Category: Down Under

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Once upon a time (five years ago), Australia and New Zealand were to have been our destination, but alas, Covid came and the world changed.

Now the world has more or less reverted and we are finally preparing to visit the land down under. I started humming and singing Australia’s unofficial national anthem, Waltzing Matilda, a few weeks back. It’s a folk tune that was written at the turn of the twentieth century about a hobo who gets caught poaching a sheep. The term “waltzing Matilda” is not about dancing, but refers to traveling on foot (waltzing) with a bag of your belongings (Matilda) slung over your shoulder. You know how this sprightly tune goes (as demonstrated by Australian performer Rolf Harris… more about him later).

The tale turns dark at the end, as the hobo chooses to drown himself in a lake rather than be arrested for his crime…. perhaps more of a tribute to the independent spirit of the Aussies than just a light-hearted ditty.

Rolf’s story also becomes clouded…..an Australian who emigrated to the UK, he had a musical career, several shows on British television and recorded “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport”, which was a big hit in the US and other anglophone countries in 1963. Not only was he a successful entertainer, he was also quite a gifted painter. In 2006, the BBC commissioned him to do a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for her 80th birthday……

Sadly for poor old Rolf, he was snared in the “Me Too” movement – convicted in 2014 of multiple counts of sexual misconduct by British courts. He spent three years in prison and died last year at age 93. Following his conviction, he was stripped of many honors accrued in his lifetime, including Commander of the British Empire, Officer of the Order of Australia and as an “Australian National Living Treasure”, among other awards. No one seems to know where the queen’s painting is any more either.

Sad for Rolf, sad for the victims of unwanted attention….. which brings us to this also-sad song written by Tom Waits (as recorded in 1992 by Rod Stewart) that takes the Waltzing Matilda refrain in a whole different direction. From the viewpoint of an alcoholic stranded in a foreign country….. in pain, isolated and hopeless.

I’ve included a clip of this recording; but I encourage you to seek out the full version. It’s a haunting piece that is embedded in my brain. Never can I hear the zippy “Waltzing Matilda” again without hearing Rod’s voice croaking out a refrain of misery.

Uplifting, yeah? It’s amazing where you can go when following simple threads of inquiry….. like the origins of a perky folk song. I had to share this particular journey.

Speaking of journeys…..

We depart in a couple of days for the north island of New Zealand and then Australia. Once again, it will be trains, planes, automobiles and boats as we explore some distant reaches of that part of the world. A bonus – it’s winter there, so we will escape the treacherous heat and humidity of our East Texas home. And another bonus – we will be absent for most of the hoo-rah that will no doubt surround the build-up to the US general election in November! Yay.

It is particularly exciting that two trusted traveling companions from South Africa – Tertius and Ty – will be joining us for a few weeks flying over Australia’s middle, from Melbourne to Darwin. Here we are in 2022 celebrating our climb up the Sani Pass from South Africa to Lesotho.

More hilarity will doubtless ensue on this trip!

Little of great moment has happened to us since the circumnavigation with National Geographic last year…. If you don’t count the addition of a couple of new souls to our household.

Boudreaux and Sally O’Malley showed up on our porch in the middle of an electrical storm a month or two ago, and quickly established that they were never going to leave. They are truly lovely dogs…. But will not supplant in our affections Raider, shown here dreaming under multiple images of a solar eclipse.

Raider will spend this summer with his “first” family in Tyler, while Boudreaux and Sally O will stay with a lovely woman who boards pets in her home.

With the critters taken care of, we’re off to the other side of the world. First posting from the road will probably come out at the end of June.

Stay cool and stay safe….. but not too safe!

Aotearoa is the Māori name for the country of New Zealand. According to legend, it means “land of the long white cloud”. Presumably this is what its first human discoverers saw as they navigated their way from eastern Polynesia west across the Pacific Ocean seven or eight hundred years ago, around 1250. Europeans didn’t show up until 400 years later in 1642, when a Dutchman named Abel Tasman made his way from what is now Indonesia to southern Australia, and then to these lush islands…..

A first and enduring national symbol for Aotearoa/New Zealand is the silver fern, a plant that I originally mistook for a palm tree, growing in profusion seemingly everywhere.

The silver fern is the emblem of New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, and is also featured on souvenir items……

People from New Zealand call themselves kiwis, after a nocturnal flightless bird endemic to the country.

Very cute…. And unfortunately endangered – falling victim to predators introduced by humans over the years, such as stoats (a kind of small weasel), dogs and cats. Wildlife conservation efforts are under way and working in some areas.

Another kind of kiwi – the fruit!

First introduced to New Zealand from China shortly after 1900, they were called Chinese gooseberries. Once commercial cultivation became successful, however, the name was officially changed in 1959 to kiwifruit.

Kiwis – people, birds and fruit…….. we look forward to getting to know more about them all!

An historic note – New Zealand became a colony of the British Empire in 1840 pursuant to a treaty with the Māori leadership. In 1907 it became a self-governing dominion of the United Kingdom and now remains a part of the Commonwealth. The flag includes the Union Jack and a depiction of the Southern Cross constellation, a brilliant feature of the night sky in this hemisphere.

Introduction over….. will post again shortly with reports from Auckland and the Northland region.

Auckland was a logical place to spend a couple of days getting over jet lag….

Our base was a Victorian-era B&B and on-going labor of love for our host John. It was quite comfortable with a nice shabby/genteel vibe….. and a fabulous location.

John was an extraordinarily generous host who bestowed parting gifts, as well as a lift to the car rental office.

But most importantly, we shared a glass of wine and some energetic conversation with John and his friend Rosemary (and his dog Little Tina) about the state of the universe.

Earlier in the day, this tree on the University of Auckland campus caught our attention.

And while admiring its spread and will to survive, we ended up in deep discussion with arborists Lance and Vinny….. also about the state of the universe (and, of course but only briefly, the state of the tree).

The War Memorial Museum in Auckland had a special exhibit….. a series of Lego panoramas set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have died out and Lego mini figures have taken over the remaining relics of our civilization…..

Australian “Lego Masters” created about 12 major Lego displays in the exhibition with mini figures inhabiting bookshelves, a refrigerator, a jukebox, a piano. Here, a newsroom and a cryogenic chamber, both tiny parts of larger dioramas

Clever, but more than a little sobering and eerie as the visitor contemplates a world without real humans, destroyed by our own greed and negligence.

Speaking of whimsy, color and environmental conscience, Hundtervasser was an Austrian architect and artist who moved to New Zealand in the 1970s. He was a passionate defender of the natural world – promoting trees, whales and clean water among other things – and designing incredible buildings all over the world. Here is a model of the museum bearing his name in Whangarei, NZ.

He hated straight lines, evident from this staircase…

He also painted…..

If you will pardon a slight digression, he had strong feelings about poop, and how our modern obsession with flushing it into clean water sources is a really bad idea. If you have time, read his diatribe (from half a century ago).

It makes perfect sense. The composting toilet Henry brings on our camping trips works this way.

In the same vein, Hundtervasser’s creation of most renown in New Zealand are the public toilets he designed for the town of Kawakawa.

And a big shout-out to the New Zealanders… not sure if it’s because of Hundterwasser’s example or if it is just an acknowledgement of the need we all share, but public toilets in New Zealand are plentiful, easy to find and spotless…. And often quite beautiful, such as these we stopped at on our way north from Auckland.

Next report – visiting Northland and the Bay of Islands!

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Kiwis are very proud of their boating prowess, being the current holders of the America’s Cup… so we couldn’t visit (even in winter!) without taking a sailing trip.

Side note about the sailing contest, America’s Cup – it is the oldest international sporting competition in the world, the first having been conducted in 1851. (The first international Olympics competition didn’t occur until 1932.). The New York Yacht Club (obviously American) won the competition continuously from its start until 1983, the world’s longest sports winning streak at 132 years! New Zealand was awarded the cup in 2021 and will be facing a challenge in October of this year.

Back to our little adventure under sail – we joined Russell and Karen (and their dog Woody) on their yacht, the SunKiss, for two days exploring the Bay of Islands along the coast north of Auckland. It IS winter here – not freezing but nights getting down into the 40s (Fahrenheit – 10s Celsius) and days nice and cool. And a bit of rain. But we were lucky in many respects….

A break in the weather allowed Russell to put up the sails and Henry to take the helm.

Felt like I was with the Gorton’s fisherman!

Another very lucky happenstance (for us!) is that Russell is an accomplished professional chef… the meals he prepared (with such incredible ease) were simple and delicious. Great food and great company, as the state of the universe was once again carefully examined.

Breakfast on the bow…..

And Woody the dog had a job, too – helping return undersized fish to their watery home…..

And still another bonus – sleeping onboard a ship in peaceful waters is about as good as sleeping gets. What a beautiful part of the world! Thank you to Karen and Russell for sharing a little piece of this paradise with us.

The nearby town, Kororareka (called Russell in English), has a rich history as the first permanent European settlement in New Zealand…. But I like best the story of how it was named. A Māori chief was wounded nearby, and given a broth made from the carcass of a blue penguin. Upon tasting the brew, he commented, “Blue penguin….. sweet!” Presumably he was also healed. Here is the town coat of arms (with the penguin in orange for unknown reasons).

Beautiful succulent wall.

Also sweet!

For those of us Americans who remember wearing leather shoes that our mothers required us to clean and shine – our first exposure to the kiwi (bird) would have been this:

Kiwi shoe polish was invented by an Australian in Melbourne in 1906. The name was a tribute to his New Zealander wife. The British and US armies adopted it in World War I, and its popularity thus spread across the planet. Sadly, it was taken off the market in the UK in 2022 and is expected to be discontinued in the US this year. And so it goes.

The kiwi bird, however, is alive and well after facing severe endangerment.

Kiwi eggs are collected in the wild, generally sniffed out by specially-trained muzzled dogs.

The eggs are brought to hatcheries where they are carefully tended through the hatching process. The chicks are nurtured until they attain a weight of 1 kilo (about 2.2 pounds). At that stage, they are deemed capable of successfully fighting off a stoat by themselves! They cannot fly away, as their wings are not functional, and do not use their beaks, which are fragile and primarily used for sensing food sources. Instead, they kick them with their powerful legs! Mother Nature is amazing.

The Bay of Plenty – the area around Rotorua and TePuke – calls itself the kiwifruit capital of the world. (If you refer to the fruit as “kiwi”, locals will be confused, wondering if you’re talking about birds or fellow countrymen – so call it kiwifruit.)

We were lucky enough to meet and share a meal with kiwifruit growers and marketers Tania and Roland at a farmer’s market. A fascinating discussion of the challenges of kiwifruit cultivation ensued (along with the usual state of the universe topic).

They generously gave us a box full of kiwifruit, which we devoured in only a couple of days. So much Vitamin C, antioxidants and fiber!

Not too far from Rotorua are the Waitomo glow worm caves, a “must-see” tourist attraction.

Truth be told, the glow worms are actually maggots – larval phases of flies. Bioluminescence attracts insects to their sticky string-like webs.

The deep limestone caves are worth seeing on their own…. A pretty shot of the winding descent into one of them.

Fun stuff – near the caves was a unique motel that promised to be schlocky as well, with rooms built into a turf-topped cave that resemble hobbit holes….

The place was actually quite nice and peaceful, nestled into wooded hills outside the town. New Zealand was the primary filming site for many of the Hobbit/Lord-of-the-Rings movies, and fans flock to the attendant tourist attractions. We did not.

Speaking of other-worldly…… giant foxtail agave plants are common on the north island, making a big statement in the garden!

With night fast approaching, we stopped at a bed and breakfast (with a no-vacancy sign) in the tiny hamlet of Paparoa – where they fortunately had a last-minute cancellation for one of the three rooms. Our hosts Tony and Maggie have an antique-filled place, complete with a welcoming fire……

AND an excellent sit-down home-cooked dinner, where we were joined by our hosts and the other two guests.

Tony is justifiably proud of the breakfast offering as well – so artfully presented!

Back to Rotorua, a center of Māori culture – rather than attend a song-and-dance tourist show, we opted to go to a tiny cinema to see the recently-released film “Ka Whawhai Tonu”, or “Struggle Without End”.

Set in 1864, it tells a story of the land war between the Māori people and British colonial forces. It is notable as one of the first major films to be almost entirely in the Māori language….. hopeful local buzz is that it might earn an Oscar nod for international film. We found it a great cultural and history lesson and excellent experience of the cadence and sounds of the Māori tongue.

More from Aotearoa soon!

Thrift shops are mainstream in New Zealand, where they are called Op Shops. The “op” stands for “opportunity”, a term that was coined by a woman in Australia who wanted a more dignified term than “second-hand”. Villages in New Zealand have at least one Op Shop; larger towns may have four or five of them. Thrifty and environmentally-conscious Kiwis know that these enterprises not only benefit the associated charities, but also provide a chance to recycle materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Some mature American travelers have a hard time passing up the chance to paw through the discards of the cultures through which they pass…..

Henry has now acquired quite a selection of music CDs – including a pristine collection of Patsy Cline oldies. (Will have to wait to listen to them, as CD players are few and far between – here, there and everywhere… but not at home!)

One of the most brilliant Op Shop strategies is to take the donated goods, then upgrade or embellish them to enhance their appeal…..

Thus one person’s trash becomes someone else’s one-of-a-kind treasure! What a great activity for a sewing/craft group!

Another way to capitalize on unused resources – the free library (“Take a book; leave a book”), also common in small communities. This one is lodged in a beautifully-painted old refrigerator on the front porch of a local post office/realtor/convenience store.

Lance was taking a break from a long hike down the road, modeling what looks like the latest in Op Shop couture; Henry appears an over-eager fashion dandy next to him.

Lance is a retired farmer who has traveled quite extensively himself; grounded now, he said, by the limits of old age and a fairly recent minor stroke. Sigh. State of the universe was a compelling topic for him, and one we turned over carefully.

New Zealand has a universal public health care system that provides free or subsidized care to all its citizens. A promotion for early cancer screening included a giant inflatable colon, complete with polyps at various stages…

What a nice way to educate people about a potentially deadly disease! And hopefully inspire them to be screened…..

Henry badly needed a haircut. Immediate seating was available at a barbershop in Rotorua that had this image on the door:

We honestly believed the stylist would simply give Henry a trim; he instead opted for this very popular style – shaved on the sides and long on top – looks like a cross between a mohawk and a mullet.

Unfortunately, the style does not translate well for people with thinning silver hair….. We will have to get this fixed in Melbourne!

As idyllic as life in New Zealand appears to us, young people often get itchy and discontent….. in part due to the limited career/work options that exist and perhaps due to the limits of living on a small isolated island. Most Kiwis spend a year or two abroad in their early adulthood; many never return. It is a drain on talent, but one that people ultimately accept if not embrace.

Kiwi grown-ups DO worry about the advent of the “Boy Racers” phenomenon, and it receives a lot of national media attention. These are young people – mostly of the male persuasion – who race each other at high speed in supercharged cars, spinning them around and desecrating paved roads and countryside alike.

Racing usually occurs at night and at high volume. Laws against this activity incorporate penalties such as vehicle impoundment, fines and jail time, but they have been unevenly effective. Some jurisdictions are adapting abandoned go-kart tracks to divert noisy racing from commercial and residential areas. Angry old people shake their fists and say, “These kids need something better to do!” We – not surprisingly – agree with the other seniors….

The Coromandel Peninsula is a close getaway for Auckland residents – with rolling hills, beaches, laid-back villages, agriculture and great hiking. It was our last stop in New Zealand and our favorite Airbnb stay so far – 15 minutes from the closest town in a barn set in the middle of sheep paddocks.

It had a cozy and well-designed interior….

A wood stove…..

And some of Henry’s favorite people next door – chickens!

This red-headed beauty came to call in the morning and had to pay the price….a cuddling session!

Our last day before heading to Australia – how happy we were to be scraping the ice off our rental car instead of sweltering at home!

So now to Melbourne – where we will sample city life for a while, meet up with South African friends Tertius and Ty, and prepare for a flying adventure through the red heart of Australia.

Melbourne is the second biggest city in Australia after Sydney, with over 5 million inhabitants. It was the setting for Nevil Shute’s 1957 novel, “On the Beach”, a story about nuclear apocalypse. It’s told from the viewpoint of the last members of the human race (at the southern end of the planet in Melbourne), as they wait for death from nuclear fallout. It was made into a movie starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner in 1959.

It was a ground-breaking and thought-provoking film produced at a time when mankind was still processing the potential of nuclear destruction after the bombing of Japan that effectively ended World War II. Maybe not great cinema, but worth a watch (or read the book)!

In any event, Melbourne is a thriving city and we enjoyed the colonial architecture and the royal botanic garden.

The Aussies get a B for public conveniences…… they are available, but not quite as prevalent as in New Zealand and not quite as pristine…..

Still vastly better than the US and most European countries.

A pro-Palestinian demonstration shows that concern over the conflict is on-going and pervasive…..

Believe it or not, we found another Lego exhibition – this one not so much whimsical as artsy …..

Quite frankly, we prefer the whimsical, but it’s still stunning what people can do with these little chunks of plastic.

Participative street art was on offer along the banks of the Yarra River….

I just had to purchase a piece of fiber art (a sweater) that was particularly appealing….

Henry got his bad mohawk/mullet haircut corrected, with acceptable results.

After enjoying the highlights of the big city, we met up with Tertius and Ty to embark on our three-week flying safari.

First stop on our itinerary – Kangaroo Island.

The next three weeks we will be on an air safari across the red middle of Australia, starting in Melbourne and ending in Darwin, spending a day or two in a number of locations of interest along the way.

As noted previously, Tertius and Ty from South Africa are joining us for this adventure, along with pilot Tom.

Will post reports from destinations along the way!

Kangaroo Island lies off the mainland of South Australia. With beautiful rugged coastlines and inland tracts, it is mostly made up of protected nature reserves and sheep or cattle ranches.

Tragically, in 2020, large-scale bushfires burned almost half the island, devastating habitats and huge numbers of wildlife and domestic livestock. Local communities, emergency aid organizations…… and of course, Mother Nature ….. have worked tirelessly to restore both flora and fauna. Today it is a dazzling destination.

Southern Ocean Lodge was completely destroyed in the fire, the only survivor being Sunshine, the kangaroo sculpture that was left standing after the inferno passed…

The lodge has been completely rebuilt, and now sits overlooking the southern coast of the island…..

Beachcombing and sunrise/sunset watching:

It did not take too long to find the creatures for whom the island is named…..

Ty was quick to spot this wild koala in a tree on our drive to the lodge.

A local sanctuary has a large number of animals that were displaced, orphaned or injured by the wildfires, providing an opportunity to get up close to these fascinating creatures….

And a small group of dingoes, wild dogs that are not amenable to domesticity.

Kangaroo Island has also become a foodie destination, with vineyards, local wild honey…… and a gin distillery that offers a tasting of five different varieties!

Next destination – Mount Ive Station in the Grawler Ranges.

Mount Ive Station is a sheep ranch in the Gawler Ranges in South Australia – far from civilization, and a stopover for people traveling overland in recreational vehicles. A station in Australia is what we call a ranch in the US…… often very large, since vegetation is sparse and it takes many acres to feed a single sheep or cow.

Mt Ive is located close to Lake Gairdner, a huge salt lake that was partly covered by water from recent rains.

This wallaby didn’t quite make it. The skeleton is a little gruesome, but interesting to see the underlying structure of these distinctive relatives of the kangaroo.

Dazzling sunset from the summit of Mount Ive….

Wombat caves….

Here’s a wombat, another marsupial native to Australia. (We did not take this photo…. It’s for illustration purposes.)

A word about marsupials – mammals whose young are born fairly undeveloped, but then are nurtured by their mothers in pouches. These include kangaroos, wallabies (small kangaroos), wombats and koalas, among others. The only marsupial common in North America would be the opossum…..

Stoney is an outback character who helped guide our small group, providing a story or two, poetry and music…..

He is a published author… his book is a heavy tome that relates his 81 years of experiences and wisdom. We had to buy a copy.

Henry was also drawn to the station pets, which include a couple of emus and a few goats.

Next destination is the town of Broken Hill.