Jessica Wandering

Photos and thoughts on my travels

  • Buenos Aires 2 and Home

    Love and Little Shop of Horrors meet. I actually really love this piece. The tendrils of how we reach and yearn to know the tendrils of other people. So close.
    I love sculpture so much. I think it is the most like dance of the visual arts.
    These were wonderfully displayed with the sculpture and the shadow both available.
    This was a film. Somewhat disturbing…
    An impression the shape of a woman, filled with flammable liquid and burned. I think it was about climate change…
    There was a Frida section
    Pictures of her and Diego over the years. It’s interesting to think of the piece of important history end up in so many places because they are important to so many people…
    This was a moving corner of the museum…
    Make-shift homes you can walk through…
    And inside.. ah. An artist lives here
    And at the center of the expectant demonstration of workers, a child looks out on its future.
    I love how many lives are depicted here.
    Walking to the park again… the brick train bridge is filled in with so many restaurants…
    And murals
    And a holocaust memorial
    And the food! This was one of many favorite meals… Polenta, pesto, tomatoes, portobello, and parm.. I meant to make this at home! I had forgotten. Then a salad with roasted squash and grew and a deep mushroom risotto… we didn’t go far from home or research much, but we ate very well here.
    And sometimes we let others research and find special gems. This place was huge…
    And I was so glad we didn’t have a reservation, because we got the quiet atrium on the top floor
    And another museum… a whole Rodin section… probably 18 sculptures
    Combs for great lady’s hair…
    I can’t image trying to keep that in my head all day. It would run into everything and go askew… I guess I’m not made to be a fancy lady.
    And the US is too dominant of too many nuanced things. I have procrastinated ending my blog until I’ve been home long enough for an election, and a first few weeks of the twilight zone of the coming four years…. Sigh.
    So much fun and color…
    Our conversation teacher and co-student we had our last week. Inside the lobby of Exspanish.
    This is the back patio of our school. There is also a little balcony just out of my classroom.
    Subway exit. Art is everywhere
    And construction and reconstruction where the building used to be part of the other building. Such and old and dense city… so much more European than my West Coast life.
    Napoleon and Jesus…. ?
    This monument is moving too. The names and dates of “the disappeared” during the “dirty war”. An estimated 30,000 liberals, intellectuals, trade unionists, some pregnant women, and a disproportionate number of Jews were disappeared between 1969-1983. There are four of the walls behind Zarah.
    The memorial is on a boil by the Atlantic. This sculpture appears and disappears with the tides and depicts a 14 year old victim. Many were drugged and thrown out of airplanes into the sea.
    Along the walkway of the park, many signs. There is also a museum.
    And sculptures
    And back at the park, swimming nutria… they really are much cuter than rats…
    See…
    And sunset over the little lake.
    A bunch of my class were all ending the same day we did so we took our teacher Sonia out for lunch.
    Our class at the end…
    And then suddenly, we were on our way home. Houston Airport was a mess…
    And lucky for us, some friends got married and had a shin dig just a few days later.
    And we got to reconnect to a lot of friends quickly.
    And back to work at my home clinic where even in 60’s hospital decor, I feel loved.
    And check in with our wedding tree.
    And see the beauty close to home
    We are so glad to be home, and to appreciate all the good things home has to offer. We’ll go out again, I’m sure but for now, we have settled back in.

  • Buenos Aires 1

    It is an amazingly huge city, surrounded by farming and a long way to the mountains. We had planned our return home, and at that point of permission, we began to be a bit more homesick and a little tired of planning all the excursions. We are here to start the process of returning home.
    First day we found a gluten free vegetarian restaurant a few blocks from our apartment. Bakeries are everything here, I swear.
    We are here to assimilate back with a schedule and structure. We are enrolled in a Spanish immersion school four or more hours a day. And excursions, like this one to Tigre neighborhood. I’m impressed that we joined an excursion the weekend before we even started school.
    Having to be on schedule and get up in the morning and have a plan every day rather than just what we feel like is a step toward normalcy and is becoming welcome with all the unstructured time. But it was funny how little motivation we found to get out of town on weekends or see the countryside.
    This neighborhood is full of canals and residents get around by boat.
    With neat old houses. We liked it.
    Buenos Aires is a sweet colonial city. It is so interesting the similarities all over the world as cities were built up during the late colonial period
    But I feel like this one is the most willing to build and only slowly replace old with new small piece by small piece.
    I’m really not sure where the entrance to this church is anymore. I am sure it’s grounds used to include the whole block…
    Walking to the weekend market area
    Reminder that Pope Francis is from this city
    I love the tiny tile work.
    There’s many blocks of the market, including a couple blocks devoted to indigenous artists.
    And a huge street band just comes by…
    Impressive downtown old buildings
    Our sleep schedules are so off at first. A 13 hour time change is pretty brutal. I literally HAD to take a nap at five pm for over a week.
    And people gathered waiting for the delayed start on the World Cup final….
    And our cohort starting school on Monday. New people come through starting and stopping every week. They place you by ability and so classes change all the time. I chose to opt out of placement and just start at the beginning. Zarah was more brave and challenged herself.
    Teacher, Rosanna, teaching us about Mate. We had taste tests and learned some health benefits. And how hard it was on this culture to stop sharing the bombilla (special straw) and thermos of Mate in gatherings of families and friends during the Pandemic. It normally is just passed around.
    Captivating courtyard apartments
    Beautiful church on an evening excursion where I couldn’t understand most of what the Argentinian tour guide was saying.
    And a replica of the familiar.
    The Thinker. It is so cool to me to have seen it in so many cities – Paris, Philadelphia, Singapore, Melbourne and here. Maybe I should try to check them all off in my lifetime. I really love Rodin.
    Our solo excursion, we got tickets to “El Principito” thinking a children’s story would be partly understandable. I might have understood about 1/2 the gist of it with context and actors.
    A lively production with great use of animation with set design, costumes and live action to give the fantastical feel of The Little Prince.
    Our new friend Kim from Cape Cod. Bonding over middle aged vision problems while we look for a restaurant.
    And coming back to a Chinatown seeing that “where there is Ocean, there are Chinese” is true on this continent too.
    Ok, this is now a shopping center…? Repurposing of old buildings is amazing
    Monk parrots in the park near our apartment.
    A big park is right by our apartment and there are Monk parrots as well as ducks and more common birds.
    A woodpecker on what I know as an “itchy-bomb tree” (sycamores). I don’t think they are native, but they line the streets and populate the parks. It’s nice to have familiar things after being gone so long. These are all over Salt Lake.
    Monuments and sculptures of people are EVERYWHERE! Like literally every block will have several in public spaces and major streets.
    And another dance and band performance in the park. Local indigenous group. All ages.
    And the band behind. In the cold.
    And then Zumba fitness 50 feet later. Music and dance is everywhere. We joined if for a while and if I lived here I’d go twice a week. This is just people playing around after class.
    And sunset, farther around the lake, the dance continues
    And the next day a horse parade a few blocks north. Stuff is just constantly going on.
    And people celebrating the election in Venezuela, before it was annulled by the dictator, Maduro.
    School friends: Christina was in Zarah’s class and Michael was in mine. They were so fun to have a meal or a walk with. I hope we get to visit them in northern Brazil someday.
    More sculptures from the park
    Giant group of bikers with orange balloons on a weekend. They stretch back a full block. I don’t know why…
    My class: Australia, Israel, Argentina (teacher), me, Germany, Boston, Netherlands, New York, Miami, Indonesia, Germany, Los Angeles. I loved meeting so many people from many places, and having Americans too. It is really a special mind bender for me to hear Spanish with a German accent. I had more German, and earlier, and I get German words in my head when trying think for Spanish.
    At the late night tango hall
    Just normal folks out dancing to a live band in a shabby chic arty old building.
    Matt
    And a cat, stray as far as I can tell, just wandered up to the second floor where there are 50+ people and a loud live band. And just curled up on my lap and enjoyed some petting.
    More of the dance hall with art.
    And the band. We finally got ourselves out late enough (started at 11:30 I think) to see.
    La Boca, very touristy but brightly colored
    A different park and the same Zumba teacher in the park.
    Super cute playground
    More monuments.
    Clouds are beautiful everywhere.

    More Buenos Aires to come….

  • Sydney

    We took a wander to Circular Quay the first night (after getting Zarah a phone)
    I can’t believe I climbed that bridge 20 years ago!
    Lines and angles everywhere, the light plays beautiful games. And I have a brilliant wife who talked to the ticket agent about what was available, too late tonight, but pretty affordable tickets for Tosca tomorrow!
    Morning walk to see old buildings downtown
    And new buildings taking all the space they can while leaving some old. It’s neat how they preserve some buildings.
    We took a boat to Manly Beach
    So many sail boats out in the harbor.
    Botany Bay really is a huge inlet and has so much water and so much coastline.
    And Sydney Harbor National Park.
    So green and windswept.
    Pond on a cliff.
    There was a lovely panoramic view.
    Cemetery for those who were quarantined out here before going into to city.
    Such a lovely cliff to rest on.
    There was actually a plague outbreak in 1900! I didn’t know it was still around!
    Cutest cafe with such a nice view over the cemetery, bay and city.
    Evening walk to a lookout explained by a local mob member.
    A gorgeous city from the ferry
    Quick dinner with live music before the show.
    In the opera house!
    Looking up
    Having wine and looking out the windows at intermission. Tosca was pretty controversial at the time. Sexual innuendos and the heroine murdering the bad guy. Not bad for 1900.
    Next day at the botanical garden, there is a cool live wall mosaic
    And ibises in the trees
    And allowing for their photo ops
    And a southern right whale.
    And an echidna
    Very civilized place for a glass of wine at lunch
    I appreciate the sign pointing to the “kiss and ride” area.
    And popcorn and a movie in the evening
    ANZAC Memorial under a bit of construction
    Movingly done and much bigger than it seems.
    Video of annual parade
    Very well described different roles in the war.
    St Mary’s cathedral
    The Hyde Park Barracks Museum. It was really fascinating and well done. You have earphones playing information based on your location. This is voices reading letters from courts and criminals sentenced to being sent to Australia. There was a real push to get laborers over here to build up the cities. Lots of people sent for simple things like stealing handkerchiefs.
    Barracks with hammocks. There were times it was so overcrowded there were these and another layer of people below them on the floor, with the rats. There were early phases where it was a pretty reasonable work load and people found their own housing. Then the barracks were built and people were on top of each other and the system required more violent control and heavier workloads to sustain itself.
    Dioramas and explanations of tensions between settlers and Aboriginal residents whose culture doesn’t include ownership of land. There is so much parallel between our countries and the systematic slaughter followed by assimilating schools and discrimination down to today. Australia is better about land acknowledgments, a formal apology and National Sorry Day every year. And Aboriginal people couldn’t vote until 1962 and they still do not have legal recognition of mob (we would say tribe) entities.
    Next day a trip to the Blue Mountains! I loved this national park when I was here in 2004 and it still impresses.
    Smaller waterfalls
    Big waterfalls
    Skinny waterfalls
    Shadows moving across the hills. The smell of the gum (eucalyptus) trees is so fresh and pleasing.
    More trees growing back after a fire, these are the most fire adapted things I’ve ever seen
    I love the light on the red red bark.
    Strange rock formations, I don’t buy “the Grand Canyon of Australia” but I do like it here.

    Love this view and this lady.

    And sometimes you get reminders of home, all the way over here.
    The smell is so good…
    And tree ferns
    Beautiful sunset
    And Sulphur Crested Cockatoos watching sunset as they gather for the night.
    A few extra pics from Brisbane that were on Jenny’s camera.
    Serious bamboo
    Ridiculous in the rain
    Silly sister, the best kind. I’m so pleased she came all this way to visit!
    And then…. A very very long flight to South America!

  • Brisbane and family!

    My sister actually flew all the way from Minneapolis to meet us in Brisbane! And to see Dave, who we have known since 1975. He and his wife, Alicia, were both amazing hosts even though they are in the midst of packing up and moving to the US for a couple of years. Dave and I were such buddies when we were kids. Us and Max Germer got up to all the tree climbing and exploring possible.
    This is on their fridge, I really love this. I hope to put it on my fridge at home.
    Dave’s son Tobias had chopped us a bunch of wood.
    And this is Oreo, he is so sweet! I wish I had taken more pictures of their beautiful house and 5 acre land with garden and greenhouse and chickens… I was a very lovely space
    Queensland takes us back to epiphytes everywhere.
    Lovely Somerset overlook on a walk on Mount Mee. Strangely, no wallabies or kangaroos…
    Something about gum trees are so beautiful.
    And the yellow banksia bottle brushes
    And sunset from the car on the way home.
    Cascade on the hike in Maiala area of D’Aguilar NP
    But what we came for was seeing the “strangler fig” trees. They are huge and start from a seed in the branches and they grow both down and up from there until it literally strangles out the tree underneath.
    Here’s one earlier in the process.
    And here is a bonsai version at the botanical garden the next day.
    I loved this exhibit.
    It part of the Japanese garden
    And a lovely garden it was.
    And there were water monitors
    I loved that this one looked like he had tiny plants growing on him. He had just swum through plants floating on the water… but it was a cool effect.
    The next morning I found this toad swimming in their swimming pool. I relocated him here near the creek with the leaf. I hope he is ok.
    Then we went to the Glass House Mountains for a walk.
    There were volcanoes, then the mountain eroded away and left the solidified magma core behind.
    They are very strange looking and beautiful.
    I don’t know what makes the squiggles on the bark of some gum trees, but it seems to me like an intelligence trying to communicate.
    They are so sweet to each other when there isn’t competition for food.
    The stepping stones make the trail seem more magical.
    Next day- A microcosm of green.
    It was along a pretty little creek but the “trail” got pretty hairy pretty quick.
    Very hairy…where do you go? We made it over this.
    But Zarah ended with a back pocket full of glass, and we turned around. Luckily she had the coverage plan, but unluckily Australia uses a different waveform for cellular than in the US, so the actual phone is different and they only had a new one in Sydney. 10 days of no phone!
    Next day: Kookaburra sits in another gum tree-ee. But still no wild mammal sightings in the Brisbane area. It’s really odd.
    It is quite beautiful though
    Lake at Walkabout Creek
    And this guy near the parking lot!
    We went to the downtown street market for Jenny’s birthday.
    There is the most beautiful cafe in Samford Village called Little Tree, but the trees are not small.
    Since we still hadn’t seen any mammals with Jenny we went to the sanctuary at the park with the lake. I love wombats so much.
    And they had Platypuses!! They move so frenetically, it’s hard to get a good photo.
    They really zoom. As my mom would say.
    and a tree kangaroo.
    By far the most common wild animal sighting in the Brisbane area was the bush turkey.
    Then surfers at Noosa National Park.
    Hells gate!
    Windy day but we had fun. And we did see mammals— dolphins!
    There is a kookaburra somewhere in the tree as well as these lovely ladies.
    We got burgers so big we couldn’t really figure out how to eat them!!
    Then we just had to go see the marsupials at Lone Pine Sanctuary.
    It’s the oldest koala sanctuary in Australia
    and they let you pet some of them.
    It is really quite huge. And koalas sit in such funny ways.
    So so cute. So so tired … all the time.
    They can be so sweet when there isn’t competition for food.
    And the swamp wallabies
    And the western reds
    And the eastern grays.
    And a raptor show.
    These were really cool to see them fly right by you.
    AND THEN THERE WAS A BABY!!!
    Next day one last hike in Queensland, Condalilla Falls National Park
    The vistas were amazing.
    And the falls
    And the fern trees
    And the place where a huge tree’s roots are seeming to hold up the whole mountain.
    And the faeries might be afoot again
    Look! I found a swing!
    I love to look over the valley to all the layers of mountains.
    And the clouds!

    Next up… Sydney!

  • Kangaroo Island Part Two: Emu Bay

    Stop one was Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park. Operated by the same folks as the Raptor Domain.

    This is Pearl. She was a baby in the bushfires of 2020 and her ears got singed (you can see the scars if you look closely). She was not one of the very many who got rereleased from their hospital back into the wild. She likes humans too much. The carer, Hannah, said she ran across the pen to be picked up this morning and often she and her coworkers have to act like moms and clean their area while holding one or two of the koalas that got raised there after the fires.
    All that to say, I am so glad I got to hold her!
    She gets to eat while you hold her. The smell of eucalyptus is so good as she crunches it up, but she also has very big claws, on my neck.
    She was soft but a bit wiry haired. Heavy but good at holding on. I asked about how small her eyes were and Hannah said that their smell is much better than her sight. And that yes, her brain is quite small, and has extra padding in case they fall from a tree.
    Did you know they have special sacral (butt) cartilage that pads them and is insensate (no sensation) so they can wedge in the crook of a tree all day and not go numb or hurt?
    I liked the area for the dingoes. Not big enough maybe, but interesting perches for them to see.
    I love the guy looking at me. They so rarely change “trees” it was neat to see him walk. The carers so obviously all knew so much about them and cared for keeping their species going in the face of 1) Chlamydia (18 were introduced on KI in the 1920’s as someone noticed chlamydia spreading from livestock and hurting them on the mainland. And they did really well getting up to 50,000 by 2019/2020 and 2) getting in the way of eucalyptus plantation profits to the point some farmers were managing their land such that they either killed koalas while harvesting or left them without a corridor to food and they starved. Then 3) there were the Black Summer fires and their numbers were estimated at 8,500. They are bouncing back and the government is helping efforts, and it is nice to be supporting a place that keeps the public aware and caring about them. And maintains a hospital that apparently went to heroic efforts in the wake of the fires.
    There were actually 3-4 wild koalas in the trees right around the sanctuary.
    This was our second lodging we arrived after dark the first night. It also only one stove as a source of heat. But this place was huge and concrete floors and high ceilings. It finally got warm enough to not need a sweater around noon the next day.
    Dramatic clouds. We had a lovely dinner and met a server named Danlo. I overheard someone ask “where is your lovely accent from?” And he happens to be from Argentina! So we told him we go there soon and his face just lit up. He was happy to suggest we go south to glaciers and to engage with the art and nightlife of the city. It got us excited about more than just getting better at Spanish.
    We went for a walk at a park in American River and saw dolphins! There was a Buddhist monk there also happy to see dolphins. His name is Jampa and we had a long talk, he has lived in a small house near there for 9 months and had only seen dolphins one other time. Prior to that he lived in a Monestary in India for 23 years. He had a calm, kind energy. We talked about contentment, compassion and wisdom. About how to cultivate them and how they can be out of balance. How he is readjusting to living in Australia and the modern world. We watched the sun set and the dolphins play. I feel so grateful to have met him.
    Then we went to Stokes Bay Beach, where you walk through a bunch of rocks to get there.
    I love this shot. A scene that could be on rolling country hills in the Midwest, or Ireland, or France… except it’s not sheep or deer… it’s kangaroos dotting the hills as far as the eye can see.
    And then a sweet walk with pelicans
    Another amazing Australian beach. This one reminds me of the Anne of Green Gables series.
    The two-tone ocean is so good here… blue, green, blue.
    Melaleuca trees (tea tree oil is from them). They make a pretty dappled forest for a picnic.
    Antechamber Bay look left
    Antechamber Bay look right. Super pretty and lots of birds.
    There was a cool sculpture walk right by the ferry back to the mainland. Word to the wise: definitely plan any ferries far here in advance! We had to leave a day earlier than planned because on Wednesday, we couldn’t book a the ferry on the following Thursday to catch our plane flight out of Adelaide Friday. Even in winter.
    We made the most of it with another nice hike in the Adelaide hills. They expect a little more than I’m used to for a medium trail sometimes. Definitely hands on the wall for balance here.
    Fairyland
    Small
    Bigger
    Big!
    Cool snags, zoom in on the trunk, then the patterns are wild.
    And super cool tree bark
    This time Sturt Gorge where there are mountain bike trails too. I miss biking so much!
    There were really cool stripes in the rocks.
    It was a great hike, starting by following the creek, then up and around the rim of the gorge.
    With kookaburra company
    And finally a pretty good audio of their laugh.

    Tomorrow we are flying to Brisbane to meet up with my sister and see my childhood friend Dave and his family!

  • Kangaroo Island – Part one Vivonne Bay

    You start with a 45 minute ride in a ferry. I only got a bit queasy with the motion. Notice the packed in trucks. Our rental is actually sideways tucked under the bridge.
    The elusive platypus… we never did see one. There are swimming holes that they sometimes are seen in. We admittedly got there somewhat after sunrise, because, I am me and I’m not quick in the morning. And we went back right at sunset. But none came.
    Hi didn’t realize how small they are. I’m not sure why but both Zarah and I thought they were more than 18in long and more than 1-2 kg. The large weight is 1/3-1/2 of a cat, depending if you choose Amelia or Noodles.
    Kangaroo Island is one of the places hit hard by the 2020 Australian bush fires, also called “Black Summer”. About 1/2 of the island and 96% of Flinders Chase National Park burned.
    But the eucalyptus trees are amazing. It’s like they can shed their skin and grow a new one.
    Certainly some trees died but a lot of them grew back very vigorously. There is a bushiness to the burned trees different than the graceful light leaves at the ends of long branches normally there.
    Ok, I’m from Utah, and calling something “Remarkable Rocks” and then seeing how small the area is from the car, expectations were low.
    But then you get closer and see all the different angles
    Get to pretend at being crushed
    Can pretend you’re a rock climber… and find out that granite can be sharp!
    And start trying to get all arty and stuff with the sky.
    And nice people off we to take your picture.
    And there are nooks to fit yourself in.
    And they look like faces with teeth.
    And they may look like they are floating unsupported.
    Anyway, I came away approving of the name.
    Southern Right Whale! It was so amazing! We were just taking a walk down to Fur Seal Lookout and there they were! I think this is a baby’s tail. Mom and baby were seen complete with the barnacle looking things on the side. And a couple more blowing farther off shore. It was very cool, to know they are so big and that there used to be many more of them, but their populations are bouncing back now.
    There were several kinds of seals, I’m not sure what kind. But, a cute kind.
    I love how this little one is all by herself, but looks cozy because the altered coloration looks like a blanket set out for her.
    Admirals arch on the same walk.
    It was cool the seals were playing in the big tide pool. They would jump and frolic when a wave came.
    Back to the platypus pools in evening. And wallaby in the path. We saw a sign for the pools and thought it was different set, but it was just a longer walk to them. We still didn’t see any.
    But a nice view of the stars coming out as we walked back.
    Pademelon in the car park!
    Our sweet quirky cabin in Vivonne Bay. It felt very homey even though it was rustic. There was a cool composting toilet that didn’t smell bad at all. The kitchen was so nicely organized and had anything we could really want despite being small.
    Main heat was the stove. We didn’t go upstairs much, but having the loft was a cool idea.
    The walkway and labyrinth was pretty magical too.
    Next day was the free flight bird show at Raptor Domain. Magpie is helping demonstrate the need for picking up trash to help the environment.
    Tawny frogmouths! They did a good job of letting you know that each bird was there for some reason…not being able to survive in the wild.
    And they are habituated to people, so they will let you hold and stroke them. But use the back of your hand so your skin oils don’t mess up their feathers.
    Boobook the presenter was very knowledgeable and funny
    Barn owl was a favorite
    They could go back to the presenter if they wanted. clearly leaving me dumbfounded.
    If you liked the barn owl look at the lesser sooty owl!
    They live in a permanent hunch (kyphosis) to look down from the high perches in a rain forest.
    Australian Hobby, smaller than a peregrine falcon. But still very fast and agile.
    And this one has a left shoulder problem, so has a home here.
    Largest raptor in Australia, the Wedge Tailed Eagle. This guy is blind in his left eye from a power line. They talked about getting the spinny things from the power company so they are seen from a far.
    We learned about nesting boxes, and danger from dogs and rat poison, and using more recycled toilet paper. They clearly love the birds and want to educate the public to do better for them. It was an amazing experience to be there.
    They also had a reptile show that Zarah and I were the only ones for. So we got to pepper the nice lady with all possible questions. Did you know that while Australia has many very poisonous snakes, most of those have very short teeth so it is not so easy for them to get enough venom into a human to kill us. This was very reassuring. But we have seen zero snakes, it’s winter.
    Then we went for a very cool easy walk by a lake.
    And saw an echidna!
    And another echidna! This one we scared so he literally walked his face into a tree and knew his spikes would keep him safe from there.
    And there were these cool white trees in the water.
    Then we saw another echidna! Zarah had a feeling it was walking with such purpose that getting close wouldn’t disturb it from its mission. And she was right. I love their noses, and the way they walk.
    Kangaroo prints. The texture is pretty neat.
    And roos on the path
    Hopping off into the sunset
    Momma and baby on the rise, under the moon

    Tomorrow north to Emu Bay. Feeling very lucky we get to be here where there is so much wildlife.

  • Adelaide

    This housesit has a massage chair in addition to a cat (Ava).
    And Skylar. Border collies are called Kelpies here.
    There is the upside and the downside of pet sitting. Ava’s parents do not keep their house as clean as we like, and it was harder to feel comfortable there. But once we cleaned for and hour or so and put a sheet over the couch, it was easier to enjoy the sweetness
    First day… botanical garden, as is somewhat usual for us I guess.
    Australian white ibis. I love his lacy tail and sternum.
    A million rainbow lorikeets in a tree.
    They did pick a very pretty tree
    Ginkgo trees are common here as well as SE Asia and they are lovely in the fall. we met a nice couple here who said we should try Morialta park if we wanted to see wildlife, especially koalas.
    First falls hike at Morialta the next day
    And they were right!
    People kept telling us they were hard to spot and I was starting to think they were very well camouflaged, but they are pretty easy to find if you ask me. The crook of a gum tree. Having ADHD has many downsides, but I’m a good spotter for it and that makes me happy. I found 8/8 koalas on this hike.
    One was even awake! They are only awake four hours per day and that is intermittent.
    Favorite.
    Next day we hiked in Cleland National Park on a loop trail that went close to Mt Lofty Summit.
    They have a restaurant there! It isn’t fancy expensive and it isn’t junky and gross. Just good food with a great view.
    Also, lots of city or National Parks have gas grills you can just walk up and use. None of the BS of reserving your picnic shelter months in advance just to have a table and shelter. You get a well maintained grill with the gas provided!!!
    Next day Hallett Cove Beach Walk
    At sunset
    Street near the university
    “The Cheese Grater” the ladies crossing the street with us said, it is a research building. I love knowing the colloquial names
    We came for the exhibit “Broken” aimed at 15-25 yo but interesting for us all.
    It did take you in some thought experiments. Like how could we make housing for everyone, and denser, but in ways a community agrees to. Some communities have easy access to nature and gardens. Some have services for the elderly. Some have quick commute downtown for work and great restaurants. But government owns it, no building inequity with owning homes, especially not multiple homes in a way that keeps people from being able to have entry level into the market.
    A commission with people each responsible for advocating for near and short and long term needs, in conversation coming to good solutions for all.
    What if trees got a vote in how things are run in the world?
    It was so well done. And so anti capitalist, I can’t imagine it at home.
    South Australian Museum
    This is another part of my motivation in learning more about the similarities and differences in how our two countries colonized.
    This greets you prominently as you walk in, but there is no legal framework for negotiation between Aboriginal Australians and the Australian Government.
    The carving is so intricate. And the idea of a spear thrower is so ingenious.
    I can’t even imagine 60,000 years of herbal lore. They know so much
    I want to learn more about the concept of Dreaming
    Well done smaller museum
    Evening downtown and they were setting up city sponsored fire pits and street performers. Keep in mind it is winter, people need more encouragement to get out downtown. We had a pleasant cocktail listening to live music. Still a treat post pandemic
    Next day was sunny again and time for a hike in Belair National Park.
    Guess what?
    Koala butt!!!
    Occasionally there is a waterfall here to the left, but not today. Just a nice gorge.
    Next day a walk on the beach from the Esplanade to Glenelg.
    And I didn’t get my camera out fast enough to capture the nonchalant “going for a run on the beach with your alpaca…“
    Athleticism on the stairs.

    Next day Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens. With a Rhododendron Gully
    Fern gully
    Kangaroo lounge area
    Then back to the summit for lunch. And then I noticed this lady had a pouch hanging a bit low so we watched a while and saw this!
    Then back to Morialta for a longer hike despite running out of daylight pretty soon. Way in the distance next to the orange rock face is the falls from our first hike here.
    Ok, I swear there is the nose and left front paw of an echidna in this burrow. Don’t worry if you can’t see it. Zarah couldn’t either, and she was there.
    Strange only two koalas this trip, but glad we came.
    Galah birds on the lawn. Light grey back and deep rose chests and underwings. They look amazing when they fly together near sunset with the change from light to dark as the flock turns.
    Cute part of town by the university. More thrift shopping was done.
    I love the mix of old and new. Australia wast really being settled until the 1800’s. But the multitude of Victorian buildings is just beautiful.
    First piece that greets you
    They purposely hung art about landscape and place from Aboriginal and European Australians to allow compare and contrast, but I forgot to get a good shot of that. It was thoughtfully done.
    I just love owls.
    This was haunting
    This diorama was disturbing- a mix of McDonalds characters, nazis, trains, and various hard labors there was no explanation on the placard…
    This was so so cool to walk through. Shaped as I imagine fascia connecting and pulling all the many directions in the warm red of our blood. The shoes and arms and things I’m just choosing to have be the mundane things that are pulled by the beautiful matrix. I am pretty sure that is not the intended interpretation, but I like it.
    My other favorite piece.

    Adelaide is a very livable city, twenty minute drive to anything, including several national parks. I do think our relationship was a bit clouded by the house we stayed in being a little edgy for us with cleanliness. Melbourne wins a definite return visit, not as sure here. Unless you promise the alpaca running on the beach again. Next stop Kangaroo Island!

  • The Grampians

    Driving at night is no joke here. There is so much wildlife, you have to be slow and careful. We had a VERY close call with a Kangaroo who jumped right to left across the road and I stopped with my bumper seeming less than a foot from his powerful legs. It was early in our 2 hour drive, and we made it closer to three hours.

    And we saw this guy, a tawny frogmouth. Not on our side, but so special we shined our lights on it to see. Seems like an owl, but not quite it’s in the nightjar family. He was quite content to sit there in our lights.
    Next morning we had a kookaburra sighting
    Close up. They are so pretty and if you haven’t heard their call, you should look it up.
    While we talk about driving, this is our trusty rental car. It has been quite good to us for comfort and handling when swerving and breaking for animals. I thought it would be hard to drive on the left side, but other than using the wipers instead of the turn signal, that has been the least of our worries.
    I love that there are winter-flowering bushes. Seems less common at home (when out of town).
    Sights on our hike to Pinnacles Overlook
    Just looked like a certain kind of throne.
    And I could get used to seeing parrots on my hikes…
    The rocks are so cool
    I love a tree that finds a way.
    At the top
    And Currawangs
    360 view
    I always hear about ocean people who can’t live away from the ocean. But I am definitely a mountain person, lack of large bodies of water doesn’t bother me, but lack of mountains makes me feel exposed and vulnerable. And also a big pointy place where you can get a view, is very nice. The Grampians is enough, not tall, but that just makes the hike easier.
    Proof it really is sandstone these mountains are made of. Despite the patterns of weathering being so different from home.
    Not the prettiest of pictures, but there are a surfer crested cockatoo, several rosellas
    Same place different angle for two kookaburras and an ozzie magpie. They just hang out in the yard…
    So pretty
    Pretty fancy
    Another sandstone hike.
    Toward the Venus Baths…
    My sister, or my mom, would say: “there she goes climbing rocks again”
    Green with sandstone is always especially pleasing when you are from the southwest.
    They have deer here. I don’t know how or why…. They seem to be on watch and the kangaroos trust that they will let them know if they should worry. we also saw wild emus, but not close enough to photograph.
    I want this bath! About 5.5feet long and deep. It makes me glad I kept the floating water activated candles this long. I don’t use them often, but so pampering when I can.
    We made a game estimating how many kangaroos/wallabies we would see in a day. First day we said 37 and got past 50. For this day, driving to Adelaide, we guessed 150 and pretty much hit it on the nose. Not that I can actually count all those but estimating.

  • Great Ocean Road

    Day One

    The goal of this drive is go an hour and then take a walk, lots to see like this Australian darter cormorant at Buckley Falls Overlook in Geelong (gel-ONG pronunciation)
    Then Airey’s Inlet and Split Point Lighthouse on the “Shipwreck Coast”. The “roaring forties” are winds that move fast at 40 degrees latitude and were well used in the 18th and 19th centuries with some disastrous results at times.
    The light and the flags helped with rescues as well as land mass warnings.
    Well worth $10 AU to climb up
    Super knowledgeable volunteers who will even take your photo.
    But definitely need a hot beverage in the wind
    Then the official starting arch
    I had no idea that they had a 67% casualty rate in WWI! And the greatest rate of any nation involved.
    Ocean is so bright blue here
    Erskine Falls
    We are not in Kansas anymore! I’m so sad I never stopped to get the signs that say “drive on the left in Australia” as you come out of car parks onto the road. I guess they get a few tourists…
    They have pullouts for nice views
    Kennett River Nature Walk. Crimson Rosella thinks she’s a reptile?
    More tree ferns
    No koalas (as hoped for) but a good kookaburra.
    More ocean
    Maits Rest
    Cool trees like at home.
    And at nightfall, you go on the glow worm walk in Melba Gully. And you see some beautiful gums.
    The green of them is pretty cool. We met some nice women who had gotten lost at first attempt so we all went together. Most Australians are so friendly and happy to join up and hang out for a bit with strangers. I love that about them.
    Morning wetland walk Day Two
    Lovely late fall grasses
    This sign really puzzled me. They have to make an official sign saying the community is opposed, but they are still doing the development project?
    Who’s that hiding in the reeds? They really are everywhere!
    And leaving their cute bouncy tracks.
    The sandstone reminds me of the SW US
    But there is an ocean
    Amazing to have a rainbow at Gibson steps, the first stop with formations.
    I’ve never been able to actually see the end of the rainbow. No pot of gold, but quite beautiful for sure.
    I love the. Sound. Of. The waves crashing. My mom loved that sound too.
    Sun… for a sec
    Then the twelve apostles, I wish the photos could be sunnier.
    Loch Ard Gorge – I wish I could capture the booming sound as you walk along the plateau, I actually looked to see where the thunder was coming from…. Only later did I figure out it is waves going into the undercut cliffs
    Zoom in to see why it’s called the razorback
    Sandstone man… the curves of the cliffs are amazing
    The water is SO clear here!
    London Bridge. Sandstone also has impermanence, there used to be a second arch connecting the two until 1990
    Their slippery when wet signs crack me up. This same two line swirl is what will happen for a pedestrian, motorcycle, car or truck. I don’t think the lines can cross on the second two.
    The Grotto
    The golden hour
    There are SO many cool birds here. It is interesting to see how the brain tunes out the common noises in the environment. No bird here sounds like a bird at home. There are constant new songs and your brain really registers them because they are unusual. I know this is also true in all the other countries we have visited, but so much here is familiar at the same time it is being novel and that is tickling my brain in yet a new way.
    Night is coming, time to drive away from the ocean to the “mountains”. My friend Dave who is a geologist and moved here from Utah calls Australia “a geologically challenged country”. There is a price to having your tectonic plate not run into anything for 50,000,000 years.

  • Melbourne 3 – Weribee state park and meeting people

    We took a hike on a sunny day
    Then it rained and we started back
    And there was a chopper ambulance circling
    But we decided to try, and some nice folks were coming the other way who claimed not to be athletic and they were fine, so we kept going.
    We looked for platypuses where a nice guy on the trail said he’d seen them before. But no luck.
    We got to the hard bit and the rocks had dried so it was no big deal
    They had a very long cable to hold for a part where I can see totally falling in without it.
    But they kept it a bit challenging and fun.
    So glad we did it.
    Next day a walk in the park near “our” house turned up this plant…. So crazy and like an ostrich.
    At the park we stumbled on Ken’s table where we learned about the history of the neighborhood (brick factories and bricklayers when he grew up just a few blocks away). He makes recycled wood products that are so pretty. And Zarah had actually considered buying one of his necklaces from a little shop the day before.
    And he told us about going way out in the bush with a group of Aboriginal Australians in the 70’s and the one thing he really didn’t want to eat but it was rude to refuse. He was a character.
    We found a great gym close to our house and a nice queer person invited us to the gala opening and Pride Month event at the Melbourne Pride Center. This whole large beautiful building is theirs! such a good last night in town.
    Great drag performers
    I can’t describe how great it was to be part of a GLTBQI+ event and community for a night. Traveling in countries with laws against you and your wife wears in you. I haven’t been that closeted since the very early 90’s
    We walked by this guys photo shoot on the stairs and just joined in…
    People are so kind here. His friend even took the time to airdrop me the photos even though I was having gen X problems with my phone.
    Widget had the zoomies.
    Did I mention Black Spark? Literally next door to our place. Arts and community center, volunteer and community funded. They had a 10-part series of lectures called “Understanding Palestine” we went to. A generous man from the University of Melbourne, Yousef Alreemalwi, talked about Palestinian history and culture.
    He talked about the migration of people there before Judaism even existed and that they have a common folk song that is still sung that shows their Canaanite roots. He talked about the black sense of humor that has developed from suffering, of the complexities of experiences when Palestinian partly raised in Saudi Arabia and now in Australia for over a decade and taking to his cousin who was raised in Europe. So many layers of now generations being displaced so many times. He was articulate and funny and warm.

    Melbourne is a wonderful city. I liked it 20 years ago, but I was only here a couple days. I didn’t see the depth of the city. Now I wish I could spend time here more easily and more often. But tomorrow: The Great Ocean Road!