Tasmania and Wwoofing

G'day!

Tasmania, named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, is an archipelago of more than 300 islands about 240 kilometres (150 miles) from the mainland. You can get there by ferry from Melbourne or Sydney (9-12 hours and about $70 per person, additional for vehicles) or by flight. Tasmania is known for its scenery, climate, and wildlife. The main tourist spots for southern Tasmania are Salamanca Market near the Hobart piers on Saturdays, Mount Wellington, and the old Port Arthur prisons on Tasman Island. Port Arthur sounds similar to Alcatraz. The worst prisoners and repeat offenders were housed there. Convicts trying to escape ran the risk of being eaten by sharks.

Tasmania is beautiful with shoreline, trees, and hills/mountains everywhere you look. The numerous coves and harbors with anchored boats against green countryside and hills under cloudy or blue skies look like scenes for postcards. Tasmania is also known as a fruitbowl with farms that commercially grow apples, nectarines, apricots, and grapes as well as berries - blue, straw, and cherries, primarily. The Apple Museum documents apple history in the Huonville Valley with a festival in March/April. Grapes are the last major crop to be picked. 


Tasmanian devils (they're the size of a cat) are growing less common but I saw a live one on the road/roadside last night. I've also seen wombats, brown possums, little wallabies, tiny bandicoots (small rat/guinea pig-like critters), and quolls (squirrel-like creatures). And many different birds including black cockatoos and rosellas. We don't see wild animals on the property because the two dogs scare them away. 

The weather on Tasmania is very different from anywhere else in Australia. Rain in plentiful with the east coast receiving about 4' annually while the west coast gets about 26" per year. This year, like everywhere else in Aussie, it has rained more than normal. Parts of northern Tasmania have had flooding. Rain has affected our blueberry picking. We can't pick when the berries are wet cuz they will mold. But usually it doesn't rain very long and the wind and/or the sun dries off the berries so that we can resume picking. Highs have been in the 70s with lows in the 50s since I've been here (10* - 25* C). Power here is mostly hydro-electric unlike the mainland where the main energy source is coal.

Wwoofing Life
I'm staying near the town of Charlotte Cove, about 50 km from Hobart. Recreation includes kayaking, snorkeling, bushwalking, ping pong and getting to know fellow wwoofers. There are several tracks around the property and I walked 4-5 km (mostly downhill) with a fellow wwoofer to Verona Sands, a gorgeous white sand beach close to a marine sanctuary. I am the current ping pong champion although a French wwoofer reigned briefly. Our host, Jules, plays drums for two bands; one of them practiced here. Most of their repetoire are American songs from the 1970-80s. I had a great time listening to those familiar oldies. Other outings include exploring Huonville, participation in an introduction of a self-help program called Landmark Forum, and listening to another band practice (less familiar 1960-70s songs).

A basic washing machine: agitator (L) and spinner (R)

The wwoofing accommodations here are utilitarian but nice. The main room has a large living room, a dinette for six and a kitchen. The kitchen has a countertop/bar for 3, small double sink and a small full size refrigerator. I guess Council regulations precluded cooking facilities so we have a plug-in double burner, electric frypan, microwave, toaster, sandwich maker, hot water kettle and a portable convection oven that looks space-age and nobody has figured how to work it yet. And a big gas barbeque outside. Our host provides a freezer full of meat and bread that we pull out of and shops from our list for other staples. Although I'm eating foods I don't normally eat (white bread and "luncheon meat"), I am getting enough to eat and most of it is tasty.  We also have a television set that gets one fuzzy channel.  One night the 2 French girls, Englishman, and 3 German boys watched an American DVD together.  Mylene also made popcorn on the stove for us.

Our host believes in recycling, reuse, and using what is available. Some of the wwoofing house walls are made of galvanized corrugated metal sheets, some are wood logs, some are pressboard or gyp board (sheet rock). That's inside and outside walls. A door leads to the uninsulated larger part of the building that includes the bedrooms and garage. Each of the 4 bedrooms are outfitted with bunkbeds, shelves, a table and a lamp/light. There are 2 upstairs and 2 downstairs. We don't spend much time in our rooms. The house is built on a downslope so the back of the building is double height and houses the tractor mower, motorcycles, kayaks, camping gear, etc., workshop, and a ping pong table.

The outhouse

Most of the ceiling/roof is galvanized corrugated metal sheets with a few clear corrugated sheets on the north side to let in light. The outhouse is separate with a regular toilet and small sink both serviced by dam (retention pond) water We haven't run out of hot water yet in the shower room which also contains a clothes "washing machine". You put your clothes in, put some soap in, turn on tap to fill with cold water. Set the machine to agitate for 3-15 minutes. Drain the water. Refill with fresh water to rinse, agitate, and drain again. (Repeat if necessary. Yes.) Put clothes in other half (not too much at once), set to spin up to 5 minutes, let it come to a complete stop, take clothes out, shake, and hang. It is an experience!! But better than handwashing! The walls of both these structures are made with reused galvanized sheeting so there are old screw holes for atmosphere or extra ventilation.

I haven't seen any critters or spiders in my bedroom although we do have resident spiders in the outhouse and shower room. But just in case, I keep most of my things tightly zipped into my backpacks. As for everywhere else, I either locate the spider and acknowledge their presence or I have adopted the philosophy of if I don't see them, I don't know they're there.

 One of the structures on the property is a Cosco shipping container. One third of it is used as storage, the other part as a guest room. Cost to purchase and transport the container to its site was $3500. And since it is a moveable unit, no Council approval was necessary. I can visualize a living unit of 3 containers with a covered courtyard. Who needs a cabin? And since I can use a cutting torch, I can make the door and window openings myself!

On Sunday, I'm off to another wwoofing job on Bruny Island, one of the larger of the 300 Tasmanian islands. It's another berry farm but with a variety of berries. If it turns out I have to pick strawberries and my back, legs, or knees can't handle it, I'm welcome to come back to the blueberries. I've enjoyed my stay here but want to keep moving on to see more, learn different things, and meet new people.

Cheers!
Cyn

Container bedroom with french doors/window



Leftover Sydney

G'day!


Thank you to my sisters who purchased my allergy/decongestant meds and sent them with Sandy. Thank you to Sandy and Rob for the TWO POUNDS of See's dark chocolate nuts and chews!!! I'm just finishing it up now. It's has been so nice to have my favorite chocolates! It was great to have San here and do the real touristy things with her.


We were shocked at how many stores exist in Sydney. I hadn't realized how much shopping could be done here because the shopping is underground. There are a reasonable number of stores above ground, but in the CBD, you can walk through shopping centers for blocks underground. In most places, the shops and food courts are on 2 underground levels. Then there's the street level. In the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) which runs a long block, two additional shopping levels exist over street level. Most of the shopping centers are very modern, but the tri-level Strand Arcade in the QVB is done up in Victorian times with wrought iron railings and lampposts and old fashioned signage, under a glass conservatory roof. Very nice. I think most of the other buildings have office space on the upper floors.

1 of 2 largest grocery chains

Sydney's public transportation system is very well developed with trains, buses, and ferries crisscrossing the metro area and beyond. You can pay for each trip separately or purchase multi ride bus or ferry tickets, or weekly train tickets. MyMulti tickets allow riders to use all three modes on a daily or weekly basis. The train system is clean, efficient and prompt. Trains go out almost 200 kilometres from Sydney. It's a little confusing for new users to figure out which platform you need to be on and sometimes the platforms are on different levels, but eventually you can figure it out. While San was here, we bought a weekly MyMulti3 tickets that allowed unlimited rides on all ferries, buses, and the train as far as we wanted. The $57 was well spent.

Harbourside in Darling Harbour

If we are in a place neither of us has been, San will never again let me lead the way. Whilst we were bushwalking in the Blue Mountains, we were following tracks (trails). I guess the tracks were adequately signed. I am notorious for getting lost. I admit it; I can't follow directions properly. I tend to turn too soon or too late cuz I'm not quite sure what the sign means. I led us on a detour that almost required bushwhacking before San insisted that we must not be on the track anymore. Of course, she was right.


I've been to a lot of new places and I've done a lot of exploring. In cities with street signs and a map, I'm fine. (But the map has to be facing the same way I'm facing; so it might have to be upside down.) It's where signs aren't regularly posted where I really get in trouble. I want a sign at every junction and I want signs with directional arrows to sit right on the track pointing in exactly the direction I'm supposed to take. Not one signpost with multiple arrows pointing vaguely to a fork. Ah, well. I build extra time for my taking "the scenic route" on my explorations. I take other precautions. If I can, I research and plot my route in advance. Generally, I go where I'm reasonably sure there will be other people. And I have no problem asking for directions. I also carry water, a jacket and a whistle.

What I need to do is figure out my itinerary. I know I want to try to see each Australian state. I know I don't want to go to Queensland and the Northern Territory until end of May/June when the wet season is over, the flooding stops, and the weather cools down the little bit that it does during the dry season. But since I'm down here in the southern hemisphere, I also want to go to New Zealand. I'm also thinking about visiting Fiji, Thailand, and maybe other places. I guess I will just have to wait until I get wifi and can do some research.

Cheers!

Cyn

Blueberries!

G'day!

I'm still picking blueberries and still enjoying it. There are 1500 southern highbush shrubs at Harris Creek Blueberry Farm most of which were planted 25 years ago. The guy who started the farm got the seedlings free because the Tasmanian government was experimenting to see how well blueberries grow in Tasmania. The native soil is very sandy so it was amended and then planted with several varieties of blueberries. The bloke (Aussies use the word bloke regularly) farmed them for about 10-12 years but a fire 12 years ago burned out several properties in this area. Although the bird netting melted, the bushes survived. During the 5 years after the fire, the Australian bush tried to reclaim the cultivated land.

Julie Harris, my boss, bought the property about 7 years ago and resurrected the farm. She built a straw bale house and threw up some other structures including the wwoofing accommodation/garage, the outhouse, and the shower room. With a lot of hard work, she's built herself a really nice place here. The berries are a full time job for about 3 months from January to March and part time the rest of the year.

Harris Creek is a commercial blueberry business and the berries are sold to grocery stores locally and in Melbourne. The berries are organically grown and the idea is to handle them as little as possible from the bush to the customer. They are packed into little clamshells just like what we have in America. They are called punnets here. 125 grams (1/8 kilo) usually sells for $6 in grocery stores. 1 kilo is 2.2 pounds. 35+ oz/8 so 4.5 oz = 125 grams. Regular price for 6 oz clamshells in America is about $5. I can't do the math (ok, I don't want to do the math) but it seems to fit my theory that food in Australia is roughly 30% higher. The berry "seconds", not quite ripe or a little too ripe or not pretty enough, are sold in kilo packs to jam makers.

Hobart, Tasmania

Tasman Bridge to Hobart

G'day!



I flew to Hobart, Tasmania on Sunday, 16 January.  Luckily, I got a last minute wwoofing job and needed to take a Monday afternoon bus.  So I started exploring Hobart immediately.  Hobart is the capital city of the island state of Tasmania.  It is a good sized city with a small but vibrant CBD  central business district.  Even on Sunday afternoon, a lot of people were wandering around.  Many of the stores were closed but eateries on the waterfront were doing brisk business.

I've noticed that Australia has a lot of festivals which often begin with a day of representive entertainment that is free to the public.  There's a Modern Arts Festival this week in Hobart and I wandered in to listen to an experimental music trio that consisted of modified instruments of drums, guitar, and keyboard.  The drummer used big wok-lid shaped metal drumsticks for the first song.  None of their pieces were titled; I can't believe that this "music" was rehearsed.  There was an audience of roughly 100 people; it was free at 8 pm on a lovely Sunday evening on the Hobart waterfront.   I listened for about 25 minutes, then I couldn't take any more of the noise.  A few people at Tassie's Hostel had similar impressions.

On Monday, I walked through a memorial grove for World War I soldiers on my way to the Royal Hobart Botanical Gardens.  The highlights of the Hobart gardens were the Japanese Gardens and the Fern House.

Fern House at Royal Botanical

Then I got on a bus to my new wwoofing job.  I'm at Harris Creek Blueberry Farm, a commercial business that sells to grocery stores locally and in Melbourne.  Some of the berries are ripe now and have to be picked.  So I am being paid $3/kilo for picking after wwoofing hours.  We had to watch a video on how to tell if a blueberry is ripe. We picked for about 3 hours this morning and I picked about 5.5 kilos.  I'm getting the hang of it.  This afternoon, I picked 10 kilos in 4 hours.  I really enjoy picking berries.  So far.  We'll see how long I last. Blueberry season just started and only lasts a couple of months.

There's no wifi here, I have fellow wwoofers to get to know, and after working all day, I'm tired.  So I won't be posting very often while I'm here.  But I will tell you more about this job next time.      Oh, I found out that the computer service they have here  charges by upload and download amounts so I won't be posting pix till I have better internet services.  See ya!

Cheers!

Cyn

Sandy's visit

G'day!

Katoomba Cascades in the Blue Mountains

Twin sis, Sandy, has come and gone.  Had a great time seeing all the tourist spots in Sydney in 5 jam-packed whirlwind days.  Highlights included bushwalking (hiking) on the scenic Blue Mountain tracks (trails) and seeing waterfalls, cascades, cliffs, and rock formations.  We rode the ferry to gorgeous Manly and looked for the indigenous little penguins but didn't see any.  Walked on the world famous Bondi Beach.  Got an amazing view of Sydney from the Sydney Tower.  San was able to see kangaroos, koalas, a wombat, a cassowary and other Aussie critters at the Wildlife World.  We couldn't find the echidnas nor the platypuses at the Aquarium.  Learned about Australia's history, viewed Australian and Aboriginal art in several museums.

Bondi surfer

Those are the fruit bats at the Botanical Gardens

The Blue Mountains are supposed to be blue because oil droplets from so many Eucalyptus trees create a haze.  When we got there, we saw white.  It was very foggy.  Apparently fog is very common in the Blue Mountains.  Sometimes, it lifts in the afternoon.  Sometimes, not.  Sometimes, it also rains.  Well, I guess we were lucky.  We were able to see wonderful scenery and several waterfalls when the fog lifted.  But then it started to rain and visibility dropped dramatically.  But we got a lot of exercise and did catch the highlights.

San on Bondi Beach.  We missed "The Hoff" by a week.

We stayed in Alice and David's apartment on Rushcutter's Bay with a fantastic view.  We had access to buses, the trains, and a ferry almost at our doorstep.  Thanks again to the entire Wesley-Smith clan for their extensive hospitality.

I hadn't realized how huge the Sydney area is.  The Sydney metro area has 4 million people.  That's out of the total of 22 million Australians.  The San Francisco Bay Area has 6.4 million people.  And we saw so many Asians!  I would not be surprised if Sydney surpasses the Bay Area's Asian population.

View of part of Sydney from Sky Tower

Sydney has what they bill as the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside of Asia.  Their celebrations begin on 28 January with special exhibitions and markets.  The parade is scheduled for 6 February and will include lion dances and a dragon.  Dragon boat races will be on 12 - 13 February in Darling Harbour.  I wish I could be here to see those races.

I think a big difference is that Chinese New Year occurs while it is summer here.  The temperatures are warm.  It may or may not rain but at least it's warm.  I remember marching in the San Francisco parades when I attended Chinese school.   There was always the threat of rain.  And back then (late 60's,early 70's), the crowds were not large.  Anyway, Chinese new year is 3 February and it is the year of the rabbit.  Gung hay fot choy!


Now I am headed to the Airport for a flight to Tasmania.
Cheers!
Cyn

Sightseeing

G'Day!

Hope your new year is off to a nice start.  I'm enjoying my free time in Sydney.  I've explored funky Newtown with lots of shops for several kilometers on King Street.  Lots of ethnic restaurants, import stores, massage, skin care and nail care salons, "antique" shops, music and book stores.  You name it, it's somewhere on King Street.  Went into Newtown Garden Center, an independent.  Small in terms of square footage but crammed, literally, with plants.  It was difficult to move, let alone bend over to look at plants, without brushing against other plants.  But it did have a wide variety of plants, garden art, and supplies.  And the owner was friendly.

Walked through another neighborhood to get to Marrickville Metro Shopping Centre.  KMart is an anchor store while McDonalds and KFC occupied the food court.  There was also an EB Electronic Boutique store.  It almost could have been an older mall somewhere in America.  Half of the mall consisted of food related stores with specialty food shops including a green grocer, bakery, butcher, a sandwich/cold food deli, and a cooked meat deli.  Grocery stores are often located very close to each other and this mall included a Woolworths and an Aldi.  At least 10 different fast food booths joined Mickey D's and KFC in the food court.  The rest of the mall was typical with a large bookstore, travel agency, women's shoe store, a shoe repair shop, several women's clothes stores, a few of men's/sports stores, 2 low end jewelry stores/kiosks, a Claire's-like accessory store, and Tek's (a cross between $1 store and Big Lots closeout store).

 I've seen some really weird looking birds.  These are ibis and rails.

I visited Sydney Park twice, once to see the fireworks (one of the highest points near downtown Sydney) and once to explore.    http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/residents/ParksAndLeisure/ParksPublicOpenSpace/SydneyPark.asp  I read about it and it sounded well-planned, environmentally responsible and nice.  It used to be a clay quarry/brick making operation and some of the equipment (silo/kilns) is still there.  Sydney Park is huge and made up of smaller specific use parks. There is a section that is a mini roadway with lane markers, traffic signs/signals etc. for bikers/drivers to practice in a safe place.  What a great idea!

The Hogwarts Whomping Tree at U of Sydney

Playgrounds for different age groups were clustered in one corner of the park.  A 2-poled rope climbing web with bridge looks like fun and is geared to older children.  I can't see one of these in a California park.  The center poles are probably 5 meters high; I can't recall seeing anything higher than 8' in American playgrounds.  All the equipment looked new and safety appropriate probably even to American (litigious) standards.

Throughout the park, landscaping included areas to catch rainwater runoff including a creek bed through the playground area, a wetlands area with rushes and a raised boardwalk, and holding dams in the lower central area.  Although there are large expanses of lawn, the weather probably takes care of it most of the time and water from the dams is probably used the rest of the time.

Hogwarts in Sydney?

I met up with my German wwoofer friend, Leonie, and her bro, Jacob.  We visited University of Sydney.  One of the buildings looks like Hogwarts with gargoyles and spires etc.    Later, we saw the Whomping Tree.  There is also a long graffiti tunnel on campus that is ... covered with graffiti.  I didn't see graffiti anywhere else on campus, so maybe it really works.  We also visited a great little art gallery with original Picasso, Matisse, Rodin, Renoir drawings.


Twin sis, Sandy, is coming in 2 days!!  Can't wait!

See ya!
Cyn