“WHO ARE YOU”

March has gone out with a ROAR of the engines and a ROAR of the crowd.

Before I get to that, a brief dialogue about a small and fairly unknown national park I recently visited. My friend, Dean, and I took a day trip to the Brisbane Ranges National Park. No plane was needed to reach this park as it wasn’t anywhere near Brisbane but was located just west of Melbourne about 90km (56m) outside of town. It was a warm, sunny Sunday morning when we jumped in his car and drove to the hilly patch out in the middle of the Victorian plains.

The hike was a 10km (6.2m) loop trail that starts at the bottom of Anakie Gorge, then climbing to the top of the ridge and continued along the parameter of the park before descending back down to follow the creek again.

When they say gorge here its nothing like the magnificent Columbia River Gorge I know and love from the Pacific Northwest. Here the hills climb about 100m (330’) above the creek bed. I use the term “creek bed” loosely too. It would barely register as even a waterway in most parts of the states. There are pools of water here in there that might constitute a stream in the rainy season but not in March at the end of summer.
My national park book listed this area as having one of the densest populations of Koalas in Victoria. Once we arrived we soon found out that wasn’t the case. In January 2006 there had been a bush fire in the area and the vegetation was just starting to recover the land. The trees trunks, mostly burned, black, soot covered stalks of once beautiful gum and eucalyptus trees were in the early stages of sending out new branches. There was no way any of them could support even a small population of Koalas. It was interesting to see how in just 3 short years Mother Nature was starting to bring back the lush forest greenery that she has cleared out.


Many of the plants in Australia depend on the bush fires to cull foliage and help with germination. One plant in particular the, Grass Tree, will only produce its seed pods after a bush fire. Once a fire has moved through the area, this remarkable plant with a crumbling black trunk and grass blades growing like a fungus out of the top sends up a large phallic like pod into the air. Upon reaching its full height the pores on what sort of resembles a big cat’s tail opens its little chambers and lets hundreds of seeds drop out. Some start to grow right there others are carried away by bird life to begin the germination process else where.


Dean and I had our snacks at a little bench over looking the rolling hills onto the valley before continuing on our loop journey. We saw very little wildlife mainly because the fires had wiped out most of the creatures. We did happen to see tad poles in the of the stream pools, a small lizard here and there and of course the ever present birds of Australia. Nearing the end of our trek in a area densely covered with new growth ground cover we caught a wallaby. They are bigger and leaner than the pademelons of Tasmania, with longer tails. Their coat is a more grayish brown colour. (I can here Phyllis now) What do I know about colours!

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. After changing out of my dusty hiking clothes and into some shorts we took a different drive back to town. Going through the apple and produce farms of Bacchus Marsh. A town my group at work is hoping to do a road widening project through. Then it’s freeway back into town and back to work for another week.

This brings us to the ROAR of the engines part of the blog. Some of you may know that Melbourne has a Formula 1 Grand Prix Race. The trials start on Friday afternoon and take place in Albert Park (See September 12th blog entry “The apartment search goes on”) The noise echoes off the high rise buildings and are not only heard but felt throughout the city as the cars zing around the track. There has been a lot of news reports leading up to this event. The Crown Casino erected special platforms to sell merchandise and have a place to view your favorite driver. There are 2 days of time trails and the big race day on Sunday afternoon. All with a festivities ending with a classic rock band concert. The headliner being that famous British rock band from the 60’s (Yes, I said the 60’s.), THE WHO!

On Saturday afternoon I had some time to kill and walked the 2km from my house to the race area. All I had to do was follow the helicopters and noise of the race cars. I found myself at the southern end of the park near gate 10. It was here I also found that the entire park was fenced off and there was no way to get even a glimpse of the souped up roadsters zooming around in a strangely shaped circle. I purchased my ticket and retreated home to save my energies for the next day.

The race itself started at 5pm. I arrive within the park about 4:00 and wandered around trying to see what I could see. This was my first Formula 1 race and the last time I saw the WHO was in the summer 1989 at Sullivan Stadium outside of Boston. I think the name has changed by now, but it was where the New England Patriots played way back then.





As I made my way around the grounds I found myself at the starting line just about 10 minutes before the race began. I worked my way into the crowd to get as close as possible to the fence line. It was here where I captured the first video of the day. I managed to snap a few more pictures of the grand stands and the massive crowds the came out for this spectacle. Most of the people were dressed in their favourite teams highly sponsored gear. Just before the race started an Australian F-16 made a few laps above the track and then a Qantas plane flew over head. Both of these magnificent machine flying much closer to the ground than I had seen before. It was at this point I decided I’d better put in the ear plugs I picked up on my way in.

Once the race was under way I wandered the pedestrian pathways, people watching and looking at the vintage race cars on display. There were very few places for a late arrival, like myself, to sit. So I just kept walking. Mom and Bill will be disappointed to know that I only caught short glimpses of the race itself. At several points along my wanders I found myself near the track and did catch the cars zip by but then it was 2 or 3 minutes before they made their way back and, as I often do, I got bored and wandered off snapping pictures at opportune moments. At some point along the way the race finished. The big clue for me was all the people starting to move around and then it dawned on me things had gone quiet. There was no more need for the ear plugs. As I started to make my way toward the concert venue I noticed hundreds of people walking out on to the race track. I followed the masses and realized we were all headed to the winners circle. Once there the crowds thickened to fill in every gap between the safety barriers. People climbed the fencing to get a better view of who ever it was that won the race. I‘ve been told it was Jenson Button a Brit that took the checker flag. I have to admit that was kind of cool to stand on the race track along with the cheering fans and TV cameras. Someone near me found a piece of tire rubber and was all excited about the little memento. It didn’t take me long to wander off again and I made my way to the convert venue.

When I first entered the park I found my way to the concert ticket booth and obtained my wrist band. This allowed me to just walk into the fenced area for the concert without having to wait in line later. I’m not sure who the opening band was, a co-worker just mentioned she thought they we “Jet”. I didn’t really care for them. They we’re very punk/heavy metal like in sound and I’m a much more classic rock, smooth jazz kind of person these days.

Just after sunset, right on schedule at 8pm THE WHO came out on stage, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend first. They are the only 2 of the original 4 band members still alive. Keith Moon and John Entwistle passed away some years ago now. This band started performing in 1964. 4 years before I was even born and have played off and on for more than 4 decades now. While they have aged and were not the energetic guitar smashing band of the 60’s they did not disappoint. The opening number was “My Generation” and they did all the classics like Baba O’Reilly, Behind Blue Eyes and the now famous CSI theme song WHO ARE YOU! WHO WHO.

The crowd was made up of many types of people. Just in front of me were 3 generations of one family. Grandpa being in his 60’s, Dad near my age and 2 teenage boys. All seem to know the words but Dad and Grandpa seemed to be reliving days gone by, much like myself. I stood in a crowd of maybe 10,000 people, maybe more. it was hard to tell. My space directly in front of the stage was good. I was able to see the band clearly and the music kept us all singing and dancing along through out the evening. I've attached several videos of the concert for your enjoyment. The old proverb says a picture is worth a 1000 words. So video's much be worth 10,000!

Some other things I've been up to are, attending the movies at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival and the ever present sax/band practice. I have found a new instructor that I really like. So I have gotten back into practicing more. The band has a concert with the gay youth chorus at the end of May and I hope to be able to play 2 or 3 songs entirely instead of just pieces of them.

I get my Australian driver's license on April 7th and am starting to look a used camper van to purchase.

I'm enjoying the slightly cooler weather. It's April 1st which equates to October 1st for you and it's almost 90 today. The mornings are much cooler and you can smell Autumn in the air at times. We change our clocks this Sunday so soon I'll be 17 hours ahead of the west coast of North America. There's still a little more than 12 hours of sunlight here.

I having a feeling there's someone I should wish a happy birthday to but I'm not sure who? You know who you are and I wish you well. Marian's is coming up but I'll make another blog update before her big day.

I have a camping trip planned for the 4 day Easter weekend here. So look for that blog update in late April.

Mardi Gras

This was the big weekend trip up to New South Wales. Just having a week off work and a plane trip somewhere to go was great. But this trip to Sydney was as special. Since I have been to the city with the big bridge and opera house several times before, there was no need for heaps of information packets or tourist attractions. I knew exactly how to get to Oxford Street and the gay bars! Along with a familiar city, I met up with Shawn and Jim, my first friends from Portland to come and visit. (Hopefully, not the last! Some body better get a plane ticket going!)


But let me start back in Melbourne for a minute. Friday morning the 6th of March was cool, grey and damp. Melbourne has NO tram or train lines running out to Tullamarine Airport. There are city buses , shuttle services and of course those beautiful yellow cabs, that are knitted into the very fabric of the city, but no trains. The check in at the airport was completely hassle free and quick! Terminal 1 was for domestic flights only. I entered my reservation code into the kiosk and was rewarded with a seat assignment of my own choosing and a boarding pass. No ID required at all, just the alpha numerical code printed from the web. Next it was up to the counter to check some bags. There’s about 25 groups of people ahead of me and the line was actually moving. In less than 5 minutes I’m talking to nice person with my passport in hand. I’m asked for my boarding pass and the number of luggage I’d like to stow. My passport seems of little significance to the clerk. Nor do they want my driver licences. At no time am I asked to show ID at all. I was only required to verbally confirm my name was Brian Harris, before being sent on my way. When I got to the security gates the line here was even smaller maybe only 4 or 5 people in front of me. There are little blue trays to put your things in and no one is in a hurry at all. I stop pull out my CPAP machine. It always gets swiped in the U.S. , surely it will here. I take off my shoes before I notice that no one else is, so I quickly put them back on. Drop my mobile phone and my bag on the belt and slip through without any identification again, my CPAP being less important than my passport. I quickly shove it back in the bag and head to my gate. The entire time from kerb (curb) to gate was no more than 15 minutes. It was the most pleasurable of airport experiences I had ever had. (But not more than getting drunk with my Portland friends before leaving)I do have to admit I was a little taken back by how easy it might be for someone to just walk on to a plane without having to prove who they actually were. But something of a saving grace is that Melbourne airport does have the new body imagine scanning devices at security. This makes it very difficult for a person to sneak anything dangerous through.
The flight was just as smooth and seamless. I read my book and was pleasantly served cupcakes or green apples along with non alcoholic beverages. No extra charges for fresh tasty food. Before I knew it we were descending into Sydney. A 60 minute flight was different from the last 2 times I was here. Obtaining my luggage I made my way to the train platform and got my ticket to the city for $14.60, one way. Arriving at the station near my accommodations you come up from under ground at Museum station in the southwester corner of Hyde Park. I took a beautiful stroll through the magnificent large gum trees that lined the path ways. Bustling people, Ibis birds pecking about, the hum of city life and a nice breeze rustling the trees through the sunshine! An AWESOME way to start the weekend! I made my way the kilometre of so to one of Sydney’s hostels. To a small door, narrow hallways and mostly clean room. The room had 2 windows overlooking the recycling bins, an octagonal table with 2 beat up old 70’s styled chairs, an ancient hand dial TV (which I never checked to see if it even work, much less if it was colour) a small armour for my clothes, brilliant fluorescent overhead lighting, and a double bed close to the floor with a milk crate holding up one corner. But the most important decorating piece was the oscillating fan. With no air conditioning this fan was going to be a life savior for me! I was lucky enough to have a private shower and sink. But unlucky that I had to share a toilet down the hall with the other people on the floor, of which some of them had no services in the rooms. At $60 a night in downtown Sydney, 6 weeks before Mardi gras weekend I was lucky and happy to have my own space with a door I could lock.
It didn’t take me long to ditch my gear and had out to find Shawn and Jim, not to mention the first cocktail of the day weekend! They had made bookings long before me and were able to secure much more comfortable accommodations at the Cambridge Quality Inn just 1 block south of Oxford street. They weren’t in on my first check so I wandered off in search of lunch. Upon my return we bumped into each other in their hotel lobby. It was so nice to see a familiar face. People I had a history with that went back more than 6 months! Shawn and Jim had arrived on Monday and by Friday had settled in nicely to the quick paced city life. We had cocktails in the room and talked for several hours, catching up and making our plans for the party weekend ahead. Friday night festivities included a pool party at the Cook-Phillips Aquatic centre just a few blocks away. I made a quick trip back to my room for a change of outfit before we met up with some other friends Shawn and Jim had made on previous trips to Mardi gras. Some are Australian and some other INSERT 005. Jpg Americans, guys from Seattle and Vancouver BC. The Aquatic centre was much larger than I expected. It needed to be to fit 150+ bears! There was a large lap pool, a hot tub that could fit 30, a playscape area for the kids (of which there were NONE!) and a 40’x80’ wave pool. As you can imagine with that many large men things we’re nicely crowded. Inflatable beach balls, rafts, and even a few giant penises we splashing around in the mix. I met people from Amsterdam, A flight attendant from Hawaii in for a 55 hour layover, a Brazilian and many people from Australia. After about 2 hours of wet and wild fun it was time to grab some quick dinner and head to Flinders Bar for drinks. As we came up out of the centre I caught this beautiful shot of an old church with the moon rising behind it.



















In the morning I awoke to another glorious sunshine filled day. I walked through Hyde Park and organizers had started to erect mobile fencing to keep people out of the shrubs the reflecting pool and other sensitive areas. I met up with my friend Dominic, who I had met back in Melbourne a few months before, and he showed me some of the local sites. We had brunch and then wandered around a new gourmet market in his neighbourhood. In the early afternoon I headed back to my hotel to rest up for the big event that night. To walk in the parade we had to meet the bear group organizers in Hyde Park at 4pm. The parade didn’t kick off until 8pm but we needed to get our pink wrist bands identifying us as marchers. The park itself was filled with all types of people milling about, some getting costumes ready, some snacking on nibbles and socializing, some all dressed and showing off already. There were many spectators mingling about the pompom boys and leather queens. Everyone, including myself, snapping pictures at every opportunity, angle, and gorgeous body. Shawn and Jim introduced me to a group of Americans they had met on previous trips to Sydney for the Mardi Gras parade. So once we all had our wrist bands we found a bar for a few drinks before getting locked into the parade formation area at 7pm. Once back inside the gates with our little buzzes going we found our way to the Harbour City Bears float. Which turned out to have the BEST dance music in our area and everyone was dancing to the beat, parade marches along with the large crowd of spectators. Parade organizers had shut down an entire 4 lane street running the full length of Hyde Park for participants and floats to gather. After a few minutes of boogieing I decided to take a walk around and see what I could find. The next few pictures are all of people marching in the parade. We waited for over 2 hours for our line to start to move down the street.

















































































































Once we were moving the crowds standing at some points 20 people deep cheered and waved us on. It was said that over 10,000 people marched in the parade and over 300,000 people watched it along the sides. To me the number of spectators seemed even higher. As our group of about 75 big hairy men made our way the crowd was awesome. They cheered when men kissed, high fived anyone, and gave out hugs freely to people who ventured to the edges. They waved flags from many countries and of course our favourite the rainbow flag. They whistled and cheered so loud it was hard to hear the music blaring from the truck in front of us. There was confetti flying in the air, Streamer cascading down from balconies, and half naked men every where! Our group strutted, danced, sang, screamed, ran, and swayed our way down the 2 kilometres of parade route. There was even some fire works as we passed the bar, Flinders. The home of the bear bar we partied at the night before. As we strolled along the crowds started to thin and finally there was a single line of people up against the fence.































































I hope these 2 videos work??


When we finally reached the end it was located at the arena where the dance big dance party for 25,000 people was being help. We didn’t attend. I needed to save something for next year. What surprised me the most was there were no services for anyone outside of the arena. No bathroom and no water or food vendors. Me and many others had just danced our way down Oxford Street for more than 5 hours and while there were port a potties at the beginning that was a long way back. Now I and several other people had to find some pushes to pee in. We did manage to find a drinking fountain but the stream was so strong it shot about 10’ past the fountain. Thirsty people don’t care so we drank the warm water and tried not to spray those around us. What transpired was a face and beard full of water. But at least I didn’t have to pee and was no longer thirsty. After making our way back around the parade route to avoid the spectators and the last of the people streaming down the street. We were completely sober at this point and making our way past heaps of garbage and drunken people of all ages and lifestyles. Drunken people, hanging on to each other, some even passed out on the sidewalk already. Shawn, Jim and I made it back to their hotel to catch up with the crowd before heading to the bars ourselves. The rest of the evening was spent in bars chatting with the many people from all around the world. Sunday was spent in bed, with a slight hangover but most just catching up on my sleep. Sunday evening I met Shawn and Jim for dinner and organized the logistics of our flight back to Melbourne on Monday.



I met the guys at their hotel and we shared a cab to the airport. Once we breezed through security without so much as slowing down, air personal has no idea who we really are, without having to take anything out of your carry on luggage. Breakfast was next on the agenda a $15.00 Australian style breakfast consisting of 2 fried eggs, big sausage link, 2 No fat all meat slices of bacon (more like ham than bacon), a grilled half of tomato, with toast. As we walked to our gate I got paged over the airport intercom. Who listens to those airport announcements anyway? But there was my name in the subliminal messaging of the airport hum. I found my way to the customer service desk. The lady that paged me said I had to go to baggage gate 17, back outside security. Across the terminal I go. When I arrive at gate 17 the young women informed me she had just retuned from a break and had no idea why I was paged. I thought I’d check my boarding pass and found the one I had was my old arrival ticket and I didn’t have the correct paperwork. Still miss “just had my break” wasn’t so sure and asked around. When I convinced her I needed a new one. She finally did ask to see my ID! Too prove who I was. She just the went into standard mode quickly giving me another pass with no more questions. As I walked through the gate she suddenly found my old boarding tickets just to the side of her keyboard. “Oops there it is?” her only comment. My boarding pass back in hand I head for security again and my gate. The lesson here is you don’t need ID to get ther first boarding pass but you do to get a second one. This seems a little backwards. Then again we are down under and everything is a just a little different.



The flight itself is very short and in no time at all we are in our rental car heading for the CBD of Melbourne and the Grand Chancellor Hotel, Shawn and Jim’s home away from home for the next few nights. IN the afternoon I gave the guys a tour of my neighbourhood, with a walk down to the beach in St Kilda, about a kilometre away. We had drinks on the patio at the surf club along shoreline the watching the sunset across Port Phillip Harbour, a great way to start our time in Victoria. Dinner was at Carlisle, a fanciest place just a few blocks from my house with GREAT food.

Tuesday was our big day driving along the Great Ocean Road out to Port Campbell and back. A almost 600km (360 miles) day trip. We stopped and had lunch in Lorne. The famed town from the surf trip a few weeks ago. We made our way across the Otway peninsula to the high sandstone cliffs that make up the national park. As you can see this trip was much more sunny and dry than the last time I was out here, back in November. We did the usual tourist high points, but this time I actually got down on the beach, via some steps about 200 of them (I didn’t actually count. ) Standing on the edge of a continent always makes me feel small and wonderful at the same time. Our return route was inland through a few little backwoods Australian bush towns. Places where the sheep and cows out number all other life forms. We made it back to town about 7pm, 11 hours from our start, oh so long ago.

Wednesday morning we all slept in, I returned the rental car and then wandered the city with teh boys, having lunch in the laneways, a stroll along Southbank by my office and the casino. Then spending and hour looking for Brunetti’s Italian pastry and coffee house, but it is so much more than just that. It has sugary confections beyond your wildest dreams. Hot chocolate that is really just melted chocolate in a glass. Cakes piles high and covered in elaborate shapes of chocolate shavings. Scrumptious singles serving dessert that takes your breath away. Can you tell I like this place! Everything they have is just yummy! We got a small tray of about 10 of those little tiny bite size treats to sample as much as we could. As usual the evening was full of drinks at the bars. The great thing about not having a car and living in a city with a good public transportation system is I can drink and not have to worry about driving home!

Thursday was spent on my own. Shawn and Jim wanted some down time by the hotel pool before getting on the plane back to early spring in the Northwest. We met for dinner on the Restaurant Trams. 3 old vintage trams, decked out with one way tinted windows, thick warm curtains and upholstery, a very good tiny ass kitchen/bar/waitress station, with seating for a crowded 30. Our end of the tram was the smaller side with seating for 12. But tonight there was only 9 giving us all a little more elbow room. The staff was prepared and as the tram started to make its way champagne was flowing with a small plate of capsicum (red pepper) dip and liver pate. There were 2 choices each for the remaining courses. It wasn’t hard to see we we’re all getting the beef fillet. From one end of town to the other on a 3 hour tour of the sites of Melbourne we drank, conversed with our new friends and were fine dined. A wonderful evening was had by all! This is something I’d recommend. It was smooth ride and very enjoyable service with high quality food and free open bar. The guys and I had to walk back through the casino so we ended up saying our good byes there.

Friday morning the boys left town for your hemisphere and my life went back to the routine we all make for our selves. I enjoyed the last few days of my vacation at home by sleeping late and getting caught up on rest of my Melbourne life. I have found a new sax instructor I’ll be trying out next week and have rented a car for the long 4 day Easter weekend coming up April 9th. I’m thinking some where in far eastern Victoria or maybe Southern tip of New South Wales along the coast. More national parks I need to check off in the book. Oh yeah and its payday this week. Always a nice thing when you only get a fresh influx of cash on a monthly basis.

Until next time people near and far who read about my travels.

PS: HAPPY 50th Birthday to Robert Jones on march 26th. You made it!!

Surfing in February!

Well Friends, I’m sorry it’s been so long since I made an update. It’s the end of February (ok really March 2nd) and as it generally does life rolls by faster than we know it. There’s only been a few interesting things to report since I last typed up my life for your enjoyment (mine too). Mostly time has been spent going to work, the gym, and band practice. The typical things we all do to fill up our time day in and day out. It’s Friday night about 10pm, I’m sitting here at home typing my blog and thinking of all of you.

I want to thank you for the concern you’ve shown me from the bush fires that have ravaged many parts of Victoria. One of my co-workers lost his house (a guy I’ve never met in another department) in what has become known as, Black Saturday. That terrible day when over 200 people lost their lives. Luckily, he and his family are safe. Australian’s have been inspiring by raising millions of dollars to help the unfortunate people and the government has been swift to lend financial and hands on support. The rebuilding efforts have started and schools are the first thing to be constructed in those towns that were scorched from the face of the earth. Marysville, a town I had visited, is still a crime scene and has been ruled arson. A heart wrenching place where many lost their lives. One arsonist has been caught and is lucky to be in jail as the surviving people from the Kinglake fire would give him the fate he deserves. Unfortunately, some fires still rag on. There were some flare ups in the last week. These new fires were even closer to the city. Some are within 40 kilometres (25 miles) of downtown. A person in my group, that I know well, had the fires come within a kilometre (0.6 mile) of his property, but luck was on his side and his home was spared.



To give you an idea of how close these fires really area to the city. Every morning when I walk outside you can smell smoke in the air. On Valentine’s Day haze was so bad it blanketed the city. You could see grey soot hanging in the air covering everything near and far. You could smell the smoke and even feel the ash on your skin. It was a day when the wind never really cleared the air and some people wore cloths over their faces. Most days aren’t that bad but the mornings when the air is still you can see and smell the smoke, even still today. There is one good thing to come out of this tragedy. The sunsets have been spectacular! Incredibly red with no clouds in the sky. Red like Rudolph’s nose.

On a happier note I did have one VERY fun weekend to tell you guys about. The weekend of the 21st,the URS social committee organized a Surf Trip down in Lorne. Its south of Geelong and at the start of the Great Ocean Road, where I travelled last November. About 35 of my co-workers went, with friends the group totalled over 50. We had rented 7 or 8 house and I got put in the 20 something house, with no kids. Fun was had by all and of course we drank a lot! After arriving Friday evening the group met at the local pub for dinner and to distribute the house keys. I was staying with the house organizer, Peter Cohen, which made my evening much easier. Back at the house the night was spent drinking and teaching some Australians how to play Bullshit. A drinking card game where you try to get rid of all of your cards and lie to do it. At some point we stumbled to our sleeping quarters and in the morning I made my house mates french toast and home fries for breakfast. After getting ourselves ready for the day those of us taking the 2 hour surf lessons headed down to the beach. The day was slightly overcast and not too warm. This was the first time I had done more than stick my foot in the ocean in a long time and I was a little scared it was going to be frigid. After spending 17 years in Oregon I hoped the Bass Strait would be a little warmer than the northern Pacific. People had warned me about the Antarctic currents keeping a chill on the waters even in summer. As you can see from the photos we were given full wet suits and they helped a quite a bit. After our instructions on the beach we grabbed our boards and set out for the waves. At first the water was cool on my feet. But as I stepped in I quickly realized nothing was going to go numb. Something I’m very grateful for! As it turned out surfing is easier than I thought it would be but still was a challenge. I found the hardest part was just getting balanced on the board while waiting for the next big wave to come in. After a few tries my instructor changed my board from 8’6” to 9’6” long and that helped buoy my body a lot more. I made many attempts at actually standing up. Some ended in a face plant, if I was leaning to far forward. Some landed on my butt if I was too far back. A few times was just avoiding other beginners in the water. Every time I got washed under I came up laughing and wanted to get back out there as quick as possible. A couple times I had it just right and was able to get up on both feet and release my hands from the sides of the board. I wasn’t really standing, it was more like a low squat but I’m counting it all the same! After a couple hours you got a lot more tired than you’d think and we headed back to dry land. See if you can spot me in the group photo? I’m the one with the really bright tan! There were a lot more people there but some had wandered off before the picture got taken. Later the different groups of friends all ended up at a local cafe for lunch where we refueled ourselves. Then we relaxed at home before the big work bbq in the evening. The group moved to one of the houses for a old fashion PAR-TAY. Complete with laughing loud people, music and drinking games. When I finally tumbled out of there on my way home there were hundreds of beer bottle scattered all over the place. I was very thankful the party had not taken place at our home. Sunday was spent drinking a LOT of water and slowly making our way back to town. We stopped at some little town for lunch and at a famous surfing spot Bell’s Beach (seen in the last photo). I did what I think every one else did that evening and crashed hard into bed early. Another weekend where Monday came all too fast! Surfing is something I had never done and it’s my hope that it wasn’t the one and only time I get to go.

Not much else has really taken place. The next blog should be a little more interesting because on Friday the 6th I fly up to Sydney to meet up with my friends Shawn and Jim from Portland for the big Mardi gras festival. I’m not sure how much of it I’ll be able to report here. I’m trying to keep this blog rated PG but I’m sure I’ll be able to find something for everyone.

It’s been 6 months now since I arrived in OZ and I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. You’ll all be happy to hear summer is fading in the southern hemisphere. A few weeks ago it was light until 9:30 and now it’s dark at 8:30. The nights are getting cooler (THANK GOD!!) and on some mornings you can feel the cool crispness in the air that reminds you autumn (they don’t say fall here) is just around the corner. Spring is on its way to most of you and I’m sure you’re all looking forward to it. (Despite the fresh snow storm in New England this past weekend) I for one am looking forward to the snow and thinking about a trip to New Zealand to play in some..... We’ll have to see what the future brings so keep reading my blog and I’ll keep thinking about all of you....

PS I think I got all the birthdays last time but if I’ve forgotten someone my deepest apologies and most heartfelt HAPPY birthday wishes!... (Also I'm in all of the surf photos so double click on them to enlarge if you want a good look at me.)

Summer in January... weird!

Well January has turned into February before I even knew it. Looks like 2009 will zoom right by! A lot happened in January you didn’t get to hear about. I think 1 blog is all it’ll take to get you all back up to speed. When I arrived home from Tassie. I pretty much hit the ground running. It’s a new year and there’s lots to be done at home and at work. The personal goals are much more interesting than the work ones, so let us start there.

January is the beginning of Midsumma Festival. The 3 week long event similar to gay pride, but with movies, plays, art showings, and big parties for the all the genres of the gay community. Australia day is on 26th it’s a national holiday with some controversy surrounding it. February 1st capped off the month with the Gay pride parade.

The first Thursday back at band practice they rolled out the schedule for the next 4 weeks. There would be our regular 3.5 hours rehearsal on Thursday and 3 to 4 hour marching band practices on Saturdays. There are 2 parades the Melbourne Rainbow Band marches in for the year, Australia Day on the 26th and of course the Gay Pride Parade. There would also be other performances at the Gay Carnival Festival to open Midsumma, a 2 set performance in the afternoon on Australia day at the JOY FM (gay radio station in Melbourne) picnic, and a performance after the pride march . That’s a lot in 3 weeks. There are 4 Alto sax players in the band and I’m the understudy and I didn’t think they’d need my help very much. Since it was my first year in Melbourne for Pride I wanted to keep my schedule open to do other events. But the friends I’ve made in the band convinced me I was needed and could fill a valuable spot, even if it wasn’t the playing saxophone. Instead I would get to play the bass drum! As you can see in the picture of marching practice it’s the big round LOUD drum. There’s only one in the this particular concert band and it was going to be me in 2009. Everyone said don’t worry it’ll be easy and I accepted the challenge. I would be expanding my musical talents by getting to play a new instrument, so why not! Then they all told me it was the bass drum that keeps the timing perfect for the entire rest of the band to play to. This scared me a little because it requires counting a lot more than I’m used to (But I should do more of) playing the sax. However, with the drum I only have to count to 2, evenly and consistently for about 30 minutes... 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 while marching and trying not to bump into the trumpet player, Prue, in front of me. The bass drum also starts and stop the forward motion of the band. Playing a musical instrument is A LOT harder than most people make it look ! Now we have to move in unison and play at the same time! I was glad I only had to go 1, 2, 1,2...
The first test of January would be the Carnival Festival on the 18th. It was all the booths of the various organizations in the community and our beloved corporate sponsors. Like the boys from Manhunt! It was a warm day, about 90 degrees if I remember correctly and we got to play in our blue polyester shirts and black pants in the direct sunlight. I’m on the far left and thanks to a friend I was able to borrow at hat at the last minute and played fairly well. The crowd was about 300 people all hiding in the shade just out of the picture. After we were finished on the main stage the DJs changed the beat and our stage became a dance floor for some line dancing. Thank god we didn’t have to play for that! People in Melbourne love this event and pack picnic lunches with ALL the trimmings, just like at Rose Festival and party the day away. These queens had it all champagne and everything!

Australia day and our first parade was next. I was a little nervous before, my debut on the drum and in the marching band. The good news was we we’re only playing one song with a 16 bar percussion trio at the end to give the rest of the band a break. But not me, Greg or Beck, my fellow percussionists, no rest for the wicked I guess. Then it was back to the same song, a melody of Australian folks songs ending with Waltzing Matilda. The only one I had ever heard of. When you’re marching the people in the crowd can only hear you for a few minutes anyway. That helped in taking the pressure off a little. The parade route was a prominent one going right down Swanston Street and over the Yarra River bridge by Flinders Station (beautiful old transit station building of earlier blogs). A fairly short distance of only 2 major city blocks maybe 1000’ right in the heart of the Central Business District. It was a lot more fun and easier than I expected once we got going. People we’re lining both sides of the streets 5 or 6 deep. I have no idea how many where in attendance. Later I found out my coworker and nearest cell mate, Mhairi (Var-ee, she’s Scottish) MacGregor was there to snap a few pictures for me.

At the end of the parade we quickly packed everything up and hit the road for Mt Macedon. About a hour north of town and to a private residence as it turned out. We were going to perform at the property of the main benefactor of the band. This was the day the band gets a BIG check and it provides about 50% of our income, so the spot has to be good! I never did get the guys names that owned the property but it was a large beautifully landscaped hillside. So large I never even saw the house. It was just walkways and fountains and gardens, all very well maintain. Eddie, you’d love it! Joy FM was having their annual picnic up there and about 100 people came to enjoy the gorgeous day. As part of their reward for the drive out of town they were entertained by both the Melbourne Rainbow Band and the Melbourne Gay Chorus was our opening act. For some reason I only took 1 picture here and it’s not that good. We’re all standing around waiting for someone to tell us what to do. Happily I was able to play the sax for this 2 part set. Our stage was wonderful circular stone patio area in the shade and in the center of the circle was a classic old water fountain. We played so well most of the crowd stayed until the end of our second set. A great accomplishment because we finished about 5pm and it was Monday evening on a long 3 day weekend. I for one was ready to go home and crash! Two big band weekends over, one more to go.

Our final performance of month was to be the one I anticipated the most, Gay Pride! I’ve only ever really marched in 1 other gay pride parade and that was my first in Hartford CT, oh so many years ago... It was such a small event that there were no spectators ,every gay person there was the parade. I had watched so many over the years in Portland and getting to even see one in San Fransisco with Sven. I’d seen the marching bands, and like everyone, loved to hear them play. This year was going to be a whole new perspective. The march itself was only about a half mile and ended in the park along Port Phillip Bay. IT WAS AWESOME and I mean like 80’s TOTALLY AWESOME!!! We warmed up a little in Albert Park. Then moved into the parade formation line. We played for all the other people marching as we waited to start. Cameras we snapping, video was being shot and even local TV stations were there. Everyone so happy and having a great time. We had 2 songs to play for the march, Police Academy and New York, New York. We also had 4 other songs to play in the park at the end of the parade. 6 songs at 3 varying speeds, plus the drum trio, meant I got a lot of playing time in! As we start on our way there were cheers of joy from all the participants. In my mind, I only could hear 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2,.... From one end to the other the parade route was crammed with screaming, singing happy gay people. At times our formation of 4 wide got so narrow Greg and I bumped drum sticks and Pramont, our drum major leading us, was using his baton to shoo people back out of the way. We stopped and started many time as the 40+ groups in front of us would ebb and flow. As we finished the route and made our way into the park we continued to play and marched right up to the chief of police for Victoria, Ms. Christina Nixon and played Police Academy. That was over 30 minutes of banging as loud as I could and doing my best to keep 1, 2, as even as possible. My arms were a little tired and I was thirsty. Finally it was time for the percussionist to get a break! We then did our complete set of songs there in the park for anyone that would listen, in a totally random standing formation. It was the most fun of the 3 weeks, because now all our performances were over. The band really got into it and had a lot of fun. We’re dancing along with the crowd as they belted out the words to songs like Celebration and Proud Mary (Tina’s version). A GREAT day ended like so many in Tassie with a glass of Vodka but this time it was at a bar with my band mates. We were all goofy and tired it was best part of the day. Luckily on this day another friend was at the parade and got this video of us marching. See if you can spot me banging away on the drum. But beware of the cyclist that flows us!

There was other Midsumma things going in January besides band practice. Michael Riches (flatmate) and I attended a Victoria Gay Civil Rights charity showing of the new Sean Penn film, Milk. Which was very good. I had flash backs of my trips to San Fransisco and they made me a little home sick. I had heard about Harvey Milk over the years and of the evil Anita Bryant. But I never knew all of the details of the story. I highly recommend the movie for those that haven’t seen it yet. With another friend, Michael Young (not my flatmate) I attended a 2 person play called “As You Do” It’s a comedy about the things in the daily life of long married older gay men. I related to a lot in the gardening, cooking and party scene skits. The guys did a great job of engaging the audience by dragging 3 people up on stage at various points. The first poor sucker was the guy sitting next to me and I can tell you I was scared as hell thinking it was going to be me. The event took place during our heat wave, which I’ll get to later, and the venue didn’t have air conditioning. Sweat was literally dripping off of you that evening.

On Another outing Micheal Young and I visited a new tourist attraction called the Melbourne Eye. It’s a 120m high (395’) Ferris wheel. This massive structure can be seen from many points around the city and is located in the newly revamped neighborhood of Docklands. A part of town with high rise condos, lots of shops and restaurant all along the private docks whose slips are full of massive yachts. The giant glass tic tac like carriage of the “Eye” holds 20 people, but we got lucky and only 6 where there for our 30 minute sunset trip. The module is fixed to the wheel by 2 large rings encircling it. This engineering feat allows the carriageway to stay on the outside of the wheel giving you continuous un obsctructed views of the entire city and waterfront while keeping you level and barely able to tell you are moving. I was in as much awe of the structure itself as the views.

Melbourne also has had some record breaking weather in the last week of January. We broke a record that has stood since 1875! Melbourne, as I have learn, lies in a path between two major wind currents. When these currents are spinning a particular manner winds come rushing off the massive central desert that covers most of Australia and bring with it dust and sweltering heat! We experienced 3 days in a row with high temperatures above 44 Degrees C, which translates into 111 degrees Fahrenheit. Hotter than anything I have ever experienced. I’m so glad these 3 days were during the week so I could hide in my office. Michael and I do have air conditioning in our flat but it’s a small wall unit which doubles as our heat in the winter. It doesn’t really make the house as cold as this northern boy would like but it did take the edge off and the house was about 85 F most of the time. Now in heat like this nothing really moves very fast and that includes most of the Melbourne public transit trains. The high temps kill the air conditioning units and in many cases actually buckled the steel rail lines. So the THOUSANDS of people using them to get to and from work are then crammed into slower city trams. The trains can carry 750 people each and run every 7 minutes on 13 routes. The trams can carry about 75 TOTALLY PACKED and I mean like smelling everybody packed. Some seated nice lady held my bag for me on her lap because there was just no room on one particular day. These trams do have open windows but with the outside temps and that many people so close, you all are just one large grumpy, hot mass of perspiring human flesh. The heat itself is oppressive, but the wind at 30 or 40kph zaps you completely. What sweat does form on your skin evaporates before it can give any cooling effect. The tear drops in your eyes dry out in seconds as you leave the comfort and shelter of the buildings. The heat is so high you can feel it radiating up off the sidewalk, you can feel your skins cooking even in the shade. The water pipes on most buildings are on the outside of the structure (it never freezes here) and even the cold water comes out warm to bordering on hot. At one point I saw pigeons fighting over a tiny amount of water in a dog dish outside a cafe. The state has been on a total fire ban for weeks and while smoking is allowed on the outdoor patios and sidewalks of the cafes during this extreme period it is even banned there. What the city of Melbourne experienced is nothing compared to the more rural areas of inland Victoria. Some parts of the state had highs near 50 C (122F). Adelaide, in the state of South Australia, to the north west of Melbourne also lies in the path of the desert winds and had a stretch of 12 days above 40C (104F). All of this happens while the city is on water restrictions and you are asked to limit your water consumption to 155 liters per person (41 gallons) a day. Which makes you feel guilty for taking that 3rd cool shower or the 2 gallons of water you need to drink to stay hydrated. Moving from the perpetually wet and grayish green of Oregon to this is a culture shock to say the least.

Just this last Saturday we had another 44 degree day here in Melbourne and in the rural areas the temps exceeded 47 C (116F). Those winds I mentioned were above 80kph (50mph). You have probably heard about the bush fires raging in Victoria. Several entire towns have been wiped of the map! Most of these places are within a hours drive off the city and many of my coworkers are effected by this tragedy. The town of Marysville, that I visited in early December on my way to Lake Mountain (the cross country ski resort) is totally gone! Not a building has been left standing. I had lunch at the local pub that was over 100 years old. It was a beautiful country town nestled in the foothills of the Yarra mountians. I was so pleased to know I'd be stopping here on my ski trips as it was the last town before the resort. Several other towns have gone up in flames too. Victoria's law state a homeowner can stay and fight the flames or flee and many people stayed to save their homes. Unfortunately the winds were so strong people had very little time to react. I've heard stories that the fire was out running people in cars. Some people died in their cars, others died in their hot tubs, boiling in the water and still others in their homes. It's hard to understand the enormity of such a thing and even harder to put it into words.

Other more typical things happened in my life in January. Michael Riches got his fish tank set up in our lounge room. I finally got to hang my 2009 Oregon Calenders at home and work. I got some personalized touches added to my bedroom, namely some nice sheer drapes and photos hung of my trip last June to Key West. I also found the factory outlet stores where I managed to buy 3 pairs of shoes, a belt, 3 t-shirts, 2 dress shirts, pants, and a bunch of other things I needed for about $300. The best deal of the day was a awesome pair of Steve Madden cream colored leather shoes I just love for only $35 (about $25 US) regularly $150 ($105 US). The gay guy in me loves to shop but it just wasn’t the same without my best shopping girl friend, Phyllis, to help me match up the colors and laugh at some of the pieces of hideous clothing some else might buy.
Like I mentioned in the beginning of this entry January has turned into February and I have a couple free weekends before my next adventures are planned. On the 22nd I’m going on a surfing weekend with a bunch of coworkers. I’m not really sure where we are going but houses are rented for 2 nights and a big bbq dinner is included for $60. Surfing lessons will be extra but there’s no charge for swimming with the sharks! (ha ha got you Mom)Then I have to get ready to meet Shawn in Jim, friends from Portland, up in Sydney for the big Mardi Gras parade on Friday March 6th. After that we all fly back down to Melbourne and I have the week off to play tour guide in my new home town.

I want to extend a happy belated Birthday to my grandmother, Eleanor Russell. January 30th was her big day I did call her and send a card in time but forgot to mention her here in my last entry. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

I also want to say happy 40th to Troy Bryan on Feb 4th, Welcome to the fold honey! Everyone kept telling me that 40 is the new 20! It’s true if can find a 20 year old that interested in a 40 year old!

More Happy birthday wishes go out to Kam Sisco who had his day on Friday the 6th.

One more birthday wish goes to the very special Tony Clark on Feb 13th. Who has found his was back home to Oregon after his own adventures in Florida.

my apoligies if I missed you're special day... so many friends so little time....

I miss you all!

Tasmania Part VI (the end)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_Mountain This link will give you more information about the region .

The beginning of part IV and the end of my Tasmanian adventure starts at “The NUT” and in the quaint town of Stanley. This little gem of modern life is located on the north side and pretty close to the west corner of the island. The NUT is sort of like Ayers Rock/Uluru formation way out on a peninsula jutting into the Bass Strait. It’s commercialized and there’s a small ski lift that takes you to the top for $10. The paved and railed walk starts about half way up in the parking lot, right next to the gift shop and café. I was there shortly after sunrise; nothing was open and not a soul in sight. Exactly how I like my morning hikes! The climb took about 15 minutes and I have to admit was fairly steep. It was greater than a 45 degree angle all the way up. I stopped several times to admire view and catch my breath. Once on top and past the lift building the trail turned to dirt and levelled out. A welcome change for sure! The sun was just above the distant hills of eastern Tassie to my right. The field of 3’ tall grass glowed brightly before me glistening with morning dew. The trail lead around to the left along a fence and as I walked I notice they entire plateau was ravaged by rabbits holes everywhere. So many it was like honeycomb in a bee hive in some areas, the grass all bare and nibbled down. Surprisingly I didn’t see any rabbits at all. I did see one just as I left the parking lot but didn’t think anything of it. Australia does have well organized programs to eradicate certain non native invasive species of animals. So maybe the holes are left over from such a campaign?
See what so many days in the woods can do to you. You almost forget about the beautiful surrounding vistas while looking at the ground. As I looked up to the west you can see open ocean and the distant islands off the coast. Spinning my head around and I can look all the way down the edge of the island to the east. There are 2 large bays on either side, behind me, giving you a huge range view of sparkling blue waters, shimmering in the morning light. As I make my way around the fence line. I do come to pass 2 couples doing what looked like their morning ritual lap. On the back side the trial dips a little dropping into some woods and I wonder if it actually does go around. But the curious side of me keeps going assuming it must and I must see where it goes. Here I find a few pademelons but still no rabbits. (Pademelons don’t dig borrows) Coming out of the woods I find I’m just below the ski lift shed and the path back down. I stopped for a few minutes to capture this great view of the beach line and the city cemetery. After trekking back down the steep hillside I was hungry for some breaky. Knowing that there must have been a bakery some where I drive around the little town and find not only a great place for a sit down breakfast, Moby Dick’s. But that Stanley is very cool town. The ornately detailed Victorian style homes are all dolled up and fresh paint, lawns perfectly manicured, flowers lining the edges. This is a town that takes care of itself and it shows. While enjoying my bacon and eggs under an awning on the sidewalk I chat with the people from Sydney that come down every year to this secret hide away. It’s quickly becomes my favourite little town in Tasmania too. Maybe it was just a quiet Monday morning but this place had charm. I was told there are lots of B & B’s to stay at too. I think a future visit in in order. After my brush with the law is forgotten, of course.

Once finished chatting I drove out of Stanley, Tasmania on my way to Rocky Cape National Park, just 20km (12.5 m) east. Another wonderful peninsula into the Bass Strait, but there was no commercialization here. Just a lighthouse, boat ramp, green covered hillsides and an 8,000 year old Aboriginal cave! It is considered a sacred site so I only took this picture of the cave, which was located about 100’ above the ocean. After investigated it and the boat ramp area I parked at the hiking trail head spot and walked up the closest hillside. The trail itself was hidden in the tough weather beaten shrubs. It could only be viewed from looking at it straight on line. The footsteps had ground down a path into the exposed rocks, keeping the trail obscured from any other angle. I slowly climbed the long switch back path up and around one dome then past several others, thinking each one was the peak this trail led too. I settle for a rocky outcrop after realizing why they called this the “Postman’s Pass”. It never does reach the peaks. It just keeps meandering past them. The views from here along the coast line are as magnificent as they have been in every spot I have stopped. The words to describe the many kilometres of coastal beauty have all been used up. There are only pictures.

The drive up into the central mountain region and Cradle Mountain National Park takes a couple hours All the way those grey clouds keep getting thicker and heavier. The rain actually starts sporadically about 10km before I reach the main information centre. I was able to easily locate new my home away from home or the glorified tool shed as I’ve come to call it. Cabin #A2 is what the campground called it. Cabin or Tool Shed what do think? The shed is a 8’x8’ plywood box with a tin roof and 2 small triangular Plexiglas windows in the apex of the roof, front and back to let as much light in as possible and still keeping ones privacy. Inside there are 3 bunks, one on either side with the 3rd across the back a little higher hanging over the other two? I took all 3 foam mattresses and place them on one bed. After 8 nights in the car it’s going to be very nice to sleep fully reclined and on something a little softer. I unpack most of my gear and spread it out on the empty bunks. The rain is falling quite steadily, though not very hard. I check out the park services and made myself a massage appointment for New Years Eve. I also discover that there will be a live band in the bar at the main lodge to ring in 2009 with. By now I’m ready to rejoin society and hang out with someone beside the pademelons and gum trees. It’s late afternoon now and once I wandered around the park facilities it was time to do some laundry, clean up myself and the car. The evening was spent in a large camper’s kitchen building, socializing with the other campers, having my glass of vodka and staying out of the rain. The building itself has 2 kitchen areas with stove top, grill, microwaves and electric tea pot. In the centre of the room is a huge stone double fireplace. Wood is provided and a warm crackling fire is burning brightly on both sides. Helping keep all of us toasty and drying out various articles of clothing. There is 6 or 7 picnic tables spread around and even a lounge area with big leather couches. The first night in the shed is all I dreamed it could be. Dry, out of the wind, not to mention out of the car and VERY cold. I forgot to tell you the tool shed is void of electricity or heat. I used some lovely Asian style tea lanterns Michael gave me for lighting and every blanket I had, plus long johns, a t-shirt, a sweater, socks, a hat, gloves and hand warmers to keep me comfortable in the 3 C degree (40F) morning temperatures. As I drifted off to sleep the rain came down with a vengeance. The tin roof rattling with every rain drop, the wind whipping the trees. Which left me wondering if a branch was going to come crashing down to wake me in the night. In the cold morning air I quickly run outside to answer nature’s call and jump right back into bed. Sleeping in a little sounded like a GREAT idea. When I do rise about 8am I find not much has changed outside. It’s still windy, cold and wet. Just like New Years in Oregon should be! Except this year, I had heard that Oregon got 2’ of snow making me glad I was in Tassie. After breaky and checking my trail reference guides. I decide to take the shuttle bus up to Dove Lake and do the hike around it and then go from there. The lake is nestled in to a small valley and is about 2km long and maybe a ½ km wide. There’s a nicely maintained trail near the water’s edge all around it. At times Mother Nature does cooperate and the rain stops for 15 to 20 minutes. The deeply forested hillside surrounding the lake is lush and full of shades of green. In the distance you can see many waterfalls fully engorged with last night downpours. All that water rushing down the slopes into the lake. Fog gently covers the peaks and every once in a while 1 of the 2 mountain tops making up Cradle Mountain (sort of looks like saddle mountain doesn’t it) shows its beautiful face by peaking out between the clouds. Along the far end of the elliptically shaped lake the sparsely populated trees and shrubs become a full on rain forest. Trees and densely packed, with giant leaves shielding me from the raindrops and protecting my from the wind. I’m fairly soaked by this point so any protection is a good thing. The wooden board walk trail is elevated and that is also a good thing as most of the streams have expanded far beyond their normal banks and the forest floor is more of a single all encompassing waterfall with the torrents of water taking no prisoners on its long journey to the sea and off these mountains. I rounded the back side and started my way back to the trail head I the clouds parted and the sun came out as I left the dense rain forest area. Some dry weather for walking was exactly what this trek needed. Rising up over one of the ridges I was able to find a dry spot on a wooden bench. There are a few other people around on this trial but I have this sunny spot all to myself. The bench faces back towards the big waterfalls, giving a awesome view off several. You can hear thousands of little water falls in the forest beyond me, you can hear the winds sweeping over the hillside, down into the valleys, rustling the treetops. Small clouds passing in front of the sun cast a shadow over the foliage causing the colors to change from a dark ominous green to a bright, alive, vivid green and back again. For a few minutes I lose myself there. Trying to use all of my senses to absorb as much of the things happening around me as possible. All of a sudden something grabs at my hand and the granola fruit bar I’m holding, startling me with a jump. It’s a large raven with yellow beady eyes. He has literally just tried to steal the food from me. This is one brave, aggressive bird. I had to shoo him away and then again 30 seconds later. He kept coming back until I had long finished the food and I finally found a few small pebbles to throw at him. See what feeding the animals can do. But they’re so darn cute sometimes I just can’t help myself.

I continued on the trail and get back to the starting point fairly dry and feeling good. Eager enough to keep going. So I head along the boardwalk back to the visitor centre. An 8km hike broken into 3 sections or a 15 minute shuttle bus trip. For the most part this area is beautiful but slightly boring. You walk up and down around the corners past more trees and grasses. Occasionally crossing Dove River that is the outfall to the lake, paralleling the roadway about 100m (300’) to one side. Before reaching Ronny Creek parking area I connect with a section of the Overland Track which is a 80+ km trail from these mountains south all the way to South Cape Bay and the Cockle Creek campground (see Tasmania part II) This particular section is an open field. The boardwalk managed to keep you up out of the marshes but was in need of some repair in spots. As I walk along I notice something I had heard about many time but not seen, Wombat Poo! A Wombat is a good size animal, kind of like a black bear cub with a slightly less aggressive (only slightly) personality. These creatures are vegetarians and eat mostly grasses and leaves. What is most unique about them and the part so many people have shared with me is that their poo is square. Yep I said square! Now I have spared you the picture but take my word for it these brown little grainy turds look like large dice that have been passed and of course plopped down right in the middle of the trail. It’s EVERYWHERE! Every 3rd step I have to make sure I know exactly where I’m placing my foot. The little piles are in various stages of decay. It is on the walkway, in the grasses, floating in the creek beds the snaked between the mounds of grass. Really there’s a lot of poo for over 2 full km. Making me wonder how many wombats frequent what must be some really yummy grass. There was one more thing I noticed that kind of amazed me. There was no smell, at least not what one would imagine you should have standing in a massive field filled with crap. But nothing I could really notice? Maybe it was the wind and rain keeping down the smell. Whatever it was I was thankful and did my best to get finished the wombat poo trail as fast as possible. At 2nd of the 3 connection point with the shuttle bus I decided to take the more leisurely route home and planted my butt on the bus for the final 2.5 km. I spent the evening much like the one before in the mess hall enjoy a warm fire, vodka and the company of strangers. Some people were new and some, I had met the evening before. The night was also spent much the same way snuggled up in my layers of cotton. Listing to the wind and rain, fairly confident I wouldn’t get crushed by a tree limb. It hadn’t happened on the first night so it was harder to believe it would happen tonight.

Wednesday morning, New Year’s Eve day, I awoke to more of the same thing, single digit temperatures, biting wind and rain. Today’s adventures will take me to one of the peaks above Dove lake and crappy weather isn’t going to stop me from getting in one more decent hike on the final days of my trip. I do have a 90 minute massage booked for 5pm, dinner in the bar, and a live band planned for the evening giving me something to look forward to at my journey’s end. I start out back at Ronny Creek trail head and Wombat Poo Trail. I have to back track on about 1km of trail I did yesterday to get to the turn on to the Overland Track and up to Marion’s lookout. Along the way you pass another mountain lake, Crater Lake. Much smaller then the famed National Park of Oregon I love so much. But beautiful in its own right. The trail takes you right up the river that overflows out of it. The 2nd day of rain has continued to push the water through the forest at high peak flows making every wet step worth it. Today weather is a little different, instead of fairly constant rain like yesterday it was heavy down pours for a few minutes then nice sun shine. So as I continue to climb past Crater Lake the vegetation gets more like mountain scrub not giving you much protection from the elements along with beautiful vista when the sun does come out. I make my way to the final plateau with my destination insight. I chat with a nice lady making her way down, but waiting up for her husband to catch up. We can see the clouds coming off the hills. Dark, ominous clouds, clouds you can see pack a wallop and there’s nowhere to hide. The last .5km, 120m (390') climb isn’t going to be of the sunny pretty nature I'd prefer, it turns out to be a head down, watch your feet closely and a highly vertical one instead.
The lookout's view point tops out at about 1200m, (3940') which doesn’t sound like much but this tiny island peaks out at 1545m (5070')and is exposed to the Mother Nature’s wrath, surrounded by hundreds or thousands of miles of ocean. Reaching the top the rain that had turned to sleet, pelting me, then turned to snow, whipping past me, with winds that cause you to want to hold on to something. I find a magnificent spot, a little gully dip at the edge looking over Dove Lake. This spot is flat with a back wall about a meter high to lean up against keeping the wind and snow at my back whipping right over my head. Eventually the skies do clear a little and more people show up. I have had my 30 minutes rest at the perfect spot and now it's time for someone else to use it. Making my way back down is always a quicker trip but I manage to catch a great shot of Crater and Wilkes Lake. (There's also a Hanson Lake and about 4 more nestled in the tiny valley's created by the peaks above Dove Lake.) Back at camp I take a quick shower not because I’m late for my massage but because the water is barely luke warm and the shower building is made of stone with big open doorways allowing the cold wind practically into the shower stall with you. I make it to the spa, where I’m givin the 3 second tour (it’s that small) and a robe. I sit in the steam room and warm myself thoroughly. The massage is wonderful and does exactly what I needed after all my time outside and on the trails.

Dinner on New Years Eve was spent in the lodge bar off to one side where I could watch the whole dining room and overlook the bar area. I treated myself to a big juicy steak. During dinner I'm able to make out who the locals are. They tend to be having much more fun because they’re so isolated and really get to know each other and it is the last day of 2008. The band I had heard so much about turned out to be a guy with a guitar and a harmonica and he was good. His repartee was lots of old classics to get the crowd singing and dancing. I met several great people and party the night away welcoming in 2009.

Thursday morning, January 1 2009 was a new day, a new year and new adventures waited for me. I still had 1 full day left before heading back to Melbourne and wanted to start the year off right, with more national parks. I only have to make it to Devonport a mere 100km away today. I leave Cradle Mountain and head for Mole Creek Karst National Park and another cave system. There are actually several in this area to visit. Mole Creek being the most popular and where the information centre is located. Here the guide doesn’t mention the cave spiders at all. I do ask about them and he prefers to not mention it but they are there too. This place is just as beautiful as Hastings Cave (see Tasmania part II) but they have a much more spectacular showing of glow worms. Near the end of our journey the group came to a spot where the guide shut off all of the lights. If you’ve never been in a cave and had this done it’s an eye opening experience, trust me. You absolutely cannot see you hand in front of your face even if you were touching your nose. Once your eyes fully expanded to the light that was in this area you could see hundreds of little bright white spots on the ceiling and walls. Waiting further allows you to see the lights reflecting in the pool of water near us. I tried to get a picture but it just didn’t come out very well. It was really a cool thing to these guys. It’s really just the tip of their tails that glows and they do it to attract insect in the darkness. They’re only about an inch long and are another unique cave creature.

Still having most of the afternoon left I manage to squeeze in my 11th national park in 12 days, Narawntapu National Park just east of Devonport another beach park that prove to be one of the best. I arrive at the trail head which is only about 60m (200') from the beach and like so many places on this wonderful journey there’s no one around. Coming out of the mountains meant the rain had stopped and the sun was shining brightly again. A solemn, secluded walk on the beach to clear my head and think of all the fun I have had. The beach was long and straight stretching for maybe 5 km in each direction, with firm warm sand to walk in, a gentle ocean breeze, lapping 1’ waves and endless serenity. My hotel awaits me for the final nights rest but I linger here most, of all the places, not wanting to return fully to the hard brash surfaces of our modern world.


After checking in to the Comfort Inn I find some dinner and return to the comfort of those hard brash surfaces and a warm and soft bed. A real bed with sheets and pillows and blankets. A world of HOT showers and mindless TV. Even here I lose track of the time and drift off into sleep with my CPAP purring along next to me. Friday morning I’m up and on my way at 7am . Boarding on the Spirit of Tassie back to the main land starts at 7:30. The long ride home on Tasmania’s finest auto ferry awaits me. This is just like the trip down but less exciting because I know what to expect this time. I won’t bore you or myself with the details again. One thing I didn’t expect was the feeling of seeing Melbourne and the anticipation I’d feel at returning to the new city that has become familiar to me. It’s the first time I heard myself refer to it as home. To this day I’m still trying to understand what the bigger meaning of that single thought is and what it means to my life. You’ll have to keep reading my blogs to find out, as I do.