We Saw Whales

This past Saturday evening we went down to the beach one last time with Michelle's parents before their departure. Michelle mentioned they saw whales the prior evening, and that we might see them again. Sure enough, just off the coast near our apartment, several whales were making quite a scene. We saw the fins flapping and water spewing from blowholes, and one whale put on a show by slapping his tail against the water repeatedly for several minutes.

These are humpback whales, and they are migrating to their feeding grounds this time of year. We thoroughly enjoyed the sight of them. They swim past our area from early October until mid-November, so we will have another show to look forward to each year we are here.

We also went to the beach earlier during the day to get some sun and get in the water a bit. Despite appearances in the photos, the water here is very cold. Most surfers here wear wetsuits because of this. From what I've heard, the water never really warms up much during the summer. Perhaps that's why the whales migrate along this coast. Another creature we encountered during our daytime trip to the beach was the bluebottle, which is actually a variety of Portuguese Man o' War. The waves and wind were both strong, so there were a few clusters of bluebottles that washed up all along the beach. The tentacles on these things can get quite long, even though the body itself is no larger than the size of the average thumb. It's the broken-off tentacles that will likely get you if you happen to be in the water when these things wash up, as one poor kid nearby found out (fortunately, the lifeguard had a spray balm). The stinging cells are still active after the bluebottles wash ashore, of course, so one has to be careful even just walking about.

Lost in Translation

We bought this at the local Woolworth's tonight. Somehow someone in the marketing department didn't get the double meaning here.

Kiama Blowhole & Minnamurra Rain Forest

This past Friday I took Michelle's parents to see the Kiama Blowhole and the Minnamurra Rain Forest.

The Kiama Blowhole is a natural rock formation in the shoreline cliffs of Kiama. A gulley has been carved out of the rocks over time, and connects to a small opening at the top of the rocks. The force of the waves will frequently send varying amounts of sea water spewing up through the hole like a geyser. I found it fascinating to watch the force of the waves concentrate at the mouth of the gulley before shooting through the opening. It's just another example of how powerful the sea is.

The Minnamurra Rain Forest was a 30-minute scenic drive inland, at the top of the escarpment. The trail leading through the park consists of wood planks or rubber grid tiles, so it's an easy walk for people of all abilities. In the forest, there are about 70 varieties of ferns, dozens of types of magnificent trees (fig, red cedar, eucalyptus, pine), stinging plants, parasitic vines, and a few foreign plants that have since become weeds in the area. The trees are over 30 meters tall, some with a girth of a medium-size car. The forest exhibits a distinct canopy that filters nearly 70 percent of the light that reaches the ground. Common wildlife in the area includes lyrebirds (we saw two), echidnas, and water dragons. Obviously, the list of creatures native to the area would too long to list here. The highlight of the walk is the waterfall at the top of the hill. All the way through, the park is very picturesque, and the waterfall is certainly postcard worthy.

As we left the road leading to the park, we noticed this kookaburra sitting on the sign.

Notes on Flying Within Australia

One very stark detail I wanted to note was the experience of plane travel within Australia. In America, every airport feels like Guantanamo. Every American citizen is presumed to be a terrorist the moment they enter a U.S. airport. Homeland Security staff are often rude; the airport security procedures invasive and for the most part, frivolous and ridiculous (not to mention the rules are different for each airport fiefdom); the security lines outrageously long and SLOW. As Bruce Schneier often says -- it's nothing but security theater.

Well, in Australia, none of that nonsense exists. We didn't have to take off our shoes for the x-ray scanner. We were allowed to carry on a beverage (bottled water in my case). The most striking difference was the attitude of the security staff. They were happy about their jobs, and didn't treat everyone who walked by like a presumed terrorist. I felt incredibly more relaxed going through the Australian airports than any I've been through in the U.S. Michelle ended up having a small metal nail file confiscated, but the security staff was very courteous about it. In America, we would have had a supervisor or two called over, been forced to unload our entire carry-on contents (maybe in case we had -- gasp! -- another nail file!), and pretty much been made to feel miserable about the oversight.

The experiences I've had in American airports made me not want to take a trip by plane at all if I could avoid it. I could give a shit about being a victim of a terrorist attack. What bothered me more was enduring the miserable experience at the hands of security rookies each and every time I went through an airport in the States. We would have taken far more trips around the country if it weren't for that. As it happened, though, we took nearly none and just spent most of our vacation time locally.

At first, I was worried that the airport experience would be similar here. But now that I've seen that the airport security staff is so much more professional here, and the atmosphere much more relaxing for travelers -- I look forward to taking lots of plane trips to see as much of Australia as possible.

Wedding in Brisbane

We flew to Brisbane on 3 October for a wedding that Saturday. Michelle's cousin, who was at our wedding eight years ago, was getting married. This was our first trip within Australia. Our upstairs neighbors took us to the local train station so we didn't have to walk over a dirt trail with our luggage (thanks Kevin!). Although the train ride all the way to the airport was still overpriced, in my opinion, it was still less expensive than a taxi.

Our flight was on Virgin Blue. It was strictly no frills, but was OK for the one and a half hour flight. The small LCD screens in front of every seat kept recycling an annoying set of commercials for the duration of the flight, unless you swiped your credit card for a $5 charge to watch "premium" entertainment. This "feature" bothered me enough that on the flight back I draped a barf bag over the screen so I could concentrate on reading my book. Virgin Blue also charges for EVERYTHING (except the stupid earphones). You want a beverage or a snack? Be ready to cough up about $6AU (more if you want booze). Or just plan to bring your own when you fly Virgin Blue.

Michelle's cousins picked us up at the airport, and we went to a small family party that evening. I really liked how cosmopolitan Brisbane felt. The people and the city life felt very welcoming. Brisbane is noticeably cleaner than Sydney or Wollongong. About the only thing we didn't like was the heat. It was just like Texas -- Spring time and already in the mid 30s (90s F). Queensland itself has been suffering pretty badly through the 6-year drought that has plagued all of Australia. You could easily see the effects in the city's botanical gardens. A lot of the plants looked distressed and dry -- but water is so scarce there, none can be spared to make the garden more lush.

The wedding day was as crazy as expected, but everything magically came together to be the perfect day for the happy couple. The reception was quite fun, and we met a number of the couple's interesting friends and family there. During our stay we got to spend more time with the bride's parents (we hadn't seen them since our wedding), and that was nice. We will see them again when their tour of Australia takes them to our area around the 18th.

The Happy Couple

The Other Happy Couple

Finally -- A Pic of the New Apartment

At last, I finally took a moment to snap this picture of our new apartment. This shows the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The space is not huge, but considering how small the university apartment was, this place feels very large.

The rest of the apartment looks similar throughout, so it didn't make sense to take pictures of every single room like I did at the university apartment. (That place was just so bad, I don't think anyone would have believed me if I didn't take pictures of each room!) We have two bedrooms, a marble tiled bathroom (tiled walls and floor), a laundry room, garage, and a nice patio. For the lifestyle we have for the next few years, this place is perfect. It's easy to maintain, yet large enough to have friends and family visiting. The apartment came unfurnished, so everything you see is what we had to buy recently. It's a different experience to outfit a home completely all at once versus buying stuff piecemeal over time, but in our situation, we are glad to have it all done.