rams," Tom Roberts, 1890 -- and thought it symbolic of Australia.  Dr Ruth did a show-n-tell through the museum, including a stop in front of this painting. When the tour was finished, Jimmy and I, along with Bernice and Ibby, took to the streets.

These two have fun wherever they go.

Melbourne miscellany!

The four of us wait to board the train for St Kilda on Australia's south coast.

When pigs fly?

We'd been advised to not miss Acland Street in St Kilda -- a shopping and restaurant district famous for its cake shops and cafes.  We didn't exactly find the lunch we were hoping for, settling for something less than stellar, but we made up for it in the sweet shop!  St Kilda is somewhat bohemian, but we didn't see too much going on, possibly because it was a weekday, a cool day, and not yet summer.

We shared.

At St Kilda's beach, the wind was so strong and chilling off the water that we couldn't remain on the boardwalk, even though we'd hoped to walk to the other end.  In the distance is St Kilda Marina Lighthouse -- brrr, not going out there!  We meandered through the town till we got to the rail line and returned to Melbourne, spotting lots of graffiti and some homeless people as we rode in on the train. 

Everyone in our group has commented on the number of individuals "camped" (for lack of a better word) on Melbourne's sidewalks in the CBD ... even in front of our hotel, blocking the walks with their sleeping bags, junk for sale, dogs, etc., and each one has a money jar. Melbourne is a beautiful city, especially now near Christmas, but it obviously has a homeless problem.  

Speaking of Christmas, on our last night here, Jimmy and I wanted to catch Melbourne's magical nighttime laser-light show projected onto Town Hall -- i.e., the building's face -- a couple of blocks from our hotel. Standing curbside on the opposite side of the street, we waited for the 9:15 showing, with a large crowd filling in behind us. Soon the historic building was transformed into a swirling Christmas light show, rounded out with holiday music. We were amazed. Families from miles around come yearly to see it, bringing their kids who ooh and aah ... it was quite a sight.

Fuzzy?  Yes, but the laser movement was nonstop, as in, the gingerbread man wrapped himself around the clock tower.  In this pic, you can see the 8-foot diameter clock beneath the lights.

The show lasted 15-20 minutes -- very cool, fast and bright, free entertainment.  When it was over, Jimmy and I walked back through the crowd to our hotel, tired, and ready to hit the sack. 

Tomorrow it's time to move on, new territory once again.  These past three weeks in NZ and AU have literally disappeared before our eyes, and the next one will no doubt do likewise.  Well, we're ready, let's go!

Penguins on Parade, Thurs evening 12/08/16

Feeling down or blue?  I have the perfect antidote for you:  Maru Koala Park and Penguins on Parade!  Give a look at all this cuteness!

70 miles southeast of Melbourne's vertical artistry, our coach carried us down the road, through the countryside of fields and farms, past Koo Wee Rup, to family-run Maru Koala and Animal Park.  And the beginning of our afternoon adventures.

I must have been out-to-lunch when this excursion was announced because I was surprised when we stopped, and I was confused at first because I didn't know which way to go.  But, hey, no problem, I found my way to all the animals.  Here we'd interact with Australian koalas, kangaroos and wallabies, dingoes, emus, parrots, and wombats, except Jimmy and I didn't mess with the dingoes or emus and didn't see any wombats (they're nocturnal).

Who's the boss?

We could and did pet wallabies and kangaroos -- their fur is soft and silky.  For a quarter or a buck, I forget which, you could get a handful of pellet feed that they really went for, and I'm sure feeding them makes 'em pretty tame.  Mommy 'roos with joeys in their pouches seemed hungriest.  Darned if we didn't see joeys' feet sticking out of those pouches, but not a single one ever turned around and stuck its head out to say "howdy."  The lady below had a joey, with one leg poking out.  I think kangaroos and wallabies have interesting faces.

Native Australian birds.  Clockwise from top left:  Galah Cockatoos, Sulfur-crested Cockatoos, Major Mitchell Cockatoo, and Australian Wood ducks.  All were wild except for Major Mitchell, but he was the coolest!

Me and Bernice making a friend.

I don't know how common or rare an albino kangaroo might be,

but I do know everybody's gotta go sometime.

Koalas sleep 20 hours out of every 24, and when they're awake, they eat (good idea).  This little guy was asleep with its head hidden in the eucalyptus leaves at our arrival, but as we were making ready to leave, it woke up and commenced eating.  For twenty bucks, anyone can get a photo taken with a koala, hopefully awake, while petting and feeding it, but you have to sign up.  Sorry, no sale, but I'd like to pet one sometime.  

After an hour or more at Maru Koala Park (what a fun place!), it was time to move on, toward our dinner destination near Phillip Island.  Late in the afternoon, the pastoral landscape was easy on the eyes, but dark clouds were moving in again.

Our big coach pulled up on the side of Mario's Bayside Bistro in San Remo (the town on the mainland end of the bridge to Phillip Island), where our group seemed to be the lone patrons, but it was early (5ish).  Chef Mario and staff were waiting for us and they served up very fine dinners. Sonya and I enjoyed our vegetarian pasta, and tho Jimmy can't remember exactly what he ordered (at this point in time), he said it was delicious.  With a big smile on his face, Mario came out of the kitchen to chat and shake hands.  Coffee and dessert got us nice and comfy for the rest of our drive (10+ miles) to the penguins on Phillip Island.  We made it onto the coach and then ...

... those clouds turned to this (above) ...

... and then this -- coloring between the lines!

Whoa, look at these Cape Barren Geese,

sporting gray feathers, chartreuse beaks, orange stockings and black shoes.  

At the western end of Phillip Island, where both The Nobbies Discovery Centre and the Penguin Parade (two of the islands top tourist attractions) are located, we met up with our ranger tour guide, hopped off the coach and out into the wet, woolly wilds of the windy boardwalk, windy being the operative word.  While the boardwalk is wheelchair accessible, I'm gonna tell you that the wind was so strong off the sea that we could barely stand up, seriously!  No rain was falling, but everything felt wet.

Rain squalls hover about the coast.

The surf was CRASHING in the wind.

Bernice and Ibby trying for a selfie with an Albert photo-bomb!

We were told that Seal Rocks (islands, back, center) is home to Australia’s largest colony of fur seals with an estimated 16,000 inhabiting the area, but we didn't see any.  Around half a million people visit the Nobbies Centre yearly, with 53% being international visitors like us.  Not too many others were Out and About this evening!

We couldn't keep our hoodies on, but we needed to 'cause the wind hurt our ears.

Another reason to be on the boardwalk is to see penguin burrows, and if you're lucky, one will be home, as above.  These Little Penguins nest in burrows.  To get here, they waddle over rocks and up the fairly steep hills from the sea, and their return has to be almost as arduous.  They're the smallest of all penguin species, about 12" tall.  No one wanted to hang around the boardwalk and we made our way back to the - ahem - gift shop, and the coach.

The Nobbies area is closed one hour before sunset each day to protect native wildlife. From the Nobbies, it was a two-mile, one-way drive on the Boulevard to Penguin Parade car park, which was already full of cars and buses, watching wallabies hop along with us.  In fact, wallabies were all over!

Again, this is accessible.  But crowded.  We made our way down the path above to a viewing stand with bleachers set up.  Because other busloads (tourists draped in plastic against wind and potential rain) had already grabbed all the primo seating, we'd have to stand in the second tier back.  Possibly short people like me could could squeeze in front. The wait for nightfall began.  We were entertained by watching wallabies cavort on the hillsides near us. 

Penguins arrive at sunset every night of the year.  And you could hear the voices in the crowd when the first few penguins appeared emerging from the surf.  "Look, over there, I see them!"  Sure enough, a few, then a few more, and then they burst onto the scene and made their way toward their own pathways alongside our paved path (waddling or scurrying or occasionally one would seem to be scratching its head, saying, "do what?").  The fencing protected the penguins from the milling crowd, who started moving forward, including us. We just stood, smiling down at the little dudes, and watched as wave after wave of penguins moved uphill toward burrows. We could hear them, but I can't duplicate what I heard. 

No photos of any kind with any means were allowed once they started ashore, so as to not distract, scare, or startle these little guys, but, as usual, that only means you, NOT ME.  It hacks me off to see people flagrantly disregard a rule like this, but I saw it done.  Reported one to a ranger, too.  So, the photos below I "borrowed" from the web, but you can find great videos on YouTube.  Here's one: Penguin on Parade video here:

Somewhere around 9:30, we ambled toward our coach, keeping watch on penguins not a foot away from us (on their side of the fence) as we all moved up the hill.  We were all going home, I guess. Except, we had a 90-mile drive back to our hotel in Melbourne, which, as I think about it, was probably a good way to decompress from our day.  We had such a busy day, exciting and full of fun and activity, new places and experiences.  I don't remember the drive back, but sure do remember the day!