The Birds and the Beards and Mount Manganui

No time to write the text for this set, but here are our photos from our visit with Warren, Debbie and their kids Jonathan (bowling a cricket ball below), Rachel (putting at right) & Samuel (with the 'shell' face below) and Warren's sister Jen and her son Andrew (playing cricket) - her husband and other son were away at a golf tournament.

We're off to Thailand in the morning - gotogo for now. Catch up in Hong Kong we hope!

Okay - we are now in Hong Kong awaiting our flight to Bangkok. We have a couple of hours to pass, so here we are.

Several of the photos here are from the Beard's - Jen was a magnificent hostess and supplied us not only with beds for all of - the Birds family of 5 as well as us 3 - but also a yummy waffle breakfast and after our energetic hike up Mount Manganui, she fed us once again before we headed off for Auckland.

The view from the top of the mount were impressive as seen in Mike's photos. Debbie and the kids chose to check out the pools around the edge of the mountain - it drops straight into the ocean. And we had lots of fun playing with the shells they collected.

From the hike, we made a stop by to check out Andrew's cricket match - we were lucky to catch him bowling and you can see the action here in his very active pitch.

And then after a nice lunch, we had a final photo with the Bird clan before heading for Auckland and our final Kiwi experience before leaving the Australian continent.

Te Anau, New Zealand; Jan 1-3 2008

After a wonderful start to the New Year in Dunedin, we headed to Te Anau for 2 nights. The weather prediction was not very encouraging, so I made sure to purchase extra waterproofing for our rain gear as we are overnight on Milford Sound from here. But fortune shone on us and despite one night of heavy rain (which you will hear later on was a very good thing), the daytime brought pleasant hiking temperatures and mostly clear skies with spots of clouds.

We headed to Manapouri for a hike on Jan 2. Kyle had unfortunately taken a travel sickness pill and was a bit drowsy on the hike - especially the first 2 hours which were basically straight up! But he survived and as you can see, the view from the top was spectacular.

The cliff overhang seen at right is where most of the look out photos were taken from. It is a view over the Fiordlands of the South Island, with just a peak at Lake Manapouri (bottom left look out shot).

All along the scenery was magnificent. The forest was very green - full of moss and ferns. Rocks were invisible as they were covered in moss. The trees were covered with hanging moss in some of the damper areas. Only our path was bare in places.

Back in Te Anau the view out over Lake Te Anau was also impressive as seen in the 'mega panoramic' below.

Our little piece of the Cape to Cape

We were back down to Margaret River this past weekend. Sally was our fine organizer who had the exchange group stay at a place near Prevelly, close to where we would be hiking. We arrived Friday evening allowing us to rise and set off early on Saturday. Our weekend consisted of hiking the '3rd' section as per this map (click here).

The first day we did about 28km of the trail from Gracetown back down to Prevelly. The terrain was varied, with long stretches along the coast, but also traversing interior for some parts. Don (Sally's husband) was the 'designated driver' simplifying the logistics of one-way hiking. This also allowed us to be free of carrying our food for lunch as he met us at our lunch stop!

We were clearly further south here, as the flowers were still very much in bloom this late in the season. The entire walk we were surrounded with a variety of colours. One of my favourites was the vibrant pink 'pig snout' (sorry no photo!) Calla lilies, although a pest here since they are non-native, cover the forest floor in damper areas and are beautiful.

We stopped for lunch at the Ellensbrook homestead - the earliest European settlement on the west coast dating to 1850. Nearby was a pretty waterfall in a lush valley (photo of valley at left, waterfall / cascade below).

One of the reasons the walk is so interesting, is due to the underlying rock. There is a ridge which runs all the way down the coast from cape to cape. There is an underlying ancient granite bed, over which the limestone 'young' rock has been laid. So the exposed rock types alternate along the sandy beach and dunes which line the coast. It makes for interesting and varied terrain.

Most of us (except for Sally and our guide who walked back to the accommodations!) ended the day by crossing the Margaret River. In peak flow time, it can be a challenge, but on this day it came up to our knees and was not a problem - despite the many warnings we had received! Saturday evening we took our weary bones out for a nice dinner to a pasta restaurant in Margaret River - we deserved a meal full of carbohydrates!

The Ashwells - who are exchanged near Margaret River - joined us for the hike on Saturday only. That was nice since they have 2 sons aged 15 & 17, so Kyle was not the only teen for once! Also, we did not have our volunteer guide with us on Sunday, and one of the girls decided her back and legs had had enough! And so we were a smaller group for hiking on Sunday.

This time we headed south from Prevelly for about 10km. Again the walk was varied, this time I think even more enjoyable. We started on a tough uphill followed by a nice long flattish walk with wonderful views all around. That's us at left - Kyle way out in front, us three girls and Mike in the back taking photos - as was often the case.

After a steep descent of 344 steps into a beautiful valley, the walk continued along the valley then out into the sand dunes and finished along the beach. The final beach stretch of about 3 km was idyllic. It consisted of just our group hiking along white sand with blue water as far as you could see - the sun shining, a gentle breeze. The only other living souls we saw were dolphins playing in the water. It's hard to imagine a more peaceful place.

After a quick shower to freshen up, we visited a local winery for a nice lunch before heading our separate ways. Yet another successful exchange event with much thanks to Sally & Don for all their efforts.

Break 2 Wrap Up

Our last morning on the Kakadu tour had a more leisurely start. First off we headed to Yellow Waters. There was a lovely boardwalk through the marsh with lots of birds - but we failed to spot any crocodiles or snakes this time round.

Next we stopped at the roadside for a wander through the termite mounds. They were quite similar to the cathedral termite mounds we had seen in Litchfield park, towering up to 12 feet or more.

Then we were off to Maguk, aka Barramundi Gorge for another climbing hike and falls. We had a swim up at the top pools. This waterfall was a bit different than the others. The top pool was sort of a deep elongated river with steep walls up the edge and underwater tunnels.

Some of the group did some rock scaling along the edges, falling back into the water when their grip gave out. Patrick joined some of the group who dove into a deep pool which had an underwater tunnel into the main stream. Steve had the whole group of us lay down across the stream and block the water from the waterfall also. It was lots of fun to then jump up and run over to the edge to watch the wall of water hit the edge and push the waterfall several feet further out.

After a quick stop for some snacks, we stopped at Fog Dam. This was an interesting place where they had built a dam back in the 1950's hoping to flood the land to grow rice. After a couple of years of limited return and several lost staff due to crocodile attacks, they finally gave up on the idea. But the dam is still there and the area is now a wonderful sanctuary for the local wildlife. The place was swarming with busloads of people. Some not so knowledged folks were wandering almost into the water where salties are rampant. Amazingly they all came out alive – especially the old guy who wandered far out into the marsh alone for bird photos. Natural selection failed on this occasion.

Our last stop was at aboriginal art store where Pat bought himself his 'big' souvenir - an aboriginal painting. The shop also had emus (babies running around), a baby wallaby, a pink & grey galah, a red tailed black cockatoo and lizards and snakes to entertain those who were waiting for the shoppers.

Then the exhausted bunch of us were back to Darwin to go our separate ways - and a much appreciated shower. The four of us were then off to dinner to Thailicious which fulfilled its name before an early bed.

We had one day left in Darwin - we slept in a little bit till almost 8am. We headed to Monty's (we tried to buy one of their custom t-shirts, but no luck!) for breakfast which was just outside of the local bookstore. Patrick was in line waiting for the store to open to pick up his copy of the latest Harry Potter. He thought it would be his flight reading material, but he had it finished by mid morning the next day! While Patrick read, the rest of us went off to do some shopping. We spent the day browsing around Darwin and just relaxing around the cafes. Kyle caught up on some of his internet access with his friends and Mike and I caught up on our diary and photo editing. Sunday morning we were up and off to the airport to return to Perth.

By the time we landed, Kyle was well into Harry Potter....

Break 2-Day 13 A JimJim Swim

We all rose early at 6 am to head out for a full day hike up to the falls. The team did quite well with breakfast and clean up organization and by 7am we were on the very bumpy drive into the falls for the physical exertion day.

This tour is actually geared for 18-35 year olds but only 1 of our family falls in that range! But Mike and I are young at heart and our bodies are holding out well enough to do the climbs, and Kyle is certainly fit enough to handle the load. Our hike was quite lengthy taking us not only to JimJim Falls, but up and over it also. Most people hike to the bottom pool for a swim and we left Alexi behind to do that on her own since she has bad knees. The rest of us were headed to the top pool for our swim along the road less travelled.

It was a wonderful day with a tough climb for about 3 hours. But it was enjoyable all the way. We climbed all the way up to the top with many spectacular views on the way. Our group photo at right was take just prior to the big loss of the day. We lost Steves hat – the wind was whipped up. He tried several rescue missions for the rest of the day as we passed the area where it went down, and although he finally spotted it in a tree, he could not reach the ledge where it sat. It had been with him a long time and we all grieved for him!

We hiked to the very top, then went back down one ‘step’ of pools for lunch and a swim. Steve introduced us to several edible trees and flowers along with info on some insects.

The hike was in some ways similar to the Kings Canyon trip in ‘89 although a tougher climb I think. We were in small organized groups in areas of immense beauty and seclusion. Both were hikes you could not have done without a guide and were on trails not modified for humans. Kings Canyon has certainly changed to make the hike more accessible, and It will be interesting to see if JimJim can stay as remote as it is now.

At one area near the summit - as seen at the left here, Steve took us along a rocky ledge right next to the water fall. We all laid down on our stomachs then crawled to the very edge and looked over. At right is one of the shots from this angle so that you can appreciate the view.

Again this area must be incredible in the wet. Much of what we hiked would be up over our heads in water and the power would be awe inspiring.

The swimming at the top was amazing - we swam in the pool photoed at left here. We saw no one on the entire long walk, and we had our own private paradise. One of the most memorable things on this trip will be the swimming at waterfalls. Each one has been a place of great beauty and tranquility. It is hard to imagine a more perfect place to be.

After lunch we retraced our steps back down JimJim Falls and headed for one last stop of the day.

While JimJim Falls has been opened for swimming by the aboriginals, Twin falls remains off limits for swimming. The two falls are the homes of two sisters. The one at JimJim is active and sort of an extrovert, and so the aboriginals were comfortable allowing swimming there. The spirit at Twin Falls is much calmer and reflective. So swimming is not allowed there. To access Twin Falls you first must hike in a short ways then take boat, then do another short hike out. This area is again quite commonly accessed by saltwater crocodiles and there are traps around. They had caught one here just a few days earlier. When we reached the base of the waterfall, the crocodile trap there was tripped. It is not likely that it was tripped by a croc since it would have been caught. But none the less we stayed well back from the waters edge - this is about as close as we got!

Back at camp once we were all fed, it was hard for any of us to stay awake. The whole group had sauntered to bed by about 9:30 - and us oldies were not the first to crash!

2...3....4...Hello Kakadu Dreams

We rose very early the next day (5:30 am) to head out for our 2-3-4 Kakadu Dreams trip. We were going on a 2 night-3 day-4 wheel drive tour into Kakadu park. Our group consisted of Meg, Darren, and Dave who worked on an oil exploration/surveying ship. Darren and Dave were ship navigators and Meg a geophysicist. The last 2 in our group of 9 were Marian and Alexandria who were sisters from Italy. Marian is from the Italian international snowboarding team and has just retired from competition. And of course, our tour guide - who was Steve. Steve has been doing tours for about 1 ½ years and knows his stuff and seems to enjoy his work. It was enjoyable group with lots of interesting conversation over the bumpy drive (that's a view of our trailer out the back of the vehicle - including the spare tire which we were about to use).

So by about 7:30am we were off to Kakadu. We saw wild horses on the drive into the park. Our next stop was for a flat tire. Since we were stopped anyway, we set up lunch at the roadside while Steve and some of the guys struggled with the tire. All inclusive trip – part of the fun.

After lunch we headed for the South Alligator river where we took the jumping croc tour. To start however, we were introduced to some of the local snakes. We got to hold the water python. The snake was very calming to hold. It was soft and smooth and you could feel its muscles moving very strongly under its skin.

The crocodile tour was impressive. We spotted lots of crocs - all 'salties'. Despite being called salt water crocodiles, they in fact live much of their life in freshwater. Males can grow up to 7 metres – the average fully grown male about 6 metres. Some of the crocs were a golden colour, and others were dark and had algae growing on them. We found out later that it was due to whether they had been out to the salt water or not. They go out to the salt water to get cleaned off, and will come back lighter coloured. These are the ones which are most hunted for their skins.

There were a surprising number of missing limbs from these guys. They apparently fight a fair bit, and most were missing one or more hands, arms, feet or legs. One was missing 3 complete limbs and one foot. They do an amazing job of hiding themselves in the mud. They dig their nose in and crawl into the mud leaving only their eyes and nose exposed. They can be very hard to spot and given their acceleration and ability to jump, you really don’t want to get anywhere near them. (The jumping seen here is encouraged by hanging the food from a rod off of the side of the boat)

Similar numbers of people die of crocodile attack as shark attack (average 1 per year or so). Steve told us of one instance where some guys were out on their ATVs. They stopped for some reason. One guy was grabbed by a croc and his mates had to scramble up a tree. They were there for 48 hours as the croc walked back and forth below them slowly eating their friend. They were finally rescued by a search party. Bit of trauma there I suspect.

The black kites were also fed on the river cruise. They are well accustomed to the feeding and would swoop right in to catch the food mid air. They must have exceptional eyesight.

We stopped by the cultural centre to learn about the traditional aboriginal ways. There are still a few hundred people living off the land in Kakadu in the full traditional way, and many others still follow the traditional rules even if they don’t live in the bush.

Then to Nourlangie to see the rock art. On the walk in Steve gave us one of his many insights into local life. These green ants live in the trees and wrap the leaves into their nest. You can actually hear them working if you listen carefully. The aboriginals boil them up. The nectar that rises to the top of the pot is sweet and is medicinal for breathing and lung problems.

There were many paintings – more than we saw at Uluru. And they were a different style. Here there were many more spirit drawings. Several of the larger drawings were done by an elder in the 1960’s. He wanted to make sure the stories were captured. He drew a large image of the spirit which women must avoid. His story teaches girls not to roam into the bush alone. The second story (artwork photoed here) was related to Namondjok (a warrior in the centre here), his wife Barrginj (lower left) and Namarrgon (Lightning Man to the right). The whole story can be read here.

Then we were off to our campsite near JimJim Falls. We all chipped in to get dinner going – sausages, mixed veggies and baked potatoes. And beer. The campsite manager brought over some fresh baked damper for us – made with dried fruit, it was very good. After some impressive didgeridoo playing by Steve, we all packed in for an early bed by 9:30.