Visitors from Home!

We have been away from home for a long time now. I won't say that we missed experiencing the last winter season in central Minnesota; but there has been momentary bouts of homesickness. Dave has been solid throughout- not surprising. He hasn't even been pining for his summer, 5-day-a-week golf schedule like he would be back home- very surprising! Danny claims that if we could have Sweet Sadie (our cat) here with us he would live in Australia forever. Harry just recently got over how he was cruelly wrenched from his home by an unfeeling matriarch. Now we are all wondering if anyone back home will recognize him now that he is taller than Dave and sporting a handsome starter mustache. Australia has been a dream experience for me and I have loved (almost) every minute. But, of course, I miss my family and friends back home.

So, it was SO exciting to see my parents step off the plane in Perth for a 3 week visit!

We allowed Stan and Jackie a whole day to rest and get over their jet lag before starting to show them around Perth and Fremantle.

Esplanade Park is a block from our apartment. The boys had been waiting to ride the Ferris Wheel with Grandma Jackie!

Flocks of noisy Corellas (white parrots), Australian Ravens and Australian Magpies love the park too.

Corellas can live for up to 50 years and have become so populous that they are quite a nuisance in Perth. (https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/council-resists-perth-corella-cull-as-birds-reach-plague-proportions-ng-70efd8e2f61a254d91fcfad8fb044c54)

If your lucky you might see the pretty little Rainbow Lorikeets. These beauties are also considered a pest. They were introduced in the 1960's and from fewer than 10 escaped or released birds they are now well established in the metropolitan area. (https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/birds/rainbow-lorikeet)

Bathers Beach and the pier

Perth

Kings Park is my favorite spot in the city of Perth. We have made lots of fun and crazy memories at this wonderful park and with every visit we see something new. The day at Kings Park with Stan & Jackie did not disappoint! We saw some of Australia's unique birdlife while hiking the trails.

Stan and Jackie's big visit was the perfect excuse to finally rent a car and get out of Perth for some sight-seeing. We headed south to Margaret River, stopping at Serpentine falls on the way, where Mom and Dad had their first kangaroo encounter!

Then, we boomeranged north of Perth to Cervantes and Lake Tethis.

The saline environment of Lake Tethis is one of the few remaining places where stromatolites can still be found. Formed by a cyanobacteria, stromatolites are living fossils which have been producing oxygen for about 3.5 billion years. The bacterial colonies use the sun to harness energy and dumped enough oxygen into our atmosphere to allow complex life-forms to evolve. (http://www.westaustralianexplorer.com/stromatolites-at-lake-thetis/) Thanks stromatolites!

A 15 minute drive from Cervantes brought us to Nambung National Park where we saw the Pinnacles Dessert, yet another other-worldly landscape here in Australia. Scientists are undecided as to why the thousands of limestone pillars are there. One theory proposes they are the fossilized remains of a primordial forest. As I was walking among them, the shapes of the pillars did seem to resemble large tree trunks and roots. The large white sand dunes in the distance were impressive as well.

We spent lots of time driving during these 3 days. Signs warned us to watch out for wildlife but the only animals we saw were a few kangaroos in various states of decay on the side of the road.

Back home in Perth there was still lots to do. Like...

 Caversham Wildlife Park!

And, of course...

More Kangaroos!

This mama has a very restless joey in her pouch!

Rottnest Island sits just offshore from the city of Perth. A protected nature reserve; it's home to the quokka, a small wallaby-like marsupial and Danny's new favorite animal. It's a popular vacation destination for locals and international visitors. Accommodations on the 19 square kilometer (7.3 square miles) island range from a luxury hotel to rustic little cabins. Scenic coves offer amazing snorkeling opportunities and biking around the island is the most popular way to get around. You can see Australian sea lions, fur seals, dolphins, and whales depending on the time of year you visit. The island has 2 lighthouses, salt lakes, and some old WWII era guns (2-9.5 inch and 2-6 inch) installed to guard Fremantle Port.

All this makes for an incredible tourist spot. But there is a darker history associated with Rottnest Island that should also be acknowledged. Between 1839-1931 the island was used as an Aboriginal prison. 4,000 Aboriginal men and boys were imprisoned there during the life of the establishment. Often for crimes no greater than practicing the traditional nomadic, hunter-gatherer way of life as they had been for thousands of years before the white settlers came. The prison was infamous for its inadequate food and shelter, rampant disease, and cruel treatment of the prisoners. As many as 370 of these inmates rest in unmarked graves on the island. (http://www.rottnestisland.com/the-island/about-the-island/our-history/aboriginal) Today the Wadjemup Burial Ground commemorates the men and boys who died there and the Rottnest Island Museum recounts the sad facts of those times.

The day we visited the island was a little cold and windy so we did not do any snorkeling. But the sea is just beautiful in a different way in that kind of weather and we thoroughly enjoyed our day there.

Osprey nest

Submarine we spied while on the ferry to Rottnest Island.

Another Golden Orb spider and her gigantic web!

And... Quokkas!!

As I post this we have 28 days left in Australia, highs in Minnesota are in the 90's, while it's been 60's and raining here. Might be time to chase the good weather north.

Cheers!

The Goldfields Region, WA

I haven't posted anything for a few weeks because we have been so busy!

Our College of St. Benedict/St. John's University (CSB/SJU) students are required to participate in a camping trip into the Goldfields Region of Western Australia as part of the Australian History course they are taking. It is intended to be an immersive experience into the bush (outback) environment with authentic exposure to aboriginal culture through the indigenous hosts at Maropoi Station (http://www.morapoi.com.au/)  As Faculty Directors, the Mitchell's got to tag along!

We had been looking forward to this camping trip since we first started learning about our study abroad trip over a year ago. I knew it would be one of the highlights of our time here and truly a once in a lifetime experience for us. However, it was easy to find things to be nervous about as well. I hoped to see a vast, starry night sky without the light pollution of nearby civilization; but I did NOT want to wake up in the morning with unwanted visitors in my sleeping bag!  I wanted the boys to be exposed to a different culture and  physical environment; but I did NOT want them to be bitten or stung by anything venomous! I wanted to learn more about what it means to be an Aboriginal person; but I did NOT want to eat any insects! So many mixed feelings!

But my nature is to jump in and worry about it later (sorry about it family) so off we go!

Day 1:

4:00am : wake-up, taxi to Fremantle commuter train station

take train to East Perth

board "The Prospector" train for the 7 hour train ride to Kalgoorlie

then a 2-1/2 hour bus ride to Morapoi Station arriving about 4:30pm

Yep... we were waaay out there. There was just enough time before dark to learn what a "swag" is and get things set up in the dry riverbed where we would be sleeping.

We were exposed to some interesting fauna straight away! An awsome huntsman spider in the room the girls stashed their bags and some kind of showy katydid on the floor in the dining room.

The next day's plan is to hike out into the bush away from the station and camp there. It's beautiful day for a bush walk! Unfortunately the flies think so too. Many... many... many flies. Flies landing on your face, flies buzzing around head, flies getting up your nose. Luckily there were enough nets to go around. Wearing it reminded me of my bee-suit back home.

We saw a lot of incredible Australian bush scenery and a couple big (harmless) Golden Orb Spiders (http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/articles/meet-golden-orb-weaving-spider).  Although, it could be argued that accidentally walking through their webs is psychologically damaging! The webs are so large they stretch from tree to tree.

We walked across an fascinating dry lake bed. It was like an alien landscape with its sun-baked, cracked surface and odd succulent plants growing here and there. It was quite large and took about 20 minutes to walk all the way across.

The long bush walk (in the heat of the day and ambushed by flies) pushed the entire group both physically and mentally. Our swags had been delivered to the campsite by our hosts so we were able to collapse and recover for a while. Diner that night was a delicious kangaroo curry prepared on the campfire by our remarkably resilient college students! After a gorgeous sunset we got to see the night sky I had been dreaming about. I did not possess the skills or equipment necessary to capture it with a camera, but in the words of Elaine Benes; "It was spectacular!"

We were serenaded that night by the dingos and slept well. 

Greg, our primary aboriginal host was incredibly generous with his time. He spent a lot of time teaching us about his culture and candidly discussing the challenges his people face as worlds collide in these modern times. We sampled some "bush tucker" of honey ants and witchetty grubs, both raw and toasted in ashes. We all sampled the Honey ants but Dave was the only Mitchell brave enough to eat a grub!

Next day, we visited Gwalia, a boom town in the late 1890's, and home to around 1,000 people who hoped to strike it rich when gold was discovered there. It was also the temporary home of a young mining engineer by the name of Herbert Hoover (later our 31st president) who was hired to evaluate the area's prospects. Hoover noted, "...No other lode country in the world presents such an array of severe conditions which must be struggled against to do cheap mining..." (http://www.gwalia.org.au/museum/history/?PHPSESSID=95fcb93ead9a908620a72828c4ad46d5).  Today the population of Gwalia is around 15-20 hardy individuals. The original town site is preserved as a sort of ghost town that gives visitors an idea of what the lives of miners and their families were like at the turn of the 19th century. The gold mine still operates today on a reduced schedule.

Our next destination was Lake Ballard, a 10 square kilometer shimmering salt lake, think 'dry lake bed covered in a salt crust.' (https://traveloutbackaustralia.com/lake-ballard-goldfields-western-australia.html/) It's not surprising that such a surreal landscape is sacred to the local indigenous Wongi/Wangkatha people. The lake is tied to one of their origin stories, the Seven Sisters Dreaming. Adding to the eerie landscape is an art instillation of 51 iron sculptures spread across the lake bed. The 51 statuettes are meant to represent the 51 people living in the nearby town of Menzies. The artist made a three dimensional, exact-height body scan of each person on which he based the sculptures. They are quite spread out over the lake bed but you can see tracks through the salt where visitors have walked from one statue to another. The salt sparkled in the sun and crunched under our feet, reminding us all of the winter we might have had back in Minnesota! A climb to the top of an island in the lake brings you to a perfect spot soak in the unusual view, and to see the initials you scratched into the lake bed!

We returned for our last night at Maropoi Station and one of the men showed us a goanna he had shot. They were planning on cooking it the next day so we didn't get to partake, but the boys loved getting a picture!

What an experience!

My parents stayed at our apartment while we were on the outback trip. (More on the adventures of Stan and Jackie in Australia in the next post!) When we finally got home on Friday just before midnight wanted to tell them everything we saw, smelled, heard, tasted, felt, suffered through, and were awed by; but it was too much. There was no way I could adequately convey what we experienced, you just had to be there. Hopefully the pictures tell at least part of the story.

Getting out and about

There is always something to see or do around Fremantle and Perth! The Fremantle Markets are a block from our apartment. They are open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and are packed with lots of food stalls, fresh produce sellers, and vendors selling souvenirs or just about anything else! 

There is no danger of running out of cool pubs and cafés to try.

Little creatures has awsome beer flights and a free fooseball table.

The Bar Orient has a pool table.

The National is in a really cool building and was loads of fun on Saint Patrick's Day!

Kaili's is a great place right on the pier for spicy crab. But beware! The seaguls will try to steal your food.

If it's too early for drinks you can get a coffee and delicious bagel sandwich at The Grumpy Sailor .

But my favorite (so far) is The Federal. It has a great atmosphere, spot on bangers and mash, and Jenga!

As much as we love exploring the city, we also wanted to get out into nature a bit so the whole family spent a day volunteering with Conservation Volunteers Australia! Conservation Volunteer staff picked us up in Fremantle and drove us down to Cape Peron Coastal Park near Rockingham.

We spent a few hours with other local volunteers picking up trash and pulling invasive weed species, including buckthorn! I guess buckthorn is attempting to take over the southern hemisphere too. I know it is a troublesome invasive weed in Minnesota forests. Dave and I were also tasked with documenting the location and approximate size and age of native trees, specifically the Tuart, a type of Eucalyptus tree. This was another one of those activities that only "Mom" thought would be a good idea. But everyone ended up having a great day and learning a bit about Australian flora.

Dave has been busy! Between all the above activities, sitting in on classes, teaching his class, studying local water samples with a couple of our students, occasionally golfing, and watching a lot of footy (Australian Rules Football), he made the paper with a presentation he was asked to give for the Perth Unitarian group.

You know you have been away from home for a long time when the kid need haircuts!

 The tooth fairy has been logging some frequent flier miles. Danny has now received Euros (while in Germany), American dollars, and Australian dollars under his pillow. 

Cheers for now!

Convict History

Fremantle's beginning was different from colonies on the east coast of Australia in that it was originally populated by people who migrated by choice. However, as seems inevitable when it comes to white Australian history, within 40 years convicts would outnumber the free folk 10 to 1.  Fremantle was founded and established as a "free settlement" when approximately four hundred settlers (civilian and military) arrived on the HMS Sulphur and Parmelia in June 1829.  They had survived the voyage from England to Western Australia (four months aboard a 36-metre vessel) only to discover that life in Western Australia was harder than they had predicted. Given the harsh climate and poor sandy soil, settlers were barely keeping themselves alive. It became obvious that more manpower was needed to build vital communications, transport and administrative framework if the colony was to succeed. The British government made the decision, regardless of the public opinion or promise, and in November 1849 it was officially announced that The Swan River Colony had been ‘constituted a penal settlement’ to accelerate the economic growth. 

The first 75 convicts arrived in 1850 on the Scindian from Portsmouth to be followed by over nine thousand more convicts by 1868. (http://www.fremantlewesternaustralia.com.au/fremantle-history.htm) These men (yes, they were all men) are responsible for building many of the historic limestone buildings we see around town today.

Built in 1856 as Commissariat or military supply buildings.

Another military building now the Shipwreck Museum.

In 1884 they built the Kerosene Store, a dangerous goods storage site, was built just off the beach and away from town.

Convicts built the Lunatic Asylum between 1861-1868. It now has a cheerier function as the Fremantle Arts Center.

The Fremantle Boys School (1854) now houses the Film and Television Institute.

From 1852 to 1859 the convicts were busy building their own prison. Fremantle Prison remained in use until 1991!

Those who know me might be surprised by the amount of history in this post. Dave and I have been sitting in on lectures for the Australian history class our study abroad students are required to take. It has been so interesting! The founding of a country by a population of mostly convicts is fascinating to think about; you might have noticed that the larger buildings back then where the asylum and the prison. But I have also been really interested to learn how the displacement and treatment of indiginous Australians are discussed.

The Nyoongar people have called this corner of Western Australia home for over 45,000 years before the uninvited arrival of settlers in the early 1800's. The eventual fates of the indigenous Australian populations have been displacement, marginalization, loss of identity and culture, and at times near genocide. In class we watched the 2 part mini-series The Secret River (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2298264/) to illustrate the complicated motivations and fears on all sides at the time. I would encourage anyone interested to check it out on Netflix. The instructor challenged us to reflect on wether the violence and negative outcomes of the time were inevitable given the situation and vast cultural differences between groups, or could things have played out differently? The modern repercussions of that history are profound. As evidenced by the rates of poverty, incarceration, chronic diseases, and lack of political and societal representation.

Thinking and learning about this history has naturally led me to comparisons with North American colonization and white Americas attitudes towards Native Americans. Sadly, the anecdotal evidence I have seen play out in my own experience and interactions with peers has revealed either fetishization of Native American culture or outright distain for it's people and their desire to maintain their cultural traditions. But mostly, I think we willfully ignore the uglier aspects of that period. 

But I digress...

In spite of certain similarities related to colonization and treatment of indigenous people, Australia and the United States are very different countries. And I have been impressed with the University of Notre Dame, Australia as an exceptional example of intentional and well thought out intercultural respect. Acknowledgment of the Nyoongar people as the original inhabitants of the land is engrained in the culture. The first week of the semester all new international students participate in a 'Welcome to Country' ceremony lead by a local elder. And all the art on the walls around the college is by Nyoongar painters. (Except for the cross that is in every room. It is Notre Dame, after all.) The paintings are everywhere and they are gorgeous!

Our everyday life has become pleasantly busy. In addition to the Australian history class, we have been attending lectures for a fabulous Archaeology class taught by Professor Shane Burke. Keeping up with school for the Harry and Danny is a daily challenge that I hope I'm not totally failing at. Dave has become friends with the resident biochem professor and goes to his lectures and labs. Plus he teaches his class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. 

We still manage to fit in lots of fun adventures; more on that in the next post! I'm so proud that Harry and Danny have been game for everything. They rarely complain and roll with the punches. Hopefully they won't exaggerate our missteps too much when telling the stories back home! Cheers!

So many fun things to do...

Hello friends! Life here in WA is clipping right along. I can't believe we have been away from home for around 50 days already. Dave and I have enjoyed getting to know all our bright, fun, and adventurous CSB/SJU students. Dave is doing a great job teaching the seminar class and generally doing everything in his power to help them along.

I haven't put out a post for a couple of weeks because, as you will see below, we have been busy!

Perth

A 20 minute commuter train rides gets us to Perth, the 4th largest city in Australia.

We went on a fun but strenuous walking tour of the sights in Perth (http://www.ohheywa.com.au) as part of our orientation activities with the students. Our guide was very knowledgable and taught us a lot about the historic buildings you see mixed in with the modern architecture. I was impressed by the murals and street art in Fremantle, but that was just a warm-up for what we saw around Perth!

We found Dave's classroom,

where he was happy to find his favorite piece of high-tech teaching equipment- an overhead projector!

The room is in one of the many historic buildings on campus. I hope we don't have to open and close the door very often!

Orientation week wrapped up with a surfing lesson at Scarborogh Beach, just north of Fremantle. If you have ever watched surfers on TV and thought "That looks easy"... it's not. But everyone had a blast trying! 

After an hour and a half fighting the waves to get out far enough then bobbing around trying to catch the right wave at the right time, we were exhausted! We didn't learn to surf but we did learn:  to respect the mad skills and effort of people who can, that jellyfish stings feel like poison ivy, and that if any of the students refer to Dave as 'The Big Kahuna' they are being ironic. In his defense, I think the sun-hat slowed him down. 

Perth...

view from overlook at Kings Park.

On our next venture into Perth we went to Kings Park, a 1,003-acre park which includes a large war memorial, botanical gardens and many lovely shaded grassy areas where people can gather for picnics or just to relax in the beautiful setting.

Two thirds of the grounds are conserved as native bushland. Just as the animals in Australia are so different from almost everywhere else, the flora is unique too. We were able to really appreciate how different an Australian forest (the bush) is from a forest in Minnesota as we hiked around the park. I really liked the dry pine/eucalyptus scent in the air.

Cheers for now, mates!

Settling In

We finally get to unpack, settle in, and get to know our new temporary home. We are greatful for the lovely accomodations provided by the University of Notre Dame, Australia. A three bedroom, two bath flat close to overything. And by everything I mean the beach, the markets, the university, restaurants, cafés, the bus, and the train. Who needs a car? Not us! Fremantle (population about 32,000 or about half the population of Saint Cloud) is on the west coast of Australia, just south of Perth. The town has many historical buildings built in the late 1800s, many built by the convicts who were some of the first residents here. Today Fremantle has a relaxed hipster vibe with copious cafés and the University of Notre Dame, Australia right in the middle of town. An area about a block from our 'flat' is know as the Cappuccino Strip! If you tried a new café every day, it would take a couple of months to hit them all. Coffee is seriously a thing here, but as you might expect; it's a little different than we are used to back home. If you want what we know as a latte you order a 'flat white'. If yo order an iced coffee it will have a scoop of ice cream in it! Yah, it's different; but who can complain about a scoop of Ice cream!

 Fremantle (population about 32,000 or about half the population of Saint Cloud) is on the west coast of Australia, just south of Perth. The town has many historical buildings built in the late 1800s, many built by the convicts who were some of the first residents here. Today Fremantle has a relaxed hipster vibe with copious cafés and the University of Notre Dame, Australia right in the middle of town. An area about a block from our 'flat' is know as the Cappuccino Strip! If you tried a new café every day, it would take a couple of months to hit them all. Coffee is seriously a thing here, but as you might expect; it's a little different than we are used to back home. If you want what we know as a latte you order a 'flat white'. If yo order an iced coffee it will have a scoop of ice cream in it! Yah, it's different; but who can complain about a scoop of Ice cream!

One of my favorite things about Fremantle so far is that there is art EVERYWHERE! It's commissioned at bus stops, imprinted into the sidewalks, on buildings and alleyways. 

We have more fun activities coming up as we acclimate to being Freo residents, so stay tuned!

The Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef!

We did not realize the oldest rainforest on the planet was just inland to the coast where you access the Great Barrier Reef when we started planning this adventure. What a bonus! The Daintree Rainforest is estimated to be 180 million years old which is tens of millions of years older than the Amazon Rainforest. We took a half-day guided tour through Daintree Discovery Tours (http://www.daintreediscoverytours.com.au). The first part of the tour was a river cruise where we spotted some cool wildlife.

Next we had afternoon tea at the Mossman Gorge Visitors Center (yes, it's a thing here). Your choice of tea or coffee with scones, butter, honey and jam. Delicious!  

The afternoon wrapped up with a stroll on an elevated walkway into Mossman Gorge National Forest. At the far end of the walk was a jungle river. We would have been allowed to go for a swim but the current was too fast that day, but Danny had to dip his toes!  

The trees, vines, ferns and sheer density of the forest were impressive. I would have loved to spend a whole day there soaking up the untamed atmosphere of the jungle... staying on the path, of course!

The Great Barrier Reef is the only living thing visible from space. We were lucky enough to see it close up!

Unfortunately we had to wear these outfits.

There is no way pictures could do justice to the reef, and we spent most of our time experiencing it with our eyeballs rather than through screen, but here's what we have to share. 

We also saw giant clams, sea turtles, and white tip reef sharks.

Between all the above excitement we had ample time to enjoy Port Douglas, which exists almost exclusively as a tourist town.

Dave proved that if we were stranded on a deserted island,he could keep us alive by opening coconuts!

...and now it is time to move on to Perth, and the real reason we are here, facilitating the study abroad semester. We are anxious to see our flat and the town of Fremantle, our home through the end of June!

Such good travelers!

Waiting to get on their sixth flight in the last two weeks.

Port Douglas in Northern Queensland, Australia

 

The next leg of our adventure put us in the tropical far north of Queensland, Australia. Port Douglas is about 16.5 degrees south of the equator and a lot more humid than we are used to.  St. Cloud, Minnesota is 45.5 degrees north of the equator, for comparison. However, this geographic location has allowed the formation of the Great Barrier Reef and a tropical rainforest. That's what we are here to see, and we are willing to put up with a little sweating to do it!

After a full day of traveling from New Zealand are finally in Australia! Don't know why we are surprised by rain... near the rainforest.

Our first full day was cloudy but no more torential rains! The wind and various other "hazards" made swimming a no go, but the weather was perfect for exploring Port Douglas and climbing the rocks around Flafstaff Hill Lookout.

The Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas (www.wildlifehabitat.com.au) was really fun. The animal-life in Australia proved to be as impressive as we had hoped!

I learned about an animal I'd never heard of before- the Cassowary. We saw a full color statue of one in the airport. When the kids asked me what it was I said "It must be a dinosaur that used to live in this part of the world." Actually, it's a dinosaur that lives in this part of the world right now! Harry and Danny got to feed grapes to one.

The park is an interactive environment where most of the animals roam free; except for the crocodiles, snakes, and koalas. Personally, I think the Australian Pelicans should have been behind some kind of barracade!

Cuddling a koala and making friends with the kangaroos were highlights.

Next post will be all about the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef!

Maori culture, geothermal wonders, and hobbit holes!

 

Our accommodations at the Ramada Resort Rotorua Marama (http://www.wyndhamap.com/wps/wcm/connect/Wyndham/home/Resorts/New_Zealand/Nth-Island/Rotorua) were really nice. Beautiful, super clean, and comfortable.

Harry is not only almost taller than his father, he will also occasionally beat him at chess!

The Redwoods-

Whakarewarewa Forest

It was the reputation of this timber, used widely for general building purposes that led to the planting of the Redwood Grove in Rotorua in 1901. The results of the planting were mixed – of the original 12 hectares, only six hectares survives today. This did not deter planters, and around 4000 hectares overall were planted throughout New Zealand in the 1920s and 1940s. Approximately one percent of those plantings remain.

The largest Redwood in Whakarewarewa is approximately 72 metres tall and 169 centimetres in diameter. In its natural habitat of California, these Redwoods grow as tall as 110 metres and the average lifespan is 600 years. However, they can survive for over 2000 years.

https://redwoods.co.nz/about/californian-redwood/

We loved our hike in this incredible park. With a little elevation, the redwoods gave way to a more tropical/prehistoric environment complete with huge ferns and sulfurous pools of water. The boys had fun pretending they were discovering dinosaur and King Kong tracks in the mud.

Lunching like a kiwi...

Steak and onion meat pie and an L&P soda!

No trip to NZ would be complete without learning about the indigenous Maori people. Our traditional hangi dinner and cultural experience at Mitai Maori village was really great! (http://mitai.co.nz) Our Emcee for the evening was very entertaining. Our fellow guests for the evening were from all over the globe; Spain, Italy, Australia, England, Scotland, South Africa, US, Israel, and others I can't remember. The host was able to say a few things in every language represented in the room EXCEPT Israeli! The formal program began by watching the tribal warriors arrive in canoes, very impressive!

Next came a cultural presentation/show with lots of demonstrations and singing. The performers were all proud decedents of the local Maori tribe and everything was very authentic and enlightening. 

After stuffing ourselves with all the delicious food, we finished the evening with a night bush walk to the tribes freshwater spring. Carrying small flashlights, we passed some traditional Maori houses, pantries, and fences. In the dark we saw the glow worms along the path and surrounding the fresh-water pool that give the area it's name of Fairy Springs. It's easy to imagine how the glow worms were assumed to be fairies living in the forest. It was a really magical experience!

Ever heard of Zorbing? Neither had we. Turns out it's super fun!

The next day was really full. Te Puia in the morning and Hobbiton in the evening.

Te Puia- Maori cultural Center and geothermal wonders

Pōhutu (‘poor-hoo-too’) is the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere. She erupts once or twice every hour and sometimes reaches heights of 30 metres (100 feet). Pōhutu means ‘constant splashing’ in Māori.

Bubbling mud pools!

And pools of naturally boiling water!

What's that smell!

We had a great time at the park. However, there were a few too many fart jokes from the boys if you ask me.

Hobbiton!!

Anyone who knows me (Michelle) knows this sort of thing is right up my alley. The boys have started getting into the movies and have favorite characters picked out. Dave, bless him, was surprisingly patient throughout the whole thing.

The country is beautiful with its rolling green hills dotted with sheep, hedges and incredible trees. 

The main part of Hobbiton consists of a more permanent reproduction of the set they used when filming most of the outdoor shot of the Shire in the Lord of The Rings movies. It is meticulously and lovingly rendered and maintained. LOTR fans will not be disappointed! Our guide for the evening was a local kiwi who was involved in the actual LOTR production crew. He had amazing stories about the incredible amount of work that went into even small details that may have been on screen for only a few seconds. We were allowed plenty of time to explore and Danny even got to reenact the scene where Bilbo runs through the Shire at the beginning of his adventure!

Next came a refreshing mug of ale at the Green Dragon and an evening Banquet- Hobbit style!

We were sad to say goodbye to New Zealand and hope to return! But our adventrue continues and Australia awaits!

The day has finally arrived... We are off to New Zealand and Australia!

After months of planning, preparing, and packing we have embarked on our antipodean adventure. Preparing to be away for 5 months was more work than I expected, but I hope it will be worth the effort!

Four checked bags, 1 carry-on, 4 personal bags and loads of high expectations!

34 hours later, after learning that Danny is the only one of us who can truly sleep on an airplane, we arrive on New Zealand.

Dave did a stellar job driving 2.5 hours on the left side of the road (like you do in NZ) in his sleep deprived state to our accommodations in Rotorua. 

A much appreciated home cooked meal after freshening-up and hitting the local food mart.

A pair of black swans

and their four babies (cygnets) swam up to the deck outside our condo for a snack of bread!

T.T.F.N...

Thankful for a good harvest

The honey harvest is always a lot of work, but it's fun work. This is another time of year when I marvel at the amazing abilities of the honey bee. Watching the golden liquid flow out of the extractor and fill bucket after bucket with lovely smelling honey is a unique natural-world experience. It's made all the more awesome when you realize that worker bees must visit around 2 million flowers to produce 1 pound of honey! Each forager visits 50-100 flowers per flight, all day long. She will fly approximately 375 miles and produce 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime, effectively "working herself to death" in about 6-8 weeks.

So... I guess what I do to harvest the honey is the easy part!

I need my Dad's help, knowledge, (and electric extractor!) to get the job done and love spending the day with him. We were joined this year by my bee-buddy, Miki, who also had a great year. I should also mention that most of the millions of blossoms that made our whole project possible came from the impressive gardens, orchards, and forest on her property.

To be transformed into beeswax candles!

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                                                   206 pounds of fresh honey!

It's so satisfying to have a final product after all the sticky work of extracting, filtering, and bottling. I also ventured into the area of candle making this year. At first it seemed the likelyhood of my turning a bin full of wax cappings contaminated with honey, bee parts, propolis, and a lot more gunk in to pure beeswax candles was pretty low. But with a little research (thank-you Youtube-ers!) and some fairly simple techniques I was able to make these little cuties.  

Unfortunately, "colony colapse" has hit the bee-yard pretty hard this late fall. Only 1 out of three hives still has any bees. I wrapped it for the winter but I'm not optimistic about their chances of making it until spring. It will take me more than one year to use/sell/distribute the 206 pounds of honey the bees gave me this year. Not to mention that we will be on the other side of the planet next spring! 

My next post will likely be all about the beginning of our Australian adventure! Until then, stay safe and enjoy the holidays. 

What's new with the bees?

Honey harvest time is upon us, and it looks like it will be a good year! I have pulled all the honey supers (where the bees store the honey I plan to steal) to be extracted next week.  

What we know about Australia. (Hint: it's not much!)

OK! Our next adventure begins in Februrary 2018! The plane tickets have been bought (Gulp!) and we are sorting through all the details involved with being away from home for an extended period of time. I have been reading books and watching movies to learn more about Australia and it's people. I really enjoyed The Last of the Nomads by WJ Peasley and Last Cab to Darwin available on Netflix. I'm sure these won't be the last works I discover that are worthy of recommendation. (Get used to it freinds!)

                          I also put together an Aussie jeopardy board for a meeting with our incredible group of study abroad students!

The kids are excited about seeing a new part of the world. I almost have Danny convinced that the odds of being bitten by a shark while snorkeling are actually very small. 

Much more to come once we are on our way!