Inland and Up North!

After our side trip to Stradbroke Island, we had a few days in Brisbane with our cousin, in which she took us to see some special treats of the area. One day, she drove us inland to the city of Toowoomba. The hope had been to show us the stunning view back through the mountain pass toward Brisbane. Unfortunately, that week, there had been an ongoing bush fire for several days, and the smoke was so thick, there was no sightseeing to be had. We compensated very effectively by going to the Cobb & Co. Museum. What a great time we had there! They had exhibits on all the transport systems of late 1800's Australia on display, from horse-drawn phaetons and stage coaches to the first automobiles, a natural history section, a display of Aborigine dance gear from the islands at the very northern tip of Australia, and an entire section devoted to teaching people arts and handicrafts from woodworking, stone carving, and iron working to silver smithing, stained glass work, felting and millinery. On weekends, they offer workshops at the museum so that the public can learn techniques directly from the artisans who make their livings doing these crafts. The next day, we went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where we got to see not only the koalas at all stages of life, but also kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, emus, wombats, cassowaries, and an array of different birds and lizards. I can’t quite get used to the parrots and lorikeets flying around wild in Australia. It’s amazing to see them. I’ve included a shot of some Rainbow Lorikeets we saw up close at the Koala Sanctuary.

This is a bush turkey.

The birds in the sand are mynas having a dust bath--they landed so hard and fast, we thought they'd been hurt!

On our last day in Brisbane before our second Australian travel adventure, my son stayed at the house to complete a correspondence assignment while I went walking with our cousin through the Botanical Gardens and downtown of the city. Here are some of the ubiquitous Australian White Ibis in their nest at the gardens.

Our second travel adventure in Australia started out with an overnight train journey northward to Prosperpine, then a connection to Airlie beach, the town from which we would set off on two days sailing on a catamaran amongst the Whitsunday Islands!

What an experience! We met our sailing group in the late afternoon, and set out for the isles with a good wind in our sails. Our boat was the On Ice, sailed by the ISail Whitsundays company. It was just beautiful; the crew were super-friendly; the rest of the passengers were fun, interesting people from around the world; and, our initial impression that we would have a great time was completely confirmed over the two days! On the first morning, we woke up early to walk up through a forest reserve on Whitehaven Island to the hilltop from which I took this photo of the beach we would explore later in the day—talk about paradise!

 When we did go to the beach, we wore summer-weight wet suits to protect us from jellyfish, so we were able to swim longer than we would have otherwise. We also got to try stand-up paddle boarding! I was happily paddling along when I saw two large stingrays swim under me! I was very glad not to be swimming then, so of course that was when I fell backwards off the board! I never hurried to get out of the water so fast!

That evening, we were introduced to coral reef snorkelling at the head of Hook Island in Manta Ray Bay. WOW! There were so many different types of fish, and so many colours of coral! It was incredible! Then, just as I was getting out of the water, some others pointed out a dark shadow going past, and told me it was two manta rays hunting! Sure enough, whole arcs of fish started leaping out of the water to avoid the rays—what a sight! That night we moored in a quiet bay near Dolphin Point, where we were treated to a fabulous dinner while watching this beautiful sunset:

The next morning, we were just getting started when dolphins appeared off the port bow of our boat! How lucky were we to have these incredible wild animals appearing on demand at the places that were named for them? Very lucky, we were told—it hardly ever happens! After a little more snorkelling, and paddling about in a transparent canoe, through which we could see all kinds of fish going about their business, we moved off to our final stop before our return to Airlie Beach: a little sand island of which I can’t remember the name.  What was important was that we had one last chance to snorkel there—and we saw Sea Turtles! I saw one just hanging out at the bottom between some coral, then two more once I had climbed out of the water, into the dingy—they were just swimming along on the surface! We had one more wildlife sighting on our way back to port, when a solitary dolphin surfaced right by the boat as we sailed past!

Our time in Australia was brought to a lovely close with a few more days in Brisbane, in which we had two special treats: One was a pair of tickets to a play called Lipstick Dreams (which was absolutely hilarious!); the other was an invitation for lunch at the home of our cousin’s close friends, followed by a trip to the big Brisbane-Adelaide soccer match for my son (with the father and their kids) and a lovely tour around northern Brisbane for me (with our cousin and the mother of the family). What a great ending for our visit! As excited as we were to continue our trip, it was hard to leave. 

Australia!

We had just over a month in South Africa, which we left in the midst of a thunderstorm so large, it simultaneously affected both Durban and Johannesburg (we know—our first connector flight was from Durban to Joburg, and we had to fly through the storm at both locations!) Our next stop is in Australia, where we were from mid October to early November. Like our stay in South Africa, we have a home-base there, at the home of my mum’s cousin in Brisbane. We had a great visit with her! We also had two excursions. The first was to Stradbroke Island, on the other side of Moreton Bay from the city of Brisbane—what a great place to relax and get over the jet lag! We had our first experience of staying at a hostel, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We stayed at Manta Lodge, which is on the outskirts of Point Lookout, one of three larger communities on Stradbroke. The main emphasis there is on scuba diving, but they helped us find companies that would take us sea kayaking and riding on a 4WD tour of the island. The day we went sea kayaking, the conditions were a little rough, and we weren’t the only beginners in the group, so the guide decided to take us along the bay at Amity Point, then into the mangroves at the entrance to the river there. Were we glad! It turns out that kayaking against a current is hard work! The sea sections definitely provided us with some challenges, and a workout, but we did get to see stingrays scooting along the sand below us, which was pretty cool! Once into the mangroves, we got out and snorkelled for a bit in the lovely, clear water provided by the incoming tide. That was another new experience for both of us, and really fun! I saw a few Sea Breen, and my son swam right through an entire school of minnows! We also both got the opportunity to learn not to try to breathe in with your nose—it messes up the seal on your mask!!!  Once we were paddling again, we also saw a turtle swimming past and a fish that may have been a Whiting. Slowly paddling along between the mangroves in the dappled sunshine was a wonderfully relaxing way to spend some time while the tide turned before we headed back out to the bay!

The day for our tour around the island was the day that a storm was building up over the island. A massive wind had been blowing all night, and it didn’t let up too much during the day. As a result, our viewings had more to do with extreme scenery brought about by the wind than about wildlife sightings. The extreme scenery sure was impressive, though! We saw Brown Lake in the interior of the island—it got its name (and rich brown colour) from the tee-tree oil released from the roots of trees along the shore. We saw the Pacific Ocean in its wind-whipped glory as we drove northwards up the main beach on the east side of the island. Apparently, on calmer days, one can see whales, dolphins, turtles, and manta rays, but nothing was visible between the crashing waves that day. Once we reached the much more sheltered Flinder’s Beach on the northeast shore, we paused for a lovely barbeque in the shade of some beachside trees in the company of a pair of kookaburras that sat close by, conveniently posing for photographs! As we sat there, eating our steaks with salads, pineapple, and pickled beets from a beautifully set table on the sand, I thought that this was a wonderfully civilised experience! After lunch we walked the beach for a while before driving through Amity Point where we had our one wildlife viewing—a wild koala climbing out on a limb over the road in search of juicier leaves on his gum tree!

Oribi Gorge!

Our base of operations—as it was—for our time in South Africa was Port Shepstone, where my grandparents have lived for some years. We rented a holiday house just off the beach and went out from there for our trips to game parks, etc. as well as day trips nearby. A couple of our day trips were to Oribi Gorge, especially to Lake Eland park. Our first trip there was for a horseback game-viewing safari. My son and I saddled up and went for our tour around the park with a young couple and our guide. It was my son’s first horseback riding experience, and my first in many years—there are muscles that attested to that reality for a few days afterward, I assure you! The highlight of the day was certainly when we left the path for a while to view a mixed herd of blesbok and eland (the largest antelope in South Africa). They are impressive animals! My son got to find out up-close-and-personal when the rest of the horses started moving on, but his wanted to stay and graze. I guess the eland objected to this infringement on their turf, though, as three of them came up and started to chase him off! Thankfully, the horse decided to agree with my son’s assessment that it was time to get out of there!

We went back to the gorge for another adventure on the advice of my sister, who had been on the zip-line there the year before. This time, all four of us went, and had a great time swooping over the magnificent tree-lined gullies, and open water of the fourteen-line system from top-to-bottom of a section of Oribi Gorge. My mum and son were the least certain that it was a good idea when we started out, so it was with justifiable pride that they purchased the “I did it!” T-shirts available after the crew had driven us back up the substantial hillside and returned us to our car. The two guides who had accompanied us on the ride were a great support throughout, giving tips on when best to apply brakes (or not), and encouraging our flagging courage when we were facing particularly steep drops.

Mountains and Battlefields

Having experienced the coast, we drove inland, past Pietermaritzburg, to the Drakensburg Mountains. Our plan was to stay at Kamberg park, and walk up to see the impressive San paintings in the caves the following morning. Sadly, the weather decided otherwise for us. For most of our stay, the mountains were shrouded in mist, and even rain, so the climb was not an option. Fortunately, there was a back-up plan. Many of the small businesses in that section of Kwa-Zulu Natal have joined efforts to create a kind of perpetual studio tour, so you can acquire a map, and then drive around to the shops and studios of different artisans, with coffee stops and accommodations also indicated on your map. We took full advantage of this option, and enjoyed several stops along the way. As it was rather chilly, the refreshment stops with hot food were especially appreciated!

Once out of the mountains, we continued north toward Newcastle, where my dad’s cousin has run a game farm for many years. We had a fabulous visit, getting to know members of our family we hadn’t seen in decades (and in some cases, never before).

A highlight of that stay was a guided tour of three of the critical battles of Kwa-Zulu Natal of the 1800s. The first battlefield was at Bleod Rivier (Blood River) where there was an incredible standoff between a small group of Boer (farmers of Dutch extraction—later to be known as Afrikaaners) fighting men and the fighting forces of the Zulu nation. Our guide was brilliant in his description of the forces involved—psychological as well as physical—as these two groups encountered one another in the wee hours of a January morning after camping out practically beside one another in a dense fog all night before. It is truly astounding that the battle went in favour of the Boers in their laager formation (circle of covered wagons with fighting fences to prevent incursion) instead of the mighty Zulu force that surrounded them, but it happened! The river was renamed after that battle to account for the change of its colour due to the massive loss of Zulu blood into the stream that day.

The second and third battlefields were from conflicts between the British and the Zulu almost a century later. These were at Isandlwana and Rourke’s Drift. In the first, the British were routed completely due to an incredible combination of really poor leadership of the British troops (the general in charge managed to disappear for the duration of the battle—hmmmmm), superior strategy on the part of the Zulu commanders (they knew exactly where and when to attack and made excellent use of the terrain), and sheer unfortunate luck for many of those on the ground (messages got lost or misinterpreted, supplies ran out, etc.). The battle at Rourke’s Drift was a continuation of the one at Isandlwana, the following day, and like the one at Bloed Rivier, was an amazing feat of survival for a small force holed up at a farm, protected as much by prayer and circumstance as any military brilliance.

Wow! What a day!

We were at iMfolozi game reserve in Kwazulu-Natal , South Africa. We got there the first night just before supper, and in the following 25 hours, we saw the most incredible array of animals! We saw Cape Buffalos as we rounded the first turn inside the gate; then we saw Impala, Baboons, a White Rhinoceros, two Waterbuck, and some Vervet Monkeys, all before we even checked in to the camp! We stayed at Mpila Camp where we got to stay in a little chalet for five people that has a thatched roof and full kitchen facilities. We were excited to see that there were tracks of a large antelope and some kind of predator in the ground near the chalet—maybe we would see animals right in the camp!

For dinner our first night here, we had barbecued lamb chops with fresh salad. The sun went down so quickly, that at 6:30 in the evening, my dad was out there cooking in the dark! We were happily enjoying our meal when I looked up to see a Spotted Hyaena looking in the window at us from the patio! That explained the predator prints. We had heard that they could steal meat right off the braai (Afrikaans word for BBQ), but we were startled to see him check us out, and then saunter over to our braai looking for treats! The next night, we cooked indoors!

We woke up with the sun the next morning, and were on the road within half an hour of the gate opening. What things we saw! We started off slow with some of the Impala we had seen the night before, but this time they were accompanied by several Wildebeest. We had heard that there was a Leopard sighting yesterday on one loop, so we went there. We never did see the Leopard, but we saw over 40 White Rhinoceros!!!!!
Before we were done our day’s game viewing, we had also seen Giraffes, Elephants and several different antelopes! The Elephants were right beside the road, and one crossed behind us as soon as we moved onward. He was a young fellow—probably in his last year with the maternal herd, and full of adolescent angst. Despite the fact that none of the others even acknowledged our presence, he got right upset that we were there, flapping his ears, trumpeting, and kicking rocks at our car! We got out of his range as fast as possible!

More Game-Viewing Adventures!

After our stay at Mpila in Imfolozi, we had a couple of nights at Hilltop Camp in Hluhluwe Park followed by a stay in St. Lucia with drives into iSimangaliso Wetland Reserve. At Hluhluwe, we saw more elephant, lots of Nyala, baboons, white rhinos, zebra and giraffes. We had an incredible grasslands viewing experience on our way back to camp before dusk one evening! We were coming down a hill into an impressive expanse of tall grass, when we started seeing impala, zebra, then rhinos and finally a whole herd of giraffe—complete with babies! We thought this was all impressive enough, but then rounded a curve and drove through a herd of about 100 head of cape buffalo! They just went on, and on, and on! We also saw impressive reptile sightings at Hluhluwe—we saw young crocodiles sunning themselves on rocks in a stream; we saw four-foot long leguwan lizards; and on a tree at a rest stop, we saw a pair of blue-headed lizards with stunning colours!
At St. Lucia, we went on a boat tour up the estuary and saw all kinds of hippopotami along with the biggest crocodiles I’ve ever seen! My mum got to be really good at spotting the crocs swimming along the reeds when they only have their eyes and a few bumps on their backs exposed. The first time she spotted one, it gave us all a bit of a shock—it was way closer than we thought, and nobody had noticed! The guides on the boat were great company, so we had fun swapping stories about the different types of wildlife and climatic conditions we have on our separate parts of the world. Another experience we had in that area was a visit to the butterfly house set up by one of the nearby villages. They have a full butterfly nursery and education centre, which we enjoyed. They also have a lovely tea shop where you get the best scones served out in the fresh air, under the trees, which we enjoyed just as much!

We have a flat in Paris!

When planning this trip, I was wonderfully pleased to find a B&B website that listed a little flat in the south of Paris where we could stay four nights for a very reasonable rate, and make our own meals when we didn’t want to eat out. It was every bit as perfect for our needs as I had hoped!
We arrived in Paris by train from London, so that we could have the Chunnel experience. Man, that train is fast! Apparently, the top speed for our journey was reached in the French countryside when we hit 198km/hour! We were moving! We had ordered Paris Passes to museums, attractions, and transportation, so we had to pick them up first at a most unexpected location—the Hard Rock Café! I hadn’t planned to start our French experience with an American one, but we were hungry and tired; the music and food were good; so, why not?

While in Paris, we focused on a combination of cultural and culinary experiences. On our first day, we planned to visit the Musée de Moyen Ages (Middle Ages Museum) and try some authentic French cuisine, so we set out for Cluny. Sadly, the heavens opened, so we got to buy our second umbrella for the trip! We had an excellent lunch at Polidor, a little restaurant that has been faithfully serving its customers for about 150 years! Fortified and warmed, we set out to find the museum, only to discover that it was closed on Tuesdays! NNOOooooo!!!!!! That was a clear indicator to head back to the flat for quiche and pizza from the local bakery!

The second day, in better weather, we took a boat tour down the Seine to find our bearings, then travelled west to east from the base of the Eiffel Tower (where we sat in a park warding off the September chill with hot crepes filled with Nutella, bananas, strawberries, and Chantilly cream!),
to the Orsay art museum, and back to Cluny where we got to visit the Middle Ages museum after all.



We still had a wee bit of energy left, so we walked up to the Notre Dame Cathedral and searched for Berthillon, the ice cream shop extraordinaire that my friend had made me promise to visit before we left Norfolk. Well, I’ll tell you—it was worth the search! It’s not by mistake that they claim to have the best ice creams and sherbets in the world.

Our final day of touring around Paris, we devoted to a trip out to the Palace at Versailles. What an experience!

London Attractions and Friends in Norfolk

After our stay in Manchester, we went down to London for what would have been the Labour Day long weekend, had we still been in Canada. We decided to see the town! Over three days, we went to Madame Toussaud’s Wax Museum, the British Museum (my son had wanted to check out their Egyptology section for years, and he wasn’t disappointed!), the Tower of London, the Sea Life aquarium, and took rides on the London Eye and a river boat on the Thames! We also had a great evening out at a West End musical show: We Will Rock You showcasing the greatest hits of the rock supergroup, Queen.

We had an unexpected adventure in Greenwich. We had decided to try to fit in a side trip out to the Fan Museum there at the end of the day. Unfortunately, the map in our guidebook was nowhere near a useful scale, and we ended up hiking up hill and down dale all over the town of Greenwich! We took so long, that by the time we finally stumbled on the museum by chance on what seemed a little side road, it had closed five minutes prior! There was nothing to be done but find a spot for dinner. We did end up at the Café Rouge, where we both had a super meal before we got back on the train and returned to our hotel on the other side of London.

We left London on the Tuesday morning and headed north again, this time to Norfolk, to visit my wonderful friend from high school and meet her family for the first time.  They made us warmly welcome in their house in the countryside, introducing us to their lifestyle and friends, as well as taking us on side trips to the seaside, proper English pubs, a fabulous garden, and the Out There festival of circus and street performing arts.

 The coastline shown in this picture is rapidly eroding--sometimes as much as ten metres can slide into the sea in a single night.

As you can imagine, this is a grave concern, not only to local authorities, but to the poor homeowners who have had to abandon their property.

These clever stilt performers were among the fascinating acts we saw at the festival. In the afternoon, there were also workshops for any who wanted to take part, so my friend's husband took the   kids to learn how to clown around with minimal props--they had a great time!

Manchester 

After a great stay in Edinburgh, we hopped on the train down to Manchester, England. We had chosen to stay right in the old centre of town in a hotel that was built in 1815. It is situated right beside Manchester Cathedral and Manchester’s oldest standing building—it holds the Old Wellington pub and restaurant, and the first floor was built in 1552! The upper floors were added later (like the 1600’s) and at one point the entire building was moved about 300m. To do the move, they had to take apart the entire building beam-by-beam and reassemble it like a giant jigsaw puzzle at the current location.

We met up with my mother’s brother and his wife (visiting from Canada), and Mum’s cousin from Australia, so that we could all go on a tour around the countryside to see where my maternal grandmother grew up. We had a beautiful day to drive!

 




Our first stop was in the “cool old town” of Chester, where we checked out an incredible medieval cathedral—I couldn’t believe the detailed stained glass windows and mosaic work depicting scenes from the Bible, or the fine woodwork in the choir stalls!

 After that we went to Bebington and Birkenhead to see where Gran lived as a girl and where her father’s family had come from. It is pretty country in which we managed to find her actual childhood home (in spite of the best efforts of the GPS)!

After the family-members had moved on to London, we took a day trip to Skipton in Yorkshire to check out England’s oldest standing castle that still has its roofing. There was also a market on the High Street that day, so we enjoyed that as well. this picture is of the southward view from one of the castle towers down over the main gate and then the high street of Skipton in the distance: