Dunedin

Some years ago our friend Allison moved from Brisbane to Dunedin. Her mother Cherry is also staying with her temporarily.

We found her place without any trouble, on the side of a steep hill (like most streets in Dunedin!). Indeed, her house is quite high up above street level, with quite a steep walk to get to the front door. Several exhausting trips later, we had our things in our room (actually Allison’s bedroom!) and were ready for Christmas Eve.

After briefly meeting a couple of her friends who dropped by, we played some games including Ticket to Ride and had a simple dinner. We were pretty worn out after our long drive from Gore.

On Christmas morning we got ourselves up in time to go to church. We had chosen a likely one just a couple of blocks down the road by looking on the internet the night before. Of course, we didn’t know whether the website was up-to-date nor whether the Christmas Day service would be at the usual time of 10:00 am…

We wandered down the street (“down” being exactly the right word in this case), going a little past the New Life church we were aiming for to also check out the beautiful Anglican building on the next corner. The Anglican service had started at 9am, so we were far too late for that. We walked back to New Life and went in at about 9:50 - and discovered that they’d started already! Ah well, not to worry. It turns out they’d started not long before, and indeed their website was quite out of date.

Nevertheless they were friendly and welcoming and we enjoyed the service. Then of course we had to walk back up the street - and then the front path and stairs! - to get back home to Allison’s.

Christmas lunch was a quiet get-your-own affair, because she’d invited friends over for a big Christmas dinner. We opened some presents, and handed over ours for Allison (some Australian bubbly wine). In the afternoon we played more games, first with Allison and then with her friends when they arrived. Cherry prepared the meal and Allison and Cherry even made their own Christmas bon-bons!

Dinner was delicious! Cherry had made us a nut loaf to go with the roast vegetables, as well as a date loaf with extra fruit (making it more like a Christmas pudding) served with soy ice cream. We were well fed, and the company was cheerful. A fabulous evening!

On Boxing Day we made ourselves a packed lunch and headed out to the Otago Peninsula. At Taiaroa Head at the very end there is a wildlife reserve, the only place in the world apparently where albatross nest on a human-inhabited mainland. These are Northern Royal Albatross, weighing about 8kg and with a wingspan of around three metres. Taiaroa Head has also been of military significance for both the Maori and European people here.

The road out to Taiaroa is narrow and winding along the very edge of the Peninsula - a beautiful drive.

The reserve is well protected and you can only go past the visitor centre as part of a guided tour. The visitor centre itself has a large gallery full of interesting details and lovely photographs. We did the Unique Taiaroa Tour which included a short informative video about the albatross followed by a walk up the (steep!) hill to the observatory, then a walk further up the hill to Fort Taiaroa. We were there in incubating season and from the observatory we saw one albatross sleeping on a nest. They also showed us live video from a camera around the corner from where we were, of three others also sitting on their nest. Solitary animals at any time, they were all quite a way from each other. Mother and father take about week-long turns either incubating or out at sea feeding. Apparently the young, when they are mature enough to fly (mid next year), will spend their first five years entirely at sea, not once making landfall! When they eventually return to where they hatched, they’ll have their juvenile tag replaced with an adult tag and will then be closely monitored. We also saw a colony of shags (what we would call cormorants) and a few spoonbills.

On the way up to the Fort we had to walk past a seagull colony. It’s funny, you never really think about seagulls nesting, but obviously it has to happen somewhere! The young chicks were absolutely gorgeous, cute little fluffy things with dark feathers (or speckled as they grew older) and far less bold and brash than the adults. The parents were understandably very protective and nearly burst our eardrums with their loud warning calls.

Inside the Fort we were impressed by the “disappearing gun”, which is raised hydraulically to fire its 100 lb (!) shells then lowered back underground for reloading. We also got to see another nesting albatross not far from the windows of the observation post, which were about at ground level and about a foot high.

We had our lunch outside (watching carefully to avoid seagull droppings) and looked out from the cliff on the eastern side - to see a seal rolling in the water far below! We also saw some black ducks, but no penguins from where we were (apparently they nest a bit further around).

Then we set off for Larnach Castle, the only castle in New Zealand - which claim we found amusing; does Australia even have any castle? This one was built by an Australian whose parents were Scots. The current owners are trying to restore it and have done a good job of making it an interesting tourist attraction, as well as revitalising and extending the surrounding gardens. We did the (self-guided) tour of the castle itself, enjoying the eclectic décor, lovely tiled floors and kauri wood furniture, hanging spiral staircase (plus the tight twist up to the tower) and the view from the top. Actually, all the bedrooms get a very good view.

In the garden we followed the Native Plant Trail. We liked the detailed information in the brochure and enjoyed the “hunt”, managing to find all but one of the marked plants.

Then it was time to head home. Dinner was left-overs from the night before. We played a game of Bolivia with Allison.

The next morning it was time to pack our things up again. Several more trips up and down the steep front path! We said our goodbyes, then went off to see a couple more things before leaving Dunedin.

The train station down near the docks is a lovely brick building from 1904, with tiled floors and stained glass windows. The train waiting there to take tourists up Taieri Gorge will have to wait until another time for us, unfortunately.

Then we drove north past the botanic gardens (pausing briefly to wash the seagull poo from the day before off our windscreen) to the lookout atop Signal Hill, and then around to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world! (According to Guinness at any rate.) Yes, it was very steep. Somehow just seeing it was a challenge, so up it we had to walk.

And then finally we left Dunedin, stopping for a picnic lunch soon after and then again to see the Moeraki Boulders, which are most interesting spherical stone boulders scattered along the beach.

Year 12 Graduations

Well it was a busy week for me.

Monday evening was awards night—at the same place (Garden City Church, now known as Hillsong) as my own school awards nights were held so many years ago.

Tuesday evening was the year 12 formal dinner at Sirromet. My trepidation about their catering (triggered in part by a phone call from them on Monday querying what I actually could eat) turned out to be entirely unnecessary: they fed me very well. I had a yummy pasta and asparagus main, and a berry sorbet for dessert. (A pleasant change from the usual fruit salad.)

But the night wasn't really about my food, of course. The year 12s looked fabulous, and it was good to be there to see them having fun at the end of their schooling years. Not too many speeches, just excitement and joy and a good time with music and dancing.

And then on Thursday evening was the year 12 graduation dinner for my former students in Mackay. So I flew there on Thursday afternoon for that, staying the night with friends (thanks Phil & Janine!) and flying back on Friday. It was so worthwhile. Such fun to walk in as the year 12s were standing up for a group photo, and get excited shouts and waves as they saw me. (Some of them knew I was coming, but most didn't.) So interesting to hear their stories from the last year and their plans for the next. So good to see them looking so fine and to be able to celebrate with them.

And again, my meal was delicious: a lovely curry, spicy but not too hot, and white cake for dessert. Turns out this particular meal was in fact cooked by one of my past students! Julie, thank you again for a fabulous meal, one of the best I've had at a formal function.

Then back to Brisbane on Friday. After school was the year 12 valedictory service: a few speeches, presentations, a tearful procession, and then afternoon tea.

Geraldton

On Friday 24th, we took a TransWA coach to Geraldton. It's a reasonably long trip, with stops in several small towns along the way.

When we got to Geraldton, we were met at the bus station by Laetitia's friend Kym and her daughter—and also, as it turned out, by two of my fellow teaching graduates from CHC. You see, as I had discovered just a few weeks earlier, one of my CHC friends who lives in Geraldton was, most serendipitously, to be married just when we were going to be there! Anyway, at the bus station, two of her bridesmaids were waiting as well (not actually for me, of course).

Kym took us to the caravan park where we had booked a cabin for our two-night stay, and then went off to collect her son from school. She actually lives just a short walk from the caravan park. Meanwhile, we took a stroll to see the Indian Ocean (which wasn't far, the caravan park is right on the beach).

Apparently kite-surfing is a popular hobby in Geraldton

When Kym came back, she took us around to see the sights of Geraldton, including the memorial at the top of the hill.

After watching the sun set beautifully over the water, we went to Kym's place for dinner (cooked by me) and a good chat. At the end of the evening, it was quite cold, so we drove back to our cabin in the car Kym generously lent us so we could attend the wedding the next morning.

So early on Saturday morning (like, the wedding was at 7am on the Geraldton foreshore) we went off to see my friend Anna get married. It was a wonderful wedding. Anna was so excited—after the vows and rings were exchanged, and the pronouncement, her whole face lit up, and she exclaimed “I'm married!” I was so glad I had the opportunity to be there.

After the wedding, Kym and her two children took us to Kalbarri National Park. Kalbarri is on the coast north of Geraldton, a drive of about an hour and a half. It was a very hot day, and the flies were unbelievable! But the scenery was certainly spectacular.

We had lunch in Kalbarri. While we were there, the (first, although we didn't know at the time that there'd be another) AFL grand final was on; we could hear the cheering from the pub across the road.

We drove back to Geraldton via the coastal road. Once again the scenery was magnificent, although we were feeling a bit sleepy at the end of a long, warm day.

Along the way we passed Hutt Lagoon. This salt lake appears pink because of some algae that grow there. Apparently the algae produce a commercially useful quantity of beta carotene, which is being harvested in part of the lake.

Arriving in Geraldton just before dusk, Kym took us up to a lookout above the town, to watch the sun set over the town and ocean. Afterwards I took my camera down to the beach for some low-light photography.

Dinner was leftovers in our cabin, and then an early night. Sunday was my birthday, much of which I spent on a coach travelling back to Perth. Before we left, though, we went to have a look at the lighthouse. This one (at 28°46'S) is almost exactly opposite the one in Byron Bay (at 28°39'S).

Kalgoorlie

The road to Kalgoorlie was long and dry and dusty. And it got progressively darker, from the yellow sand in Hyden to orange to a dark, rich volcanic red in Kalgoorlie.

We kept seeing these bobtail lizards crossing the road, usually (for some strange reason) from north-west to south-east. They were about a foot long, and moved slowly but steadily.

We were using my father's GPS. At first it didn't want to take us on this route at all; I assume it was programmed to avoid unsealed roads where possible. But once we were on it, it seemed happy enough… until lunch time.

We stopped for lunch at Marvel Loch, a strange little mine service town. The houses were all basically air-conditioned tin sheds. We found a park with some public toilets. It was near an "oval" (I use the word with reservation; it was certainly flat and oval-shaped, but the surface was basically gravel), and there were four doors in the toilet block. All were unlabelled. Two on one side were locked. The two on the other side were open; each revealed a toilet and a shower. One did have a women's hygiene product disposal bin, so perhaps the locals knew which was meant to be male vs female, and so didn't need door signs. Laetitia's theory is that the men can have a shower to wash off the beer smell before they go home. Who knows? Anyway.

After lunch we asked the GPS to take us on to Kalgoorlie. It suggested a route slightly shorter than via Southern Cross, so I decided to try its advice, and turned off the main road. Not long after, as the road quality began to drop noticeably (think small shrubs growing up through the surface), we wondered whether that was wise. Sure enough, another kilometre or so on, we came to this:

Give way? To what, exactly? The fence!? What's with the fence across the road?

GPS fail. So we turned around and (steadfastly ignoring the GPS's instructions to "please make a U-turn") headed back to the main road to Southern Cross. Several hours later, we made it to Kalgoorlie, and our friend Stuart's house there.

Stuart is doing up a house. At the moment he has no internal wall panels, just exposed framework, which is not so good for privacy but is definitely good for finding places to store things. (Built-in two-way shelves in every wall!) At least the toilet and bathroom had walls.

Our room at Stuart's

The dining room (will be the kitchen when Stuart's finished)

Nevertheless we received a very warm welcome from Stuart, and from his parents who were also staying with him, helping him with the house.



Stuart took us out to the lookout over the Superpit, which is the huge gold mine in Kalgoorlie, then directed us to an Indian restaurant for dinner. (Bombay Palace on Hannan St. Very nice, a little spicy but not too hot.) We went back to the lookout the next day, where we also met Zoe's parents Ian and Chrissy, who serendipitously happened to be in Kalgoorlie on their way driving around Australia!

 

As it turned out, the Superpit tour was booked out for that day, so instead Stuart showed us around town, especially the earthquake-damaged old buildings in Boulder. We had a delicious lunch at the Hoover Cafe (part of the Palace Hotel in Kalgoorlie). After lunch we went to the Mining Hall of Fame, where we took an underground tour and watched gold being poured.

The tunnels in the mine were rather low. This one's actually quite high, but Stuart is pretty tall. There are many, many levels to this old gold mine. However all but the upper two are flooded.

The working face of the old gold mine, called a stope. The rock is mined off the upper slope, falling to the base from where it is taken away to be crushed and then taken up to the surface. The wooden stumps hold the rock walls apart—still. Some of them are cracked or bent. Look out if they fail!

The melting point of gold is over 1000°C. The fire has to be very hot. That's why the crucible glows, and why the guy doing the pouring wears a thick reflective suit.

 

Afterwards we wandered around the yard looking at the various displays. Stuart and Laetitia had a go at panning for gold. Stuart even found two (very small) flecks of gold!