After a lazy start to a day we decided that we would avoid the Australia Day crowds by going on a hike. We found a little trail called the Hominey Creek Walking Track that we decided to take, so we packed the kids in the car and headed out. I was excited to try this trail because it is a part of the Great North Walk- an extensive hiking trail that stretches between Sydney and Newcastle. I wanted to make sure that I hiked parts of it while I was here and was thrilled that I would be able to today on my last day of summer. (I start work tomorrow.)
So we followed the track and it descended into a lush rainforest environment. It was beautiful. At one point we noticed some strange creatures that looked long and caterpillar/worm-like. At the trail head we had read on a sign that "if we were lucky we could see leeches." Well, turns out these were the leeches! They don't live in the water like leeches in Alaska. They were right there on the trail amongst the leaves! We continued on and then stopped to take a picture of some artsy bark and vines on a tree. Suddenly Olin started screaming and smacking his legs. He'd been bitten by 3 bull ants. Their bites hurt like bee stings. He was pretty upset and wanted to head back to the car but got tough and decided to keep on. As we neared the bottom of the ravine where we could see the creek, Olin suddenly started freaking out again and grabbing at his hand. He was hysterically crying and telling us there was a leech on his finger. We all looked down at our legs and shoes and realized we had them all over. I picked off about 7, Tom picked off over a dozen, and Alta even had one starting to snack on her blood through her sock. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. It was all uphill, but we didn't stop until we reached some big rocks in the dry area of the forest. There we examined our bodies and picked off the remainder of the blood suckers. We all decided that the sign saying we would be "lucky if we saw leeches" was some sort of crazy Aussie humor. How could you NOT see them?
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Festival time! Today we took the kids to their school to buy some last minute pieces for their school uniform. We met a lovely lady there named Wendy who explained all the uniform parts and when they can be worn. I'll post pictures of the kids in their uniforms on the first day of school. We then went to the Australia Day Eve celebration at Kibble Park in Gosford. We all walked down to Kibble Park to get there right as it started.
Something I noticed at the Women's March and I also noticed here was at the beginning of both events, and the beginning of each new speaker's speech, they would make a comment acknowledging that we are on tribal land (and will identify the tribe) and will say "and we pay our respect to elders both past and present." At first I thought it was just a Women's March thing, but they did it here too. I think it is so respectful. Back in the day when I was getting my teaching license, we were taught to analyze the quality of textbooks. One characteristic we needed to watch for was whether or not minority peoples were included in the body (main narrative part) of the textbook or were only included in the pictures or side stories. 'Good' textbooks had them in the body. I feel like these acknowledgements of aboriginal presence and stewardship of the land every time there is a public gathering is a way of including them in the 'body' of Australian life. It makes them continually a part of the narrative. I like that. Ok - back to the festival. In the opening remarks they also sang the Australian National Anthem. It was really cool to hear an anthem that we are totally unfamiliar with. It is a beautiful anthem. So there was a puppet show right at the beginning which was good fun. The rest of the evening had phenomenal musicians entertaining us. The organizers of the event put out these really cool big mats for everyone to sit on because it had rained (absolutely poured) the night before (see the pic of the kids in the rainstorm) and the ground was still damp. Like all festivals there was good food as well. Tom took a picture of the paella stand so that my mom (who makes a killer paella) could see the huge pan they used. Also, I found a stand that sold Kaiserschmarrn, which is a German/Austrain pancake-like dessert. It was so nice to talk to the Berliners that were selling the Kaiserschmarrn and then to order in German without too much trouble. The time I spent in Alaska recently going through my Rosetta Stone German program has definitely helped getting my 'tounge' back! Something we noticed that was really interesting is that so much was free. At 4th of July festivals in the US, people sell everything - it is a time to make money. Here all the activites were free! The only money we spent was on the Kaiserschmarrn and some Vietnamese spring rolls. Tom and I plopped ourselves on a mat to listen to music and sent the kids off on their own to explore the festival. They bounced in the bouncy house, they played classic festival games like the potato sack race, and they even got their faces painted. Alta said, "I love my face!" and the first thing Olin said when he got back to us at the mat was "Mom, look. It's the aboriginal flag! I'm glad I got this so that Becki can see it because I bet she doesn't know what the flag looks like." I asked him which tribe it was, and he said it was just the "aboriginal flag" so we have some more research to do as to whether each tribe has their own flag or not. The evening ended with fireworks, which Tom and I realized just might be the first real fireworks our kids have ever seen (and remembered). We don't go to the ones in Seward on the 4th because it isn't super dark (and because Olin is usually passed out by then), and we haven't had a chance to see them in other places. Happy Australia Day Eve! It was hot today.. close to 100F, so we spent the entire day at the beach. We were in the water so much that I have no pictures to post, but I will say that Olin and Alta have finally figured out boogie boarding! Olin especially became totally addicted to it today! I picked my old past time from my college days in California - body sufing!
Because I don't have a whole lot to report, I'll use this post to tell you about some of the things we've noticed about living Australian.
Last night we went prawning! Lesley and Chris invited us to join them and their daughter and son-in-law down at "The Entrance" by the bridge to go prawning. During the day, Tom picked up a couple prawning nets and water proof torches (flashlights) and we met them down by the bridge at The Entrance at about 8:30pm. The kids were excited about it all day. I've never been shrimping in the states, but with prawning here in Oz you wear water shoes and swimmer bottoms (swim suit bottoms) or shorts that you are fine with getting wet. You wade into the water about to the tops of your legs and then shine a light into the water with one hand, and wait until prawns swim by. When they do, you take the net in your other hand and swoop in to try to catch them. We found that they key to catching them is to move slowly and to bring the net up from underneath them. Sometimes they hop right out of the water to get out of the net!
We all had a great time. Tom was the most absorbed in it. He found so many creatures as he was watching for prawns: rays, little poisonous fish, and a squid! The kids were really excited at first, but then as the evening got along and they grew more tired, they began to get anxious about the things in the water that could 'get them.' Alta left the water first and became the 'Keeper of the Bucket" where we kept al our caught prawns. Olin was going strong until he saw a Huntsman spider. I didn't see it and almost touched it and he just kept yelling "Spider, there's a spider!" It upset him, and being late at night that was enough to turn the tide for him. He didn't last much longer in the water, so I took them both back to the car, changed them into their jammies and put them to bed on the beach. I will say that prawning has got to be one of my favorite types of 'fishing.' It is so meditative. You are with people, but you are also very alone in your search for those little swimming creatures under your light. I can't wait to do this again! Other notable things yesterday were that we got to Skype with my good friend Amanda and her husband and three boys. My kids are loving Skyping with their friends. It is making these last few days before school starts so much better for them to have this 'kid contact.' Tom also took the kids to the public library! They got a library card and checked out all kinds of great books about Australia. Olin was really interested in books on Aboriginal cultures and the librarians helped him find some good ones. While the kids and Tom were at the library, I went on a hike. Oh how I love to hike alone! I'd like to hike to the top of the mountain (more like a hill by Alaskan standards) called Mt. Elliot just behind our house. I haven't reached the top yet either because I haven't had enough time, or because it is has been too hot. It was a nice time, though, out in the woods by myself. Tom and I have been watching it for about a week and a half now. Our kids cry a little easier, fight a little more, and it is apparent that something is missing. They don't have their friends and they miss them. Olin is having more of a hard time because he is so socially driven. Alta finds her 'recharge' in solitude: playing in the sand, watching ants, working on crafts or weaving grass. Olin finds his in moving his body and being with his buds. We bought him a $8 scooter at the Salvos (Salvation Army) down the street, and that has helped a lot. Today though, he needed his friends. And then in swooped Jena! She and I have been trying to Skype for about a week now, and today was the day it happened. We connected, said 'hi', talked about some recent things with where we lived, and then handed the computers off to the kids. For about 20 minutes Olin had her son all to himself, and for about 20 minutes, Alta had her daughter all to herself (Well, kind-of. Her daughter had a friend over so they both Skyped) It was EXACTLY what they needed. Thank you Jena! Tomorrow we hope to Skype with the Olin and Alta's other good friends. One day at a time until they can meet some kids at school. They start the 30th. We've also signed Olin up for a weekly parkour class with other boys and will be signing Alta up for gymnastics. Hopefully that will help with their need for 'kid time' as well.
After Skyping, we headed to the Somersby Waterfall. It actually was more of a trickle because it hasn't rained a lot in a while, but the kids had fun playing in the water they could fine. It was interesting watching them maneuver the woods and boulders around the falls compared to some of the other Aussie kids. You could tell our kids knew nature and how to interact with it - Alaskan grown. In the evening, Olin made $5 (Aussie dollars) mowing the front lawn, and Alta watched ants as they waited for their dad to make a fantastic dinner. A good day. Not as packed with big events like yesterday, and that was just fine. The kids got what they needed: friend connection. Yesterday we took our first trip by train to Sydney. It is about an hour and 15 minute train ride to Central Station from Gosford. We ended up taking another train to Circular Quay where the kids and I said goodbye to Tom and we headed off on our separate adventures. The kids and I walked through the Botanical Gardens to the ANZAC Memorial where the Sydney Women's March was being held. It was a well organized non-violent coming together of all kinds of people with the common purpose of unity, equality, and social justice. My kids learned words like sexism, racism, xenophobia, and feminism. All great social studies related words right there in real-life-usage! After some speeches, the crowd of about 5000 walked peacefully through the streets of Sydney. There was only one small anti-protest group that gathered with flags and a bullhorn at the other end of the final protest destination. Apparently after we left there were some small 'scuffles' as the Aussie news put it, but that no one was arrested.
While we were at the march Tom went to the National Maritime Institute. He had wanted to go when we were here 8 years ago, but I had nixed it, as walking through a Maritime Museum with a 1 year old as Tom got absorbed in marine engines didn't seem like it would have all that positive of an outcome! So... Tom finally got to go! Afterwards we met at Darling Harbor for a couple beers and chips on the patio and then off to the Sydney Fish Market. Unfortunately, the fish market was closing as we got there so we didn't get to see most of the cool stuff, but on the bright side we now know where it is, so it will be easy to find the next time we come to Sydney! The train ride home was peaceful. As we were leaving the city, Alta was looking at the window, and noticed all the graffiti. "Mom, what's that writing all over the walls." I told her. "Mom, Why do people do graffiti?" That was harder to answer. Tom and I gave her a few different reasons. "I just don't understand why people do it." "A lot of people don't Alta." Such a thinker our girl is. What fun we had today Skyping with Boys and Girls Club back in Seward. Olin and Alta prepared a list of things that they wanted to talk about and they did a great job explaining all the new things that they've experienced here in their new home. We gave Seward kids a tour of the house and yard and even showed them the 'bins' (garbage, recycling, and garden waste bins) and mailbox! I don't know how it worked out so well, but we had two Rainbow Lorikeets come visit during the Skype session and let us get really close with the computer so that Seward kids could see them. My kids had been really missing friends and it was a really great thing to be able to see them chatting it up with their buds!
This morning I got up really early and walked to my new school. I clocked it and it came out to be just under three miles one way. It was a beautiful walk, and I met up with some of the teachers that I had met at coffee who showed me around! (Thank you!!!) They have a farm at the school with a cow, sheep, chickens, citrus trees, and a garden. They have no hallways, as it is always beautiful, so you can just walk around outside to get to the next classes. I noticed as well that there is not a lunch room. Kids eat outside - picnic style! I'm looking forward to all that I will learn in my new work place! Finally, after a morning and afternoon of rain, the sun came out and we headed to the beach. The waves were great and Olin and Alta had a blast boogie boarding. Off to Sydney tomorrow! I met my co-workers today! Lesley organized a coffee date at the SurfClub Cafe in Terrigal and we met with about 8 other lovely women that I will be working with when school starts. It was so nice to find that teachers both in the US and in Australia have the same 'feel.' They are welcoming, strong, encouraging, people that like to laugh. I felt at home!
Soon after meeting them I knew I would need their help. I've always struggled knowing the right terminology when ordering coffee at a coffee shop. State-side coffee places always have crazy names and the sizes are never simple. I just want a small cup of coffee with room for cream. Nothing fancy! So I figured it would be the same here and asked them what I should order if I just wanted a cup of coffee. Answer: "White flat." It worked! I got a nice cup of coffee. :) As I chatted with the ladies, Tom had the kids down at the beach. It was a cloudy day and so there weren't many people at the beach swimming. We were all a little cautious about the possibility of blue bottles in the water because it was our first time in the water since I got stung. We were made to feel better though because it was a patrolled beach, and the lifeguards would have said something if there were any out there. Olin spent his time in the water trying to get the hang of boogie boarding. He kept at it - determined boy! Alta enjoyed playing in the sand. In the late afternoon I took the kids on a hike behind our house. There are all kinds of trails back in the woods that are walking distance from our front door!!! Olin, Alta, and I went and explored part of one and then we went and played at the local park. Today we also decided what to do for Tom's birthday which is Saturday (inauguration day). We are going to go to Sydney and the kids and I are going to go to the Women's March (see details here: Women's March-Sydney Australia) and while we are there Tom is going to explore parts of Sydney that's he's interested in doing solo. When it is over, we are going to go see things as a family like the aquarium. We are going to take the train there! I'm excited for the adventure to the city! Today I'm thankful for:
Our first trip! We finally got on the road. After registering our new vehicle and packing it up we headed on the road to Mungo Brush Campground. It is a large campground located on a brackish lake. Our first Australian camping experience was wonderful. The camp spots were grouped in fours, and the other three families that shared our quad were lovely. One was an elderly couple from Forster camping with their two grand children. Another was a Sydney couple with their 15 month old, and the other were two families with 4 kids all in Kindy (Kindergarten) or younger. We spent two nights at this campground. The kids loved swimming in the lake and swinging on the rope swing. We saw Australian Black Swans, St. Andrews Cross spiders (venomous but not deadly) and Huntsman spiders (not venomous). We also learned about Bull Ants and Jumping Jack Ants - both of them have a bite like a bee sting. On our first night camping there we went on a walk around the campground after dinner and saw hundreds and hundreds of "flying foxes" or large fruit bats. After the kids went to bed in the tent, Tom and I had a large one land in the tree right over our heads. We also had a dingo run by. It was hard to see, but was no more than two meters away from us. We didn't have a camp light on, so I think we surprised it as much as it surprised us.
On our full day at Myall National Park we visited Dark Point which are some dunes that we had visited 8 years ago when we came to Australia to visit my sister-in-law Grace. It is a beautiful area that the local native tribes have been using for food gathering and a meeting/trading place for different tribes for the last 4000 years. There is even a whole area of the dune that is roped off because of all the artifacts that are still being found in that area. On the third night we took a tip by the Sydney couple and drove to Yagon Campground out by the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse. We washed some clothes in the ocean and watched small hole-dwelling crab on the beach. The campground had a lot of Bush Turkey, Goanna, and horseflies. It also had a lot of aggressive Kookaburra. We had a couple sitting on a branch right over the kids' heads when we were cooking dinner. As soon as Olin stuck his fork in his sausage and took a bite, one of the kookaburra flew down and snatched the remainder of the sausage off his fork! The day after our night in Yagon, we hiked out to the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse. It was beautiful. The pictures below can tell the story there. The kids kept asking to go swimming and Tom and I knew that we needed to get on the road, so rather than swimming at a really inviting swimming hole, we drove on to Booti Booti National Park and pulled over at the Ruins Campground for some swimming and showers. We went out to the beach and noticed immediately that there was only one other couple in the water swimming. We figured it was because it was hot and lunchtime so everyone else was back at their campsites. It didn't take long for us (and the other couple) to realize why no one was in the water. The water was full of blue bottles. No.... they aren't a cute little blue creature like their names might suggest or pretty blue glass bottles.....They are also known as (and more appropriately called) Portuguese Man of War and they were in the water... with us!!! (They are a creature that are very much like a jelly fish. And they are poisonous.) I was the first to get zapped, but only on the ankle by a stray tentacle, so was more confused by the experience than alarmed. "Tom," I said. "Can jellyfish be blue?" He said he didn't know. Suddenly I got smacked HARD on the leg by one of the blue bottles. "Get out of the water! Get out of the water!" I yelled. I was impressed with how quickly the kids and Tom got out. My whole leg was on fire. It was like I had burned myself on the wood stove. I ran over to the couple in the water, who were clearly just realizing the blue bottles were in the water, and yelled at them to get out. They acknowledged and joined me. "Are we going to die?" I asked them? I felt like my leg was on fire! They laughed. "Oh no! These are just blue bottles. They're pretty harmless." Um.... My respect for Australian pain tolerance and ability to not get worked up about things that hurt just rose incredibly. I can't remember when my skin had been in so much pain last. I asked what I should do and they said to put hot water on it - as hot as I could stand it. So we said goodbye and went to our car to start heating up some water. Seriously.... Putting hot water on something that burns seems ridiculous, but it really works. For about 20 minutes I dabbed a pair of Alta's clean undies into a pot of hot hot water and laid it across the angry welt on my leg. I just kept saying over and over how happy I was that my kids didn't get stung. I never want my kids to experience that. After a little while the pain went away and I put some medicated creme on it, and we kept driving. I did mention to Tom though that it felt like the poison was traveling up to where my leg attaches to my body. The couple (and the internet) said I wasn't going to die, though so I stopped worrying about it. We also learned a valuable lesson. If no one else is in the water, don't go in! Another note on the blue bottles is that I told two different people that were suiting up to go surfing that there were blue bottles in the water, and they just shrugged it off and said they'd "give it a go." Um.... Australians are by far either the craziest or toughest people I have ever met. After a lot of driving we made our way to Crowdy Bay National Park and to the Indian Head Picnic Area and Campground. Upon driving in we were greeted by two black tailed kangaroos - and a really talkative woman and her son! She lent us her camp stove to cook our dinner and talked to us all about the history of the area. The kids joined a pick-up soccer match with some of the other campground kids (yay)! And we spent an uneventful/restful evening listening to the goanna in the woods and watching the stars. We were going to head to another campground the next day, but I did not feel well. All my lymph nodes were telling me I was getting sick.... but it was a funny sick, because other than feeling a little nauseous there were no other symptoms. After looking up some side effects of being zapped by blue bottles, I realized that I was probably experiencing some and so we decided just to head home. So.... there we have it. Our first camping adventure. Dingos, spiders, oh ya.... we saw a huge python on the road, and one of the ladies at the first campground said that their was a red-bellied black snake in our camp site earlier that day (augh! They are venomous- but arn't the 'chase you' kind of snakes.) We saw goanna (pronounced go-anna), death-angry-man-of-war-poisonous-jellyfish-like-monsters, and black swans. We were treated wonderfully by all the beautiful people that we met. This land is bipolar. Great day at the reptile park just nearby our house. We got an annual membership so that includes a free pic with a koala and half off entrance prices for all our guests. There a couple things I noticed today, one is that kids everywhere where hats to protect their faces from the sun. In fact, it is part of their school uniform! The other, is that these spiders and snakes are damn scary. The two spiders I think we have to worry about the most are the red back and the funnel web spiders. The snakes that scare me the most are the ones that chase you. I told Tom that I'm pretty confident when I hike because the animals out there (in Alaska) are more scared of me than I am of them. But here, there are some deadly snakes that actually chase you. Ya, there are plenty that will slide away when they hear you coming as well, but... I don't know... it something about being chased (or having my children chased) by a deadly venomous snake that makes me really uneasy. After seeing those snakes face to face (and the spiders too) at the reptile park I was left with a feeling of caution. A feeling of unease - though it is probably a good sense of unease. The last thing you want is a cocky Alaskan out there thinking they can own the bush. On a positive note, at least I now know what they look like!
We also went and visited the hiking trails in the Rumbalara Reserve right behind our house. No pics of that. Sorry. I'll let the reptile park pics tell the story today. Final note before the evening is over. I heard the first Australian lilt in Alta's voice tonight. The first inclings of an Aussie accent. :) |
AuthorThe Liljemark's enjoy exploring the world. This blog chronicles our adventures. Archives
December 2017
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