Almost Finished!

It's hard to believe that our time in Australia is almost up, but in just a couple of weeks I will fly back to Birmingham and our Rotary Ambassadorial experience will have ended. It's a little sad to think about considering how much we have enjoyed our time in Sydney. But, before getting all sentimental, we wanted to briefly share what we've been up to lately.

Since returning from New Zealand, Callie has finished school and moved back to Birmingham in order to see her sister graduate from high school and be in a friend's wedding (in addition to trying to find a job and a place for us to live). Needless to say, Sydney isn't the same without her around, but for my part, things have been equally busy. I had assessments due every week, and now that exams have started and I'm trying to start packing up, there is plenty to keep me occupied. The Audi Winter Sailing Series has begun, so I have been sailing on the weekends, and I have several Rotary events to attend over the next couple of weeks.

Callie and I did have an opportunity to visit Canberra, Australia's capital, before she left. Canberra is about a 45 minute flight south of Sydney and was designed intentionally to be a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne so that neither could be the national capital. The site was originally a sheep station in outback New South Wales, but the city was designed by an American architect, Walter Burley Griffin. We arrived on Friday afternoon and spent the weekend enjoying the sights- from New Parliament House to the National War Memorial. To be quite honest, there is not really a lot to do in Canberra like there is in Sydney. But, the weather was nice and the trees were changing color and the city was quite lovely. We returned to Sydney on Sunday morning, and spent the afternoon with our host Rotary counselors having lunch in Pymble, one of Sydney's nice northern suburbs.

Other than that, the weather has been turning colder here, and there is even a rumor that some of Sydney's western suburbs toward the Blue Mountains could see some snow this weekend. As mentioned earlier, exams began last week. I had one final last Thursday, and I have the remaining finals next week. I should be moved out of our apartment next Thursday before flying home the following Monday, so things are really beginning to wind down. Before I leave, I will provide some more reflective comments about our experience in Australia, but for now, it's back to studying and packing.

"The Land of the Long White Cloud": Part VII

Following our time in Doubtful Sound, we made the drive back to Queenstown. Nestled beneath the Remarkable Range (appropriately named) and on the edge of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is a beautiful alpine city known for its high adventure activities. From sky diving to "canyoning," Queenstown is an adrenaline paradise, and with Callie's reluctant permission, we decided to literally dive right in.

Roughly 150 feet above the Kawarau River is the home of the first commercial bungee location in the world (pictured above). Opened in 1988 by A.J. Hackett, the Kawarau Bridge has become a national icon as the home of bungee jumping in New Zealand. Granted, Callie was not nearly as excited about this opportunity as I was, but once she was convinced of the operation's impeccable safety, we decided that this would be a once in a lifetime experience. So, we got into our harnesses, they attached us to the bungee cord, and with a little extra encouragement for Callie, we jumped off together. It was an absolute rush, and I would certainly recommend it. Moreover, it inspired Callie to the point that, the next morning, we decided to run off the edge of a three thousand foot cliff above Queenstown to go paragliding. Now . . . for the reader out there who might be wondering as to our mental sensibilities, each of these activities is very safe and we never felt endangered in any way. In fact, we have videos that document our enjoyment.

Beyond the bungee jumping and the paragliding, Queenstown is full of other amazing things to do. We took the gondola up the mountain to do the luge, a paved track that you ride down on a cart (think MarioCart in real life). We also took a jetboat up the Dart River (pictured above) into the Mt. Aspiring National Forest and had a chance to see several of the filming locations for the Lord of the Rings series. We went hiking with a Maori guide, we had great food, and all in all, Queenstown may have been our favorite New Zealand city.

That being said, the trip as a whole was absolutely magnificent. Everywhere we drove, everywhere we looked there was something new and different and beautiful to see. From glaciers to fjords, from the coast to the plains, New Zealand had just about everything you might want to see in a natural landscape. The people were gracious, the wildlife was spectacular, and given the size of the country, everything felt accessible. Over just 10 days, Callie and I drove across the majority of the South Island and had an opportunity to really experience the country in a way that you certainly couldn't in a country the size of Australia. In the end, I told Callie that, of the places that I have been fortunate enough to travel to, New Zealand may have been my favorite. We loved every minute that we were there, and we are already thinking about when we can make it back.

"The Land of the Long White Cloud": Part VI

Leaving Wanaka early Thursday morning, we drove south through Queenstown to the small lakeside town of Manapouri on the edge of the Fiordland National Park. Fiordland is on the Southwestern corner of the South Island and is considered to be the most untouched and pristine wilderness in the country. We started our journey in Manapouri where we picked up a boat that took us across the lake to the Wilmot Pass where we took a bus into Fiordland. Interestingly, the road across the Wilmot Pass was the most expensive road ever built in New Zealand at the cost of $2 per centimeter, which for 22 kilometers is $4.4 million. While certainly expensive, what awaits on the other side is absolutely worth it. 

 

Once we came through the Wilmot Pass, the view opens up onto Deep Cove, the inner most section of Doubtful Sound (top picture). Doubtful Sound, however, is actually a misnomer. When Captain Cook (remember him?) sailed by in 1770, he mistakenly believed that the region was composed of flooded river valleys- or sounds- and thus named Doubtful and Milford Sounds incorrectly. Rather, as Fiordland National Park perhaps suggests, this areas is not made of sounds but fjords- deep cuts in the earth caused by retreating glaciers and then flooded by rising sea levels. As an aside, the name "Doubtful" comes from the fact that Cook doubted that he could enter the fjord due to the rocks guarding its entrance. But enough on the etymology of Doubtful Sound.

We boarded the Fiordland Navigator (pictured above), and despite the wet weather, spent the afternoon enjoying our surroundings. Fiordland gets about 5-7 meters of rain each year, so the rain is a little hard to avoid, but the weather did clear later in the afternoon. We went out in a tender craft to get close to the shoreline, we saw dolphins and seals, and we watched the sun go down on the Tasman Sea. After dinner in the evening, we attended a presentation on the ecological history of Fiordland, which was insightful and entertaining. We met some new friends from New Zealand, we played board games, and getting to be in such a immaculate wilderness was thrilling.

   
We spent the night on the boat, and in the morning, we returned to Deep Cove to begin our return journey. All in all, the fjords were spectacular (like New Zealand generally), and I'm not sure how you would get to see them up close to appreciate their grandeur unless you did what we did. The region is beautifully preserved, and let's hope that it remains that way for others to enjoy. Our next stop was Queenstown, the high adventure destination of New Zealand.

"The Land of the Long White Cloud": Part V

After leaving Fox Glacier, we drove South through the Mt. Aspiring National Forest to the small alpine town of Wanaka. Sitting on the shore of Lake Wanaka, the town of Wanaka, like much of New Zealand, is a destination for adventure enthusiasts. From skiing to fly fishing to sky diving, Wanaka is a beautiful town that reminded us of a resort community in the Rocky Mountains. We, however, did not have any high adventure plans for Wanaka. Instead, we spent our time walking around the lake, enjoying the town, and making new friends. We stayed in a small bed and breakfast called Maple Lodge, which is an appropriate name for such an establishment given the beautiful maple trees that grace the grounds. Run by a very nice couple who fled from England (I sympathize), Maple Lodge primarily caters to skiers during the winter. But, given that it was fall and a slow part of the travel season, we had the place to ourselves. 

 
Wanaka is home to the "Festival of Colours," an annual autumnal gathering to celebrate the arrival of fall in New Zealand. The poplars, oaks and maples were all turning and the countryside was absolutely spectacular. From the fall colors to the crisp breeze, it was like fall at home, and though we only had one day in Wanaka, it was well worth the time. The next day we were off to Doubtful Sound and the Fjordland National Park.   

"The Land of the Long White Cloud": Part IV

Well, Wilson neglected to mention our computer mis-haps of last week in his last post, but I think it is worth noting.  Basically, our hard drive decided it had been through enough and died last Monday night, but after a couple of days, we were up and running with a new one.  The only problem is, however, that all of the photo files that were extracted from our old hard drive are corrupt.  So, we don't have any photos from our actual trip to share with you, but we've tried to find a few on the Internet that depict our travels appropriately (because no one wants to read a blog without pictures).

Anyway, moving on with our journey.  From Christchurch we drove all the way from the east coast to the west coast via a scenic mountain route called Arthur's Pass.  The hairpin turns and steep inclines made me a little anxious in the dense fog and persistent rain, but Wilson and our little red Corolla hatchback delivered us to our destination at Fox Glacier safely.  After checking in at our hotel, we drove into Westland National Park to see the glacier from its base.  From the bottom, it was difficult to appreciate its immensity - it is 13 km long and up to 350 meters thick - but we were sure to get a better sense of it during our heli- hike the following morning.

After a short but magnificent helicopter flight over the Fox River Valley and the glacier itself, we landed on "Victoria Flat" about halfway up the glacier.  We were outfitted with crampons and walking sticks, taught to walk on the ice, and then we were off with our glacier guide for a hike.  We observed quickly that the glacier guide really had no plan for our journey - in fact, he hadn't been up on the glacier for several weeks, so he would just spot an interesting ice formation and go for it.  Apparently the surface of the glacier changes so quickly that a certain formation that existed one day might not be there the next.  So we tramped along in his path (some much faster than others) in order to crawl through an ice cave or view a "moulin," a deep and narrow crevasse formed by surface water.  After a couple of hours, we hopped back into the helicopter for our flight down, and upon landing, we agreed that it was one of the most incredible things we had ever done.

We couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Lake Matheson near the Fox Glacier township, so we made our way there for lunch and a bush walk through the rainforest.  Lake Matheson (below) was formed as Fox Glacier retreated and the climate warmed, and on a clear day it provides a beautiful reflection of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman, the highest peaks in New Zealand.  From Lake Matheson, we proceeded south toward Wanaka, stopping at Thunder Creek Falls, where we met several recent graduates of SEC schools, including Georgia, Ole Miss, and Auburn.  As you can imagine, a War Eagle moment ensued - and it was much cooler than that one in the Birmingham Airport.

"The Land of the Long White Cloud": Part III

Let me apologize that it has been so long since our last New Zealand entry, but we had a little computer trouble this week that limited our ability to post. Now that we have fixed that problem, back to the trip. After leaving Kaikoura, the drive to Christchurch was about three hours to the south, but before entering the city, we stopped at the International Antarctic Center. Interestingly, Christchurch is considered "the gateway to Antarctica," as over 70% of all Antarctic expeditions leave from Christchurch. The Center itself was quite interesting. There were exhibits on the geology and biodiversity of the region, including a glimpse into the life of New Zealand's permanent scientific personnel that live at Scott Base. We got to experience an ice storm at -8 degrees Celsius and to see a group of the world's smallest penguins that are cared for by the center's staff. After enjoying the early afternoon in Antarctica, we drove into the city itself. 

Christchurch, founded in 1850, looks like a small city in the English countryside. The cathedral (pictured above) looks like it could have been the destination for Chaucer's pilgrims, and the architecture of the buildings properly belongs somewhere in the gothic period. Needless to say, it is a beautiful place . . . and that was just the buildings.

The Christchurch Botanical Gardens are some of the oldest in New Zealand and they are literally at the heart of the city. Unlike Adelaide, which is a city surrounded by green space, Christchurch is a giant green space with a city around the edge. The gardens are absolutely spectacular with giant poplars and pines and rows of dalhias and roses. Since it is now fall in the Southern hemisphere, the trees were changing color and kids were playing in the piles of leaves, and with a crisp breeze in the air, it felt like fall at home. 

  

As we wandered through the gardens and down by the river, our nostalgia gave way to a mild jealousy: we were both pretty envious that Christchurch has such a incredible place to enjoy. Honestly, I'm not really a garden person, but I found myself suddenly interested plants and trees because everything was beautiful. After walking around all afternoon, we enjoyed an early dinner and then drove to the Willowbank Wildlife Park for a Maori cultural experience and a kiwi tour.

Normally, I would confess that I'm not really a fan of manufactured cultural experiences, but the evening we spent with the Maori was unusually candid and meaningful. The Maori are originally from Polynesia and arrived in New Zealand between 800-1000 years ago. After crossing thousands of miles of open ocean in large war canoes, the Maori landed at a site just south of Christchurch. We learned about Maori social customs, traditional rituals, and even participated in the Maori hokey-pokey.  

Following our time with our Maori hosts, we took an evening tour of the Willowbank Wildlife Park. The reason the tour is at night is because the kiwi, a small flightless bird (pictured above) that is the symbol of New Zealand, is nocturnal. Waddling and stumbling awkwardly along the ground, the kiwi is an extraordinary creature, but like many of New Zealand's prized birds, it has been driven to near extinction by introduced species. Following our time at Willowbank, we returned to our hotel in the city under the assumption that we would be up early on a hot air balloon ride the next morning. However, the weather deteriorated overnight and we were unable to go. Disappointed but undeterred, we left Christchurch on our cross-country drive across the Southern Alps to the Eastern coast.

"The Land of the Long White Cloud": Part II

Once on board the Interislander, we made the 3 hour trip from Wellington on the North Island to Picton on the South Island, and in so doing, we passed through the Marlborough Sounds (pictured above). The Sounds protect the northern most end of the South Island and they reminded Callie of parts of Alaska: rugged and uninhabited. Once arriving in Picton, which is little more than a small fishing town that is also a terminal for the ferry, we picked up our rental car (a red Toyota Corolla hatchback) and made the drive to Kaikoura. We stopped in a little town called Blenhim for dinner, but since it was dark already, we could only make out the vague impression of our surroundings. The road was winding and narrow in places, but since I was already an expert on driving on the wrong side of the road (see the post on Adelaide and the Barossa Valley), we were able to arrive in Kaikoura without incident.

Kaikoura, literally meaning "crayfish" (lobster) in Maori, is a small resort town on the northeastern corner of the South Island and is famous for the abundant marine wildlife that inhabit the area. Again, we arrived late, so we weren't able to see anything, but when we woke the next morning, the picture above is what greeted us out our window. At this point, although Callie and I certainly had enjoyed Wellington, we instantly loved New Zealand and couldn't wait to see what else it had to offer. We stayed at a place called The Fairways at Ocean Ridge, which is a real estate development with a series of apartments that are rented out to tourists like us. We had breakfast in the morning and made our way into the town before our whale watching encounter after lunch.

 

The town of Kaikoura isn't much to write home about: there are some small retail shops and restaurants but not much else (although there was a 9 hole putt putt course that we did take advantage of). For the most part, Callie and I found ourselves looking at the snow-capped mountains and the deep-blue of the ocean. Callie said the color was like that crayon color "Cerulean"- if that is helpful. But people don't really come to Kaikoura to see the town, they come for the incredible marine life that lives along the coast. We visited a colony of NZ Fur Seals that lives at the south end of the town, and we were shocked to discover Blue Ferry Penguins alongside the road.  We have deer and possum (that's how they spell oppossum) on the side of the road in Alabama, but they have penguins on the side of the road in NZ. 

Anyway, we had planned to go out to see the Giant Sperm Whales that frequent the waters off Kaikoura in the afternoon, but since the whales were outside the tour's operating area, we took a Coastal Wildlife Tour instead. The reason the whales visit is because there is a 3,000 foot oceanic trench just a couple of hundred yards off the shore where warm equatorial waters mix with cold waters coming from Antarctica and thus provide an incredible volume of nutrients for sea life in the area. On our tour we saw fur seals, lots of sea birds- including the Wandering Albatross, which has the largest wingspan of any bird on the planet, and dusky dolphins. These dolphins travel in pods between 100-300, and they are very playful and sociable. The would do flips and jumps and one even seemed to have a great time splashing the people riding on the bow of our boat. While it was disappointing that we didn't get to see any of the whales, it was still a great opportunity to be close to some of New Zealand's incredible wildlife. 

    
After our time on the water, we returned to Kaikoura in time for dinner, enjoying the sun as it set across the mountains. The next morning was Easter, and we attended an early morning service at a small Anglican church where we lowered the average age of the congregation considerably. After church, we had a late breakfast and then headed south towards Christchurch, the "most English of cities outside England." 

"The Land of the Long White Cloud": Part I

Over this past week, Callie and I were on Easter Break, and in order to take advantage of our time off, we decided to visit New Zealand.  We traveled the country for roughly eleven days, and over that time, we concluded that there was simply too much to say in just one post. As a result, we wanted to write about our trip in increments. What follows is a reflection on our time in New Zealand, a journey in the "land of the long white cloud." 

We began our 11 day journey through New Zealand in "Windy Wellington," the country's capital and second-largest city.  Its nickname became very evident as our plane attempted to land safely, but looking out the window, we knew we were in for a treat.  Wellington is located on the southern tip of the North Island and is home to the Te Papa National Museum, the first place we ventured after our arrival. 

 The museum is designed to present the geologic, natural, and native history of New Zealand, and its signature exhibit is the world's only preserved giant squid.  We discovered how the convergence of the Indo-Australian and Pacific plates have created the mountains, volcanoes, hot springs, and, of course, earthquakes in New Zealand.  Additionally, we learned that the country is home to numerous unique bird species such as the kiwi and other flightless fowl, including the 9-foot tall, 450 lb. giant moa, which is now extinct.  These flightless birds flourished in the absence of predators for centuries because New Zealand broke away from Gondwana, the supercontinent, before land mammals had evolved.  But Wilson will have more on subjects such as these in future posts. 

The following morning we rode Wellington's historic cable car up the hill (see first photo) for a lovely view of the city and a visit to the botanical gardens.  Just like Australia, New Zealand seems to have an abundance of green space throughout its cities, and Wellington is no exception.  Though we could have wandered along paths in the gardens for hours, we decided just to hit the highlights, such as the enormous rose garden pictured below.  After our botanical trek, we sought rejuvenation at Sweet Mother's Kitchen, which just happened to serve down home Creole cookin' straight out of N'awlins.  (Sidenote: Of course we ordered the cornbread - I haven't eaten cornbread in a year!  They don't even sell cornmeal at the grocery store over here.)  

Anyway, our time in Wellington drew to a close as we ventured over to the ferry passenger terminal and awaited our call to board the Interislander, which transported us across the Cook Strait over to the South Island.

"Nash"-ional Lampoon's Australian Vacation

Words can't actually convey how excited Wilson and I were to see Mom, Dad, Walton, and Molly here in Sydney.  I had been counting down the days since we came back after Christmas, and they finally arrived on Friday, March 13th!  They climbed the Harbour Bridge soon after they arrived, which was ambitious considering their jet-lag, but they all agreed that it was definitely an appropriate introduction to the city.  We had a guided tour of Sydney on Saturday followed by a lovely dinner with John and Kathy Blahut.  Sunday, after a tour of the Opera House (see post below), Rob and Sue Segart were kind enough to take us all sailing in the harbour, providing an opportunity most tourists don't have to see Sydney.  We made time for a trip to Gladesville Sunday evening, which probably wasn't terribly impressive compared to the glamorous neighborhoods we toured Saturday, but Wilson and I were proud to introduce everyone to our apartment, our favorite pizza place, and the Aussie reality show "Border Security."  The four of them left for a short trip up to Port Douglas, Queensland on Monday to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef and explore the Daintree Rainforest only to return to Sydney last Thursday afternoon.

After a picturesque dinner on the harbour, we attended the Sydney Symphony's performance of  "The Best of the West End" in the magnificent Concert Hall in the Opera House, and it was all I could do not to sing along to the scores from Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Les Miserables, Mary Poppins, etc.  We revisited the Blue Mountains Friday, and fortunately we were greeted by nicer weather this time as you can see in the photo of The Three Sisters below.  We also had the chance to stop at Featherdale Wildlife Park on our way up to the mountains, where we all had a great hands-on experience with quintessential Australian animals like kangaroos, koalas, emus, and a variety of exotic birds.  We weren't allowed to pet the wombat, pictured above, because it bites, but it is still tied with the koala as my second-favorite animal despite its aggressive tendencies (otters are my favorite).  After lunch in the lovely garden village of Leura, we rode the "steepest railway in the Southern Hemisphere," which was disappointingly short, into the Jamison Valley and then took the sky bucket back up the mountain over the tree tops.

We rode the ferry to Manly Beach on Saturday, and in the afternoon Wilson gave us a tour of the University of Sydney - from the Oxford-style Great Hall to the extremely modern law buildings, stopping by the lawn tennis courts for Molly.  We celebrated a successful trip by dining at The Summit, a revolving restaurant on the top level of Sydney's tallest buildings.  Wilson was so impressed by the food and the view that he already wants to go back!  Unfortunately, Mom, Dad, Walton, and Molly had to fly home Sunday, but it was a great week and we were glad for the opportunity to share this fantastic city with them.

The Sydney Opera House: The Spirit of Australia

This past Sunday, Callie and I (along with the rest of the Stone family who arrived on Friday morning) took a behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House. Having yet been inside the architectural masterpiece that graces the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, this was a chance for us to see the Opera House in a different way- to discover the incredible difficulty associated with its construction and to appreciate the uncompromising ingenuity of its design. 

Planning for the Opera House began in the early 1950s, and 233 entries from 32 countries were submitted into the competition. The winner was a Danish architect named Utzon whose drawings were more of an aspirational idea than an architectural blueprint. Nevertheless, construction began in 1959 and 16 years later, after an estimated 102 million Australian dollars, the Sydney Opera House was opened. It is worth mentioning that construction delays, cost overruns and political imperatives ultimately led to Utzon being dismissed from the project; he never returned to see his completed work.  

Inside the Opera House, there are actually five separate performance spaces from a small experimental venue called "The Studio" to the 2,700 seat Concert Hall. In each area, however, there is a common emphasis on the harbour thanks to a tremendous amount of glass that allows multiple unique experiences with the water. And while the exterior of the Opera House is obviously beautiful, it is equally stunning on the interior. 

You know that feeling when you walk into a space and you feel instinctively that there is something special, something inexpressibly majestic, about where you are . . . well that's how you feel when you walk into the Concert Hall. It's not that it's large- although it certainly is- but it's grand and powerful in a way that is overwhelming. Like walking into the sanctuary of a gothic cathedral, the Concert Hall envelops you, it captures you from every angle. The walls and ceiling are made of special lightweight wood to carry the sound, and many performers elect not to use a microphone, which might seem a little difficult considering that the organ has 10,000 pipes! Nonetheless, the acoustics effortlessly blend the vocal and musical elements of a performance, and I can't imagine what it must be like to observe in person. (Fortunately, we will not to imagine for too long because we are planning on attending a concert with the Stones this next week.)

  
Needless to say, the Opera House is a masterpiece: it is distinctive, yet functional; it adds to the beauty of an already beautiful city and it seems to capture the essence of Australia. On our tour, we were told that the Opera House hosts a variety of activities from the fine arts like opera and ballet to more unusual performance mediums like burlesque and stand-up comedy. Luciano Pavarotti, Andre Bocceli, Sting, Coldplay, The Foo Fighters all have performed at the Opera House. It annually hosts the finals of Australian Idol and was recently home to an acrobatic circus. It is available for corporate gatherings and is used for school performances. (Imagine doing a school play on the stage of the Concert Hall!) Perhaps most unusually, it was used for the finals of the World Bodybuilding Championships in 1980, a competition that was won by now California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

When one thinks about an opera house, the image that inevitably comes to mind is a place for stodgy and elitist benefactors. It is a place for formal attire and expensive cocktails, a place where you need to know French or Italian to understand the performance, and a place where the uncultured are generally unwelcome. Except not in Sydney. Despite its reputation as a world-class performance venue, despite its World Heritage listing, despite being the most recognizable building of the 20th century, this iconic structure offers an inviting and laid-back experience where all are welcome. There is not even a dress code. The Opera House is unpretentious and accommodating, its tickets are affordable (which is unusual in Sydney), and its doors are open to those who are willing to walk through. As a result, the Sydney Opera House forms a perfect reflection of Australia: warm and hospitable, open, tolerant and gracious. And just as the Sydney Opera House has become the unique, recognizable image of Australia, so too does it capture the spirit of her people.   

Back to School

This past week, after a lengthy summer break that afforded opportunities to enjoy Australia's natural abundance, I had to start class again, and to be quite honest, it was nice to be back at work. This semester I have four classes (just like last semester), and as of now, I am taking courses in International Security, Globalization and Governance, China and the World Economy, and Development Dilemmas in Southeast Asia. Given that I have somewhat limited knowledge in several of these subject areas, I am excited about what I will learn this semester, and it was good to see classmates and friends from last year. 

Other than that, things have been pretty quiet here in Sydney. The days are getting shorter and the mornings are getting cooler, and you can tell that fall is on its way. This past weekend we did have a chance to see friends from home as Randall and Nancy Wells were in Sydney on a two week tour of Australia and New Zealand. The Wells are family friends from Highlands United Methodist Church, and we met in the city for breakfast this past Saturday. This upcoming weekend, Callie's family will arrive from Birmingham and so we are very excited to have all these familiar visitors arriving in the Great Southern Land. Before long, it will be our turn to head back home, but in the meantime and in an effort to see as much of this part of the world as possible, we are looking forward to upcoming trips to New Zealand and Canberra. More on those plans later, but for now, it's back to school.

And for me this week, it was back to cakes (thank goodness).  The gateau above is a Feuille D'automne, which translates as "leaves of autumn."  Beneath the ruffles of dark couverture chocolate are layers of rich chocolate mousse and crisp almond meringue.  The composition is very similar to that of the Gateau Concorde, so needless to say, Wilson was in love.  I'll admit that the chocolate ruffles (or flower - it's open to interpretation) were a bit of a challenge, and some of my classmates ended up with mounds of chocolate shards in the center of their cakes.

We also made a Buche de Noel this week, which is otherwise known as a Chocolate Christmas Roll/Log.  Recipes vary, but the Le Cordon Bleu version includes an almond dacquiose (sweet, moist sponge) surrounding layers of Cointreau and chocolate mousse and covered in a chocolate ganache.  It is traditionally garnished with meringue mushrooms, chocolate "bark," and a plaque reading "Joyeux Noel" as pictured here.  The dacquiose is delicious on its own, and Eddie and I managed to consume every scrap that remained during the lesson.

This week we'll be making the final preparations for the afternoon tea that our class will be serving on Wednesday, and rumors have it that Andre Cointreau, the owner of all Le Cordon Bleu schools, will be arriving on our campus this week.  Hopefully our products will be up to his standards!

Superior So Far

My Superior Patisserie course is now fully under way, and during the second week we created a chocolate box and a variety of hand-dipped chocolates, both of which will be required for our final assessment in a few weeks.  Predictably, I chose to adorn my box with a large bow molded from white modeling chocolate, and I'm tempted to repeat the design on my assessment piece.  Below you can see the various chocolates we produced:  nougat, marzipan, and raspberry fruit paste.  The only thing the pictures don't convey is the enormous mess I made along the way (which required hours of soaking my uniform in a bleach solution).

Last week, the third week, we focused on marzipan modeling.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with marzipan, it is simply a combination of ground almonds and sugar (powdered, or "icing" sugar as it is called here).  The quality of marzipan varies depending on the almond content;  marzipan with a high almond content (and therefore a better eating quality) would be used to top cakes or for chocolate dipping, while marzipan with a low almond content is used to mold the figures seen below.   

My friend Eddie and I decided to make little marzipan bakers wearing pink pants - again, predictable.   

My little baker is rather beefy from rolling out pastry, whipping cream, kneading dough, and whisking egg whites.

As you can see, the lessons in Superior have focused on more artistic tasks, and the creative students in our class have had a chance to shine (not me).  This week we each completed a chocolate showpiece, and because the choice of chocolate molds was quite limited, most of us ended up with a holiday themed piece (mine had an Easter bunny on top).  I'll admit that I prefer making the gateaus, tarts, pastries, and breads, but I've accumulated a range of skills I never expected to possess.  While I probably will not need to make an Easter-themed chocolate tower in the future, I suppose it is satisfying to know that I could.

Still Intact: Our Great White Adventure

This past weekend, in a somewhat strange observance of Valentine's Day, Callie and I traveled to Port Lincoln, South Australia in order to dive with the great white shark. Port Lincoln is a small coastal fishing town and is close to the Neptune Islands, which is home to a colony of New Zealand fur seals, a favorite meal of the "white pointer." Needless to say, we were both excited and nervous, but now that we have returned to Sydney in one piece, we can safely recount our adventure.

We left Sydney on last Friday morning for an early flight to Adelaide. For regular readers, you will recall that we spent some time in Adelaide on our last trip, but this time we had only a short layover before catching a small regional flight to Port Lincoln. Port Lincoln is about 35 minutes by air from Adelaide and is home to a large proportion of Australia's tuna fishing industry, yet another reason that it is frequented by the great white. We arrived mid-afternoon and spent the remainder of the day walking along the harbour foreshore and enjoying the lovely weather. We had dinner at the hotel and went to bed soon thereafter given the early start the next morning.

The Neptune Islands is about two and a half hours from Port Lincoln by boat, which meant that we had to be at the dock at 6:30 A.M. The journey out was a a little rocky and some of our companions (there were about 20 of us in total) began to look a little green around the gills. Callie, on the other hand, had taken two dramamine and was having trouble staying awake, but once we reached the Neptunes, things began to get exciting. The crew began chumming the water with a mixture of fish innards, blood and tuna pieces while making as much noise as possible in order to attract the sharks. This ritual continued for about forty-five minutes before the first visitor arrived and the cage was in the water.

To say that the great white is a large animal is a gross understatement. Not only is it long-the ones we saw averaging about 15 feet- but it is thick and heavy, and given how powerfully it moves through the water, it is no wonder that we are afraid of it. However, after observing the sharks once they arrived, they did not seem to be overly aggressive or violent; rather, they appeared to be curious- like a really big dog with really big teeth. Nonetheless, when we got in the cage (yes, Callie got in as well), it was hard to not be somewhat overwhelmed by their presence. 

 

We were the fourth group to get in the cage, which was good because it gave Callie enough time to see that others had survived the experience without incident. There were four of us in the cage at once and we each had a regulator (like on a scuba system) to breathe through that was connected to an air compressor on the surface. The cage sits near the top of the water and is attached to the stern of the boat so that you are always close to help. Each group was in cage for about forty-five minutes, and during that time, sharks would come and go, circling the boat and trying to eat the bait in front of your face. In what was probably the most aggressive moment of the day, a shark went for the bait and instead bit down on the corner of the cage where I was standing, which prompted all of us inside to move back a little bit. You could hear the grinding of the teeth and the violent thrash of the jaws shook the cage in the water, but we returned with all our limbs and extremities intact. 

*Please note: that is a large black garbage bag in the bottom left corner of the picture- just so you can appreciate how large the shark is. 

Over the past several weeks, many people have asked me why I wanted to do this, and I always say that ever since I found out that we were going to Australia, this was something I just had to do. I have always loved the ocean and the chance to see arguably the world's most sophisticated and lethal marine predator in person was something that I couldn't pass up. Having safely returned to Sydney, we again feel extremely lucky that we could have an experience like this one, although I'm not sure that Callie will entertain the thought of another high adrenaline Valentine's Day next year.   

An Update on the Victoria Bushfires

As many of you have undoubtedly heard by now, the state of Victoria is the site of the worst peacetime disaster in Australian history. One hundred and eighty-one people have currently lost their lives and many expect the death toll to climb past two hundred in the coming days. Over one thousand homes have been destroyed, and it is estimated that five thousand people are left homeless. As of Thursday evening, twenty-two fires are still burning, but cooler temperatures and less severe winds have made the situation more manageable for country fire authorities.

As mentioned in the last post, Sydney is not threatened by the current devastation, but it is hard to feel unaffected. The country is gripped by a sense of shock and sorrow, and as evidence has surfaced that some of these fires were deliberately lit, there is also a palpable anger. However, there has also been an outpouring of generosity, and according to the Australian Red Cross, over fifty million dollars have been raised for the bushfire appeal. 

The horror and tragedy experienced by those in Victoria this week is absolutely unspeakable: story after story recounted the overwhelming noise and the suffocating heat and how the earth became a "living hell" last Saturday. Needless to say, our prayers and sympathies go out to all those families and communities who have been touched by this crisis, and we certainly hope that we have seen the last of the current devastation. If you would like to find more information about the bushfires or donate to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal, please see the links below. 

News- The Australian

Australian Red Cross

Weekends: Surfing and Cricket

So that's me this time. After repeatedly falling and getting rolled by countless waves and swallowing an untold amount of saltwater, I have managed to crudely master the art of standing up on a surfboard. Now the problem is standing up for an extended period of time. Again, surfing is one of those things that is harder than it looks, but I am convinced that with further practice, I can manage to spend less time embarrassing myself at the beach.

After returning from our trip across Southern Australia, Callie and I have been working our way back into a more normal routine. Callie started classes in her superior program last week and things seem to be going well. She would admit, however, that some of their products are more sensitive and temperamental than perhaps she would like. She also might concede that she is having some difficulty adjusting to the new class schedule. As with previous terms, class is Monday through Wednesday, but now she is going from 3:00 P.M. until roughly 10:00 P.M. For anyone who knows Callie, they would immediately recognize that this falls within her going to bed hours, and as a result, she has been forced (quite reluctantly) to alter her sleeping schedule. 

For my part, things have been back to a somewhat more normal routine as well. While my classes will not begin until the first of March, I have managed to remain occupied with Rotary presentations and weekly sailing and waiting to hear back from law schools. I have also begun work on a health policy project in the Solomon Islands in conjunction with our host Rotary club, so while I am not baking away until after bedtime, I have some things to do as well. Needless to say, we are again enjoying our time back in Australia, and this past weekend, we were able to enjoy arguably the most Australian of summer traditions: cricket. 

Unlike the post on the various rugby codes in Australia, I will not attempt to explain the subtle nuances and intricate strategy that is cricket. Suffice it to say that it is kin to baseball, except it is played on a circular pitch, and there are two batsmen at a time, and there are no bases but rather wooden "stumps", and the players catch the ball with their hands, and a home run counts for 6 runs, and . . . it's really not anything like baseball. Nonetheless, we have found ourselves quite entertained by summer cricket and so this weekend we decided to go to the Sydney Cricket Grounds to watch Australia take on New Zealand. The weather was warm and the crowd was openly enthusiastic (which is somewhat surprising considering that many might compare cricket to watching paint dry), and best of all, Australia won! We didn't stay for the entire match, but we enjoyed the atmosphere and the spectacle and it was a nice way to begin the week. 

In conclusion and on a much more somber note, we would like to let everyone know about the terrible tragedy that is unfolding in country Victoria. Victoria, the state south of New South Wales, has been struck by the worst bushfires in Australian history. The death toll is expected to climb above 200, and last we heard, there were at least 700 homes that were destroyed and over 5,000 people had been made homeless. We have received emails from many people at home asking if we are okay, and while Sydney is not in danger, the entire country is in a state of shock and sorrow. Below is a link to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal that is being organized by the Australian Red Cross, so if there is anything that you might be able to contribute, it would certainly be welcome. Our thoughts and prayers are with those families and communities that have been affected by this terrible crisis, and we will let you know more as more news becomes available.

https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/OnlineDonations.asp

Happy Australia Day!

On 26 January of every year, Australians take a day off to celebrate the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. It is to Australia what the Fourth of July is to America, and we enjoyed the morning at the home of David Brawn and Suzanne Campbell eating brunch with fellow Rotary scholars and Sydney Rotarians. In the afternoon, we went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to catch an exhibit on Monet and other Impressionist painters. Additionally, we walked through the city center and around Hyde Park amidst a sea of Aussies donned in green and gold paraphernalia admiring a display of antique cars, buses, and emergency vehicles.   We unfortunately missed the "Best Dressed Parade" of patriotically decorated yachts in the harbour, which I'm certain can't compete with the annual Fourth of July affair at Lake Martin.  All in all, it was a terrific day that once again revealed the fun-loving and celebratory nature of the Aussie nation.

Photo Link

Here is a link to some more photos of our recent trip across Australia. It is a Facebook album but everyone should be able to access it.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2303230&l=51232&id=7000137

Across the Great Southern Land

Over the past week and a half, Callie and I have been traveling across the Southern expanse of Australia- from Perth to Adelaide to Melbourne and back to Sydney. We left last Monday bound for Perth, which interestingly is closer to Singapore that it is to Sydney.  As Australia's most remote capital, Perth sits on the Swan River and is growing rapidly thanks to the mining windfall in Western Australia. We didn't have long to spend in the city, however, as we were leaving on Wednesday morning, but we did manage to see most of the sights. We visited the Perth Mint on Monday afternoon, which is a unique exhibit of Australia's gold history. We walked through King's Park on Tuesday morning, which is an incredibly large urban park and botanical gardens that displays the rich biodiversity of Western Australia. And we took the ferry down the river to Fremantle on Tuesday afternoon, which is a small port city on the Indian Ocean. Fremantle also has a particularly notorious prison that we toured before returning for an early dinner.  The next morning we were off for the Indian Pacific Railroad and the trip to Adelaide.

It strikes me as an incredible feat that a railroad could be built 1,656 miles across the most inhospitable stretch of earth I have ever seen. But that is exactly what happened. The Indian Pacific Railroad, which runs from Perth to Adelaide and eventually on to Sydney, crosses some of the desolate terrain on the planet- from the Wheat Belt on the outskirts of Perth to the unbroken nothingness of the Nullabor Plains to the Red Hills north of Adelaide. It crosses through towns like Kalgoorlie and Maralinga and Cook (with a population of 4 permanent residents), and while we were glad to see the station in Adelaide, the journey was quite spectacular. We met some incredibly interesting people- from a U.S. Coastguard officer on leave from the Persian Gulf to a lawyer from Adelaide to the quintessential Aussie bloke who helps manage sheep and cattle stations in Western Australia. We saw kangaroos and dingos and wedge tailed eagles; the food was good and we were able to savor the journey itself as the environment changed gradually and fluidly from one landscape to another. As mentioned above, we were glad to "detrain" once we arrived in Adelaide, but the trip was very enjoyable given that we probably would have never had the chance to experience such an incredible environment without the Indian Pacific.

 

Once we arrived in Adelaide, we wasted no time in leaving again- this time bound for the Barossa Valley.  The Barossa is Australia's premier wine region and is located about an hour north of Adelaide.  We spent the day on a winery tour learning about wine making and production, and it was interesting to discover the reason the Barossa such an exceptional wine region is that the parasite that normally destroys the roots of grape vines doesn't live in Australia. As a result, the Barossa (known for its Shiraz) has grape vines that are over 150 years old. We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast and on Saturday morning, we visited the Barossa Farmers Market. All the vendors are also the producers at the market so the food was exquisitely fresh and flavorful, but what made the morning memorable was the fact that Callie had the chance to meet and talk with Maggie Beer. Maggie is an Australian food icon who lives in the Barossa and is responsible for really starting the locally grown movement in Australia. We spoke to her briefly at the market and then ran into her again at her farm shop, which showcases some of her recipes and cookbooks. After browsing enviously, we made our way out of the Barossa back towards Adelaide through the Eden Valley (another wine region famous for its Riesling) along a beautiful scenic highway. We stopped at the world's largest rocking horse and toy factory; we had lunch at a beer house in Lobenthal; we went by the Melba Chocolate Factory, and we stopped at a quaint German town called Hahndorf. It was a pleasant and enjoyable drive back, and we returned to Adelaide in time for dinner and an early evening.

Adelaide (a little larger than metropolitan Birmingham) is known as the "City of Churches," which is an appropriate characterization given that it has over twenty churches in the city center. It has lots of green space, a gentle river, some nice looking buildings but not much else. Honestly, Adelaide is not one of those cities you would normally visit when traveling in Australia, but it would be a great city in which to live. We spent most of our time exploring the abundant shops and restaurants, and we were pleased to find out that the Tour Down Under would begin in Adelaide while we were visiting. For those of you who follow cycling, the Tour Down Under is Australia's equivalent to the Tour de France without any of the pomp or reputation. However, it has received significant coverage this year because it is the site of Lance Armstrong's professional comeback. So, we went to watch as Lance rode in a cancer foundation sprint on the eve before the Tour Down Under began. Having never been to a cycling event, I'm not sure we knew what to expect, but it was quite exciting to see some of the world's best riders right in front of you. Again, there wasn't a lot to do in Adelaide, so we were glad to see that Lance was in town.

From Adelaide it was off to Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, for the Australian Open which began on Monday morning. We had tickets on Rod Laver Arena for the Monday through Thursday day sessions, which means we had the chance to sit court-side to watch some of the world's best tennis players. We saw Andy Roddick, Jelena Jankovic, Novak Djokovic twice, Roger Federer twice, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, James Blake, the Bryan Brothers, Lleyton Hewitt and Ferando Gonzalez. It was exceptional tennis, but it was incredibly hot and so we spent many of the days sweltering in the sun. Nonetheless, it was a great occasion and we were lucky because we had the chance to see most of Melbourne while we were there. Melbourne is a little smaller than Sydney, but it is the self-proclaimed cultural capital of Australia. It is distinctive architecturally, it has the world's oldest zoo, it has the world's largest tram network, it has great restaurants, two beautiful cathedrals and lots of urban gardens and parks. Additionally, it is home to the Old Melbourne Gaol (Jail), which was the last residence of notorious outlaw Ned Kelly.  Kelly is one of Australia's folk heros, but we felt that his iconic reputation might be undeserving given his penchant for robbing banks, taking hostages, killing police officers, etc. In sum, Kelly was born a criminal, especially considering that both of his parents also spent time in prison (Interestingly, Kelly was reunited with his mother in the jail in Melbourne). In addition to seeing the prison, we went to the Queen Victoria Markets, Cook's Cottage, and we walked past the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, which is arguably one of the most famous cricket venues in the world. Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Melbourne, but when Friday morning arrived, we were eager to return to Sydney in order to restore a sense of personal normalcy. We had a great trip and we had a chance to see parts of Australia that many Australians probably never had seen, but it was nice to return so that we could stop living out of our suitcases. Plus, it's Australia Day tomorrow and we wouldn't want to miss the celebration in Sydney.