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Wednesday, 3 September 2008
A Day on the Mountain
Mood:  mischievious

Peter skis.  I ski.  Jo and Kimberly can ski, but don’t really like to.  Jacoby snowboards.

What I’m getting at is this...Peter and I went skiing and left everyone else at home.  It sounds mean when I say it like that, but that’s what we did.  Jacoby didn’t come because he would have been expensive, and I don’t know much about the slopes here in Australia.  In hindsight, it was a good thing, because some of the slopes were pretty rough.  –More on that later.

Peter and I registered for a one-day ski trip, organized by Murray Bus Lines.  We were to board the Murray’s bus at something like 5:30 in the morning, they would take us to Threadbo (the same place we hiked up Mount Kosciuszko, only with more snow) for the day, and then the bus would get us home in time for dinner.  All equipment rentals were included, so we didn’t have to have our own stuff.

It was a great day at the slopes!  We made several runs throughout the day. The lines were a little crazy at the chairlifts, and we had some equipment problems with the rental ski boots, but all in all, it turned out just fine.  There were more runs than we had energy for, so that’s good!

The slopes are different here in Australia then they would be in the states.  For instance, when you get on a chairlift, there is no run-map to tell you what you’re going to find at the top.  It was my first time there, so I had no idea what we were getting into most of the time.  The second thing is that while the runs were labelled at the top of the mountain, there was no guarantee that the Green Circle (easy) trail you were following down the mountain a few hundred meters wouldn’t end at a point where the only remaining options to get down the mountain were all Black Diamond (Expert) runs.  Neither of us had been skiing in quite some time, so when this happened (a few times, actually), we did the best we could to make a controlled descent without getting too banged up in the process.  We eventually found a couple of good runs for our ability level, sort of in the middle of the mountain, but that was towards the end of the day, and the only way to get to them was to accept the expert slopes at the top,  and the time delay that was necessary to get down and not damage ourselves.  We also ended up on one long run that was seriously snow challenged.  It was a muddy mess, but we made it!

All in all, it was a good day!  Neither of us was comfortable enough to take a camera, so no pictures...Sorry...Go back and look at the other pictures and add more white stuff and less green stuff. 

It was fun to hit the mountains just once in Australia.


Posted by kisajaja at 6:56 AM MEST
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Friday, 22 August 2008
The Long Awaited Update
Mood:  happy

Okay, so I haven’t blogged in a little while.  While several things have happened in the last few weeks, not much of it is fun, sharable news.

For example, Sabrina went home, in order to get ready for her sophomore year at Shippensburg University.  An event, to be sure, but not fun to share.  She stayed pretty much her entire summer enduring the Canberra winter, which is not good by Australia standards, but not really all that bad...

I went to Puckapunyul , spelled something like that, for a week in order to run some battlefield simulations (wargames).  It was school work, but it was fun and not a bad trip.  I am going back there next week for another simulation.

We had a few smallish events that were fun that I’ll mention.  The first was that went to the Indian Independence Day at the Multicultural Centre.  It was pretty good with dancing, music, and food.  We left before the speeches... J  We also went up to the Mount Stromlo Observatory the other night.  They had set up several telescopes to view the Southern Hemisphere stars. That was actually pretty neat, since it was a crystal clear night.

Then we found a small restaurant that is very similar to Chipotle in Virginia.  We’ve gone there a few times in the last week, and probably again tomorrow.  The place is called Zambreros.

Tomorrow is the Indonesian Independence Day being celebrated at their embassy, so we’ll go check that out.  We’ll go to the Thai one, as well, but that’s not until September.

So, what event has happened that I found suitable for sharing?  We got our RFO (Request for Orders) and I now know where we will go next, after Australia.  Here’s the story...

About a month ago, I got an e-mail from my assignment officer who reminded me that I was due to move in December.  Roger that.  Got it.  While he said he didn’t know what jobs were available, he would let us know soon and that we should start thinking about preferences.  I replied to his message by saying, “I don’t suppose you know if you’ll have anything in Japan?”  He replied by saying, “Yes!  As a matter of fact, I do.  No promises, but I’ll keep you in mind...”

Then time went by.

About a week ago, I got another message that said “hey, folks, here’s the jobs list.  Rank these jobs in order of your preference and return it to me.”  I read the list.  No Japan.  I wrote back to confirm.  He confirmed, no Japan.  Apparently the guy in the job decided to stay. 

Okay, well, maybe next time.  We ranked the jobs with my top 2 being Hawaii and Italy.

Two days later, I find out that We didn’t get Hawaii or Italy, but instead, would be spending our next three years in balmy Anchorage, Alaska.  –Or at least Kimberly and Jacoby would.  I’d be going back to Iraq as a SIGO for the 4th Bde, 25th ID (Airborne).  Okay...Not bad, could be worse.

Two days later, we find out that I will NOT be going to Alaska.  Apparently I couldn’t get there in time for their unit MRE (rehearsals, taking place in November), so they had to take someone else.  My new choices were Colorado Springs, Colorado, or Ft Hood, Texas.

I replied, “Great!  Either one would be fantastic! I’ll take Colorado!”  We’ve been to Ft Hood, Texas.

Next day, I get an e-mail, “Okay, you want Colorado, but based on the needs of the Army, I may have to send you to 173rd Airborne BCT (SETAF).”

I wrote immediately, “That’s Italy!  That’s my second choice from the beginning!  I’ll take it!”

Three days later, it was confirmed.  We’re going to Vicenza, Italy, about an hour west of Venice.  We report on 22 February, or before.  Before I get there, I have to complete the S6 (SIGO) school in Georgia.  It takes five weeks, starting 5 January, so it looks like the end-of-Australia leave will be shortened to accommodate that.  Then it’s back to Italy, this time to live for a while.

It’s a great unit with a proud history and I’m glad to have the opportunity to be a part of it!

-But we will be overseas, again.  Let the teeth gnashing begin.  Like Australia, I’ll do my best to ensure we have a guest room waiting!


Posted by kisajaja at 12:30 PM MEST
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Saturday, 2 August 2008
...And on the way home...
Mood:  happy

 

The next day, we did something that I thought was a great deal of fun.  You may wonder about this one, so let me explain.  There is a place near Dubbo called Parkes.  There is nothing there.  Really, the whole place is a sheep paddock and a road that takes you somewhere else.  However there is one unique thing worth seeing there.  There is a large Radio Telescope in Parkes that was featured in a funny Australian movie called The Dish.  If you’ve seen it, and I’m guessing you haven’t, then you know the story, but for the rest...

According to the movie, at the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Parkes had the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere.  As such, it was NASA’s primary communications site when Apollo  was out of range of California.  It was the ONLY one in the southern hemisphere large enough to receive a television signal from the moon.  As it turns out, it was the Parkes dish that received the video feed from Neil Armstrong’s first steps, which was then broadcast live all over the world.

So we went to see it.

For the record, Parkes is really there, they really have a radio telescope, it really participated in the Apollo missions (and continues to support NASA today), and it really is featured in the movie. 

You should really see that movie....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Posted by kisajaja at 8:15 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 2 August 2008 8:20 AM MEST
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Last Weekend in the Greater Dubbo Area
Mood:  happy

G’day, all!  How ya’ goin’?

Once again, I admit freely that pictures taken of zoo animals do not count.  That being said, we went to Dubbo’s Western Plains Zoo with Peter and Jo last weekend.  Well, to be honest, Peter and Jo set the whole thing up, including the cabin we stayed in, so basically WE went with THEM.  

What a cool zoo!

To start with, it is a bit of a drive to get to Dubbo.  It’s five hours north of Canberra, further west than Sydney.  It’s another of the few land-locked cities in Australia, and there is really nothing there except the zoo.  That being said, it’s a big “conference town” for the business world in Australia due to its “strategic” location.  That means it has a lot of hotels/motels, but really nothing else.

The zoo is something of a mix between a normal zoo and a safari.  All of the animals are in habitats, but there are few that have gates/walls/cages.  Most of the animals are corralled by natural means, such as non-swimming animals being on a small island.  That sort of thing.  The zoo grounds are HUGE, and all of the animals had plenty of space, that I could tell.  It was so large that visitors are encouraged to drive tot he habitat they want to see, park, and then spend as much time as they want, and then drive to the next bit they want to see.  As it turns out, Peter and I rented golf carts for the day and cruised the zoo in those.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, zoo pictures are cheating, but this is the first echidna we'd seen here, and the bird was wild, not caged.  The meercat was cute, so we posted it anyway...  :)

All thanks to Peter and Jo!

 


Posted by kisajaja at 8:05 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 2 August 2008 8:14 AM MEST
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Saturday, 19 July 2008
Cairns - Day Six, Homeward Bound

Once back in Sydney, we picked up our luggage (bulging with our purchases), found the car, and headed to our hotel for the night.  The plan was to spend the night and then hit “Paddy’s Markets” the next morning.  We got to hotel at around 10:00pm (the flight was delayed a bit), but that didn’t matter.  We got checked in, got to sleep, and hit the markets in the morning.

Great market!  One of the funny things about it is that we could tell immediately that we were back in Sydney based on prices.  That being said, they had EVERYTHING and we got some more stuff.

World Youth Day 08 is going on right now, and the Pope is in Sydney, so the place is overrun with “pilgrims” there for that.  Everything is a little crowed right now, but it was still a fun day. 

After shopping, we came home to unpack and to get some rest.  We go back to Sydney on Sunday for hockey.  Jacoby has a double-header...


Posted by kisajaja at 8:28 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 19 July 2008 8:30 AM MEST
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Cairns - Day Five, Day of Koalas

Our last full day in Cairns we spent out at Kuranda.  Again, it was another small town with some fantastic markets.  We went through every gallery, shop, and vendors table, buying cloths, looking at opals, seeing what other things these people make and then sale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kuranda has a really neat place called “Batreach.”  It’s just a lady, and I guess her husband, that took in an injured bat a while back and rehabilitated it back to health.  Then another.  Then another.  Today, they have their own license and outdoor living areas set up to care for all kinds of bats, big and small.  The lady called them all by name, which the bats responded to, held them, brought them over for pictures, fed them, whatever.  She was totally at home with them, and they with her.  She told us all about several of them, including the ones that have been released already, but keep coming back for whatever reason, sleeping outside the cages, but still amongst the other bats. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We spent roughly ½ hour talking to the lady and taking pictures.  Kimberly got a t-shirt and we went back up to the markets.

Also in Kuranda is a small “zoo” called the Koala Gardens, where we saw wallabies (Sabrina’s first time to feed and pet them), snakes, crocodile, and, of course, Koalas.  We all got to hold “Cheebi” the koala for photos. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to the markets, and then the short drive back to Cairns.  The next day was mostly travel, and we headed back to Sydney that night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by kisajaja at 8:16 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 19 July 2008 8:27 AM MEST
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Cairns - Day Four, Day of Snorkling

The next morning was our trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  We went out to Green Island as part of a ½ day package we got because it seemed like plenty of time.  We got to the Island, got all of our gear assembled, and snorkled for about 30 minutes before it was our time to ride on the semi-submersible on a guided tour of the reef.   We spent roughly ½ hour seeing the reef and wildlife (fish, turtles, even a stingray, and TONS of corral and plant life).  After the semi-submersible, we raced back to our snorkling spot (after buying a disposable underwater camera) and snorkled for another ½ hour before it was time to leave. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We thought we had plenty of time going into that trip.  Now I can TOTALLY see what people do for hours on end.  We could have easily spent another hour out there looking around.    As it was, the weather turned bad almost immediately after we got out of the water, so the day ended up being perfect!  We took the boat back to Cairns, headed to the room to cleanup and get dressed, then headed to the mall to get the pictures developed.  Then we did some more shopping and got some dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Posted by kisajaja at 8:09 AM MEST
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Cairns - Day three, Day of Waterfalls

The next day we got up at the usual time (read:  early) and headed out for day full of waterfalls. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were seven waterfalls on our schedule, two of which were off on their own leaving the last five on what they called their “waterfall circuit.”  It was mostly driving over the mountains and through the country to get to these falls, but there wasn’t much walking involved at all.  Most of them where close to the parking areas, so it was pull up, get out, take pictures, get back in, repeat as necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful waterfalls.  Every one of them was fantastic. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order to break up the waterfalls, we also stopped to see two big “touristy” sites.  One was the Cathedral Tree, and the other was the Curtain Tree.  They are both Strangler Fig, which I’d never seen before, and both were really neat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also on this day, was something we didn’t intend.  Passing through the small town of Yungaburra, we saw a platform labelled, “Platypus viewing.”  There were a couple of people there, and it was next to a wood shop we wanted to look through, so we decided to stop and see what this was all about.  The young couple there said that the platypus was there and was coming up every minute or so, so we sat and watched.  Sure enough, we saw him up close and personal, several times, took several pictures, and thought it was great!  Platypus in the wild.  He was funny!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later on, at one of the waterfalls, we saw a couple of people standing at the base.  They had been swimming in the splash pool when the lady realized that “something” was in the water with them.  Fearing that it was a small crocodile (indicating that LARGER crocodiles could also be about), they swam back to the rocks a short distance away.  Looking back into the water for a few minutes, they realized it was another Platypus.  This was miles away from our first platypus sighting of the day, but we looked around.  Less than a minute or two later, there her was.  A small, but unmistakable platypus swimming around in the waterfall splash pool.  Jacoby went wading into the water, just so he could say he went “swimming with the platypi.”  Not a bad idea, I suppose.  How many people can say they did that??!?  Roughly the same number of people that have seen two platypi in the same day from two different locations, both “in the wild” I would guess...

 

 


Posted by kisajaja at 7:52 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 19 July 2008 8:09 AM MEST
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Cairns - Day Two, Day of Markets

Day two started early (they all did), as we loaded up the car and headed out to Port Douglas, Mossman, and Daintree.  Again, beautiful drive over a different part of the mountains on the way to the Port Douglas markets.  Once there, we shopped, looked around the town, and then headed off to Mossman which provided us with a fantastic nature walk across streams and gorges and through forests (rain forests, some).  After Mossman we headed to a tiny little town called Daintree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mossman was great, offering nature trails, forests, rain forests, and creeks to see.  It was a terrific way to loosen up after a lot of driving!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daintree was fantastic!  To say it was quaint is an unqualified understatement, and it was great!  We ate lunch at one of the three restaurants in the small downtown area, which was a single street, about 1/8th of a mile long.  There were a few houses in the town, and they were a little spread out, but the entire downtown area (three restaurants and a couple souvenir shops) took up less space than your average Walmart. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We sat for lunch, perused the menu, and ordered.  Kimberly had a Crocodile Hamburger, I had the “native sampler” which included Crocodile wantons, Crumpled prawn (shrimp), Barramundi (fish) spring rolls, a Kangaroo kebob on a sugar cane skewer.  Sabrina ventured out and ordered Crocodile wontons.  Jacoby was on his own for “boring normal stuff.”

We asked the lady that owned/operated/cooked/served/and cleaned the restaurant how many families lived in Daintree.  Her response:  “I don’t know how many families, but they say it’s 96 people.  I don’t know where they got that number...I never seen ‘em all.  The school has 15 students total for all the grades.”  Let’s see...96 people, 15 school age children, I’d say around 30-35 families.  Pretty small...


Posted by kisajaja at 7:44 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 19 July 2008 8:35 AM MEST
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Cairns - Day One

What a trip!  We arrived fairly late from our flight, which landed at around 10:00pm.  Luckily, we had no problem getting our luggage, getting our rental car, and finding our cabin, so we were knocked out by 11:00pm. 

Our cabin was a perfect little one-room place which was sort of strategically separated into four smaller “areas.”  We had a dining nook (two bar stools and some counter space), a kitchen (sink and small refrigerator), and three beds (one double, one single, and one hideaway, which lived under the single).  –And also a tiny bathroom.  It was plenty for us, and it was warm, dry, and comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For day one, we got an early start (a common theme), loaded up the car around 6:30ish, and drove into Mareeba for their markets.  It was a beautiful drive up and over a mountain range and across a bit of country.  We arrived at the Mareeba markets, visited every stall, and bought several gifts and souvenirs.  Afterwards, we headed back to Cairns.  We got back just before lunch time.

We decided to look around Cairns and get a “feel” for the place.  We went down to the waterfront area (downtown “tourist” boardwalk kind of area).  While there, we spent some time in the weekly vendor markets, then listened to some live music on the waterfront, then walked all of the streets in the downtown marketplace, stopping in most of them, and buying gifts and souvenirs from several of those...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got lunch on the waterfront, which was significant, because we had more food choices than we are used to.  To highlight this, Kimberly ordered Fettuccini with Smoked Crocodile, which was actually really good!  - We all tried it.  I had Salt and Pepper Squid, and the kids had “normal boring stuff.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a “get your feet wet” sort of day that was full of excitement!  First, it was warm!  It felt like an early summer day, which was a welcome switch from dreary Canberra.  Second, we had never been there before, so all of the excitement of new shops, new views (first time to the Coral Sea!), and new things to do all came into play.


Posted by kisajaja at 7:32 AM MEST
Updated: Saturday, 19 July 2008 7:43 AM MEST
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