Meditation

We booked for a meditation course about half an hours drive from Willetton. It was being held at the Tibetan Buddhist Temple. I was really looking forward to it as I am interested in Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, which it is not. The area we went to was in the middle of horse country. There were paddocks surrounded by white picket fences. It was serene and peaceful. The temple had only been there since June 2009. It was a beautiful building sat in the countryside for all to admire. The course lived up to its expectations and I took away the first glimpses of how to meditate. This is the main thing in a Buddhist life, it closes down the stress and strains of everyday life and leads to the compassion which, simply put, is the Buddhist way. Being kind and compassionate to every living thing, helping people, not being selfish, not being influenced etc., everything is dependent upon yourself and your choices, everything leads up to finding happiness in your life. Meditation when mastered takes away the negative thoughts, undoes the connections in the brain. Mastering it, is the hard bit, concentrating on your breathing without distraction from your mind is incredibly difficult. Try it for 10 breaths, in and out!

The Storm 22nd March 2010

We have had a really freaky storm. I was sat in Perth having coffee on my own at about 1630. I had gone into Perth to book my day trip to the Pinnacles desert. Suddenly this massive wind tore up the high street and the heavens opened with hailstones the size of golf and cricket balls and near horizontal rain. The rain fell out of the sky like I have never seen it before. It went on for 7 minutes with thunder and lightening so violent and loud it was frightening. It hadn't rained since the end of October and they had more rainfall in that 7 mins than they normally get over the year. Everywhere was flooded because the rain had no where to go because the drains had filled up so quickly. I had to walk in ankle deep water. The trains stopped running and the electrics went out. I had to stay in Perth until the trains started to move again. Unfortunately this was some time as there had been a mud slide at some point. Once the trains started moving I managed to get to Bull Creek station. I then had to wait for a bus. It was no good trying to ring the Laganas as they would not have been able to get to me as the roads were treacherous. All I could do was wait. As luck would have it a bus eventually came along and it was the right number for me. The bus driver collected all the people in the bus station and told them he would take them to a point where they could then move on. My problem was knowing where to get off without lighting to show me the big Riverton Leisureplex. The bus driver went a different way to normal and still there were trees down and flooded roads.. It took me 5 hour's and a lot of guesswork to get back to Willetton, plus I had very wet feet!! The road I had to walk on to get from the bus stop to the house was flooded, ankle deep, with lots of debris from trees. Fortunately it was still warm weather, but dark by now. I arrived back to two flooded rooms and no electricity! The electric came back on early in the morning...36 hours later.
If you look on bbc news or abc news in Australia and put in perth storms you can see the size of the hailstones and news of the storm.

Back in Perth

The events in Perth have been many and varied and I have been privileged to see many beautiful things and experience new things. For instance the first week I returned we had extreme temperatures of 40+ degrees. This meant that I was unable to visit places as the sun was just too punishing. As I had been round and about Oz the fortnight before I decided that I could really do with resting my body and mind. In a way this wasn't meant to be. Lee works in a health gym as a nutritionist. They had a challenge on for their clients which meant she had to go to the gym herself and work out both with a personal trainer and also with her challenge group on most days in order to collect points. She took me right out of my comfort zone. Took me down the gym and put me on the treadmill, bike and cross trainer. I had never been to a gym before and definitely never inside one and it is one of those things that I thought I would never do as it isn't really me. How wrong can you be!! I really enjoyed it and have been quite a lot with Lee. I am now onto resistance training as well, which means the machines with the weights. I've also been to a couple of body balance classes which were a cross between Thai Chi, Pilates and Yoga. None of this activity has changed anything about my body or weight but I have to say I feel tons better.
Also, as a nutritionist, Lee keeps a good diet and if I've wanted to eat I have had to follow this diet. Australia appear to have the world's spinach mountain and I've eaten a lot of this and I've eaten a lot of fish. Both these things I have to say have not been my favourite in the past, but I have a theory! I think that the weather here is kind and that the Pacific Ocean is warmer and much calmer than the Atlantic. I think this makes for much sweeter tasting produce. Our produce has to struggle to survive the icy temperatures, winds and storms which makes a much more acidic, stronger tasting and tough product.
...and so I spent my first week back at the gym.

Marsupial Park

The morning before I left we visited a small wildlife park which housed Australia's favourite marsupials. It was the koalas at close range that I was particularly interested in as I hadn't had this experience before. Koala is an aboriginal word meaning does not drink. They rarely come down from the Gum Trees and obtain their water from the leaves they eat. If they are found on the ground or drinking it normally means they are ill. They spend much of the day and night sleeping, about 20 hours of the 24 hours and they sleep this amount of time because the Eucalyptus leaves do not provide the amount of nutrients necessary to give them any energy. The young, like kangarooos, are called joeys. They stay inside the mother until a month old and then make the long journey to the pouch, which in the koala has a central opening. The joey stays in the pouch for about another 6 months where it develops. Koalas have five digits on each hand, two opposing thumbs and three fingers, all lethal looking with very long sharp claws which help with climbing and clinging on to branches. They were lovely animals and I enjoyed the opportunities to see them up close and to touch them.
This concluded my time in Turramurra and it was back off to Sydney on the train. I had planned to have a final look at Sydney before my flight back to Perth, but when I arrived in the City I somehow managed to get off the train at an alien part of the city station, then I couldn't find the lockers to store my bag and then finally, it started to pour with rain. So...I decided to get straight back on the train and go to the domestic airport, have something to eat and wait for the plane!!

Narabeen Lagoon

The trip from Turramurra to Narabeen Lagoon took about 20 mins in the car using Ocean Highway. It is a beautiful beach and sea area. Stan and I had visited with Diana before, but it is one of her favourite places so we took a picnic and spent much of the afternoon there. Narabeen Lagoon is the largest coastal lagoon in the Sydney region. It contains important plants like seagrass and saltmarsh and provides a home for many animals. It is a haven for birds and we saw a wide variety. It is also an important recreational facility for the local community. The water levels in the lagoon are maintained by rainfall (not much of that) and the ocean conditions. The local council monitors the water levels to maintain a healthy habitat for animals and humans and sometimes they have to open the lagoon to minimise the risk of localised flooding.
Because of the rock formations under the water you are able to walk ankle deep quite a way out into the ocean, this gives a sense of real freedom. We walked for a while before going to sit and watch the swimmers in the natural/man made swimming pools. There are two rectangular pools set into the sea. Man made because they have edged outlines. Natural because they have have a natural base and because the tidal water flows into them. After our picnic we walked some more on the beach area, watching the surfers at their craft. Not something I think I would be very competent at! There were few people around, it was hot and it was just such a delight to be there. The one downside (and it wasn't really a downside) was avoiding the little stinging jelly fish on the beach. I was told they would give a nasty sting and would make you quite poorly for a while. They were only about 2 cms across, coloured blue or white and just looked like a small pebble, very innocuous to look at. Apparently, in the water, they have tentacles about a metre long and they are the bits that are likely to give you the nasty sting.

Turramurra

Sydney Central is a vast old, possibly Victorian station. It houses all the local trains and bus services. I have found all Australian transport exceedingly easy to work with. There appears little chance of getting lost or getting on the wrong service. Turramurra was no different. It was easy to find where I needed to go to catch the train and it was 15 stops from Sydney. Stan and I had done this journey several times before on our last visit. The train arrived. The trains have an upstairs and a downstairs and I decided to go up. I soon realised that I had no idea where I was stopping, from upstairs you couldn't see the station signs and there were no announcements about ... the next station is... Australian rail had let me down!! After I counted about 10 stops I thought I had better make a move to somewhere I could see so I went down the steps and stood with all the school children in the standing area and a few stops later on I alighted at Turramurra, where I rang my friend and she walked round to the station with her dog to meet me.
Turramurra is a leafy suburb of Sydney, expensive, quiet and green. Sulphur crested parrots, gallahs and lorikeets fly freely among the many trees. these flashes of bright colour entice you to spend a long time looking up. The Pacific Highway also runs through Turramurra, the only sound of noise apart from the parrots. This is a busy, busy road, which runs along the Pacific coast from Sydney to Brisbane.
The house I stayed in is worth a mention and a look at the photograph. It is a long low level property with reminiscences of hobbits!!

The last of Sydney City

I spent my couple of days wandering between Chinatown, Darling Harbour, George Street, Pitt Street, the Rocks and Circular Quay, must have covered some miles. I really enjoyed it, seeing the sights, watching the city, watching the people. The weather was great for walking, not too hot, somewhere around 30 - 32 degrees C with plenty of shade and air conditioning available, which is always a blessing. One of the things that caught my attention were the amount of eating places there were and lots of them underground. You could see a little opening as you are walking along a street, you would go down a few steps and this vast cave opened up full of eateries, all full at certain times of the day, people queuing for food from all over the world and particulaly Asian styles of food. Suited me fine.
It was time to leave this cosmopolitan city and make my way to Turramurra to visit yet more aquaintences.

...still Sydney

Walking round Circular Quay you come to the spectacular Opera House. The first time I saw this, it was not as I imagined it from the television and pictures I had seen. On seeing it this time it still did not fail to amaze me. Although only having been open since 1973, it is as representative of Australia as the pyramids are of Egypt. The Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point, which reaches out into the harbour. The skyline of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the blue water of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House is dramatic and unforgettable. The Opera House was designed by renowned Danish architect - Jorn Utzon (1918–2008). Its roof is evocative of a ship at full sail.

In the late 1950s the New South Wales (NSW) Government established an appeal fund to finance the construction of the Sydney Opera House, and conducted a competition for its design. Utzon's design was chosen. His design was, arguably, beyond the capabilities of engineering of the time. Utzon spent a couple of years reworking the design and it was 1961 before he had solved the problem of how to build the distinguishing feature - the 'sails' of the roof. There were problems, mainly budgetry, and he resigned from the project. It was finished by others in 1973. The roof has on it 1 million tiles. There is a special feel as you walk around it, purely the fact that on the other side of the world is this beautiful building and you have the privilege of seeing and feeling this master of architecture at close quarters.

There are two main shopping streets in Sydney, both run parallel to one another and go from circular quay where Sydney Harbour is. These streets are Pitt Street and George Street and my hotel was at the far end of Pitt Street. There is another street, Sussex Street which runs all the way down to Chinatown. All the streets are about a mile or a mile and a half long. Walking up and down, up and down those streets is an interesting and satisfying experience. In the middle of the streets where the shops are, you would not be aware that you are in the middle of Sydney, you could be walking around any High Street in any city in the world. Similar merchandise, similar consumers. Workers turning out at midday for a mass movement for lunch in the many city cafes and bars. My main lunches consisted of sushi and a freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit drink. Not being fond of queues I tended to wait until mid afternoon when it was quieter.
My first walk down George Street led me to Circular Quay, an area on the waterfront of Sydney Harbour which houses all the ferries that go to various locations round the harbour which may be otherwise difficult for the tourist to be able to get to. To the left are The Rocks and Sydney Harbour Bridge and to the right The Opera House. Both are spectacular monuments for Sydney and they never fail to take the breath away.
My first port of call was The Rocks. This is the oldest part of Sydney, the first part to be settled. It is nestled among the rocks that lead to the bridge. The rocky promontory where convict tents were erected in 1788. Despite generations of change, traces of early convict settlements can still be found. Pubs and churches, archaeological digs and houses all evoke memories of past lives and ways. The city’s oldest building, Cadman’s Cottage (circa 1816), is located here, along with the Argyle Cut, excavated by convicts in the 1840s. It is now more of a place for artisans. There is beautiful local artwork and there are craft markets at the weekend which unfortunately I missed (next time!). From here you can get to the Bridge. This offers you the chance to walk across or walk up, neither of which I did. As I walked back to Circular Quay, berthed alongside at the rocks was the P&O ship Aurora, so I knew that the harbourside was going to be inundated with Brits at Play - often not a pretty sight!

Two days in Sydney

...and so began my two days in Sydney city. It was interesting to read in the newspaper, the headlines, 'What can visitors do in Sydney once they have seen the bridge and the opera house'. These two structures are what most people relate as Sydney, they are Sydney. I have to say I am simple and don't need a lot to entertain me. I am happy to wander and just soak in the atmosphere, see a different culture, see what there is on offer in the natural course of events. I don't have to spend money doing things or search out museums etc. I like to sit and drink coffee or eat somewhere where there are a lot of people so I can people watch and see how the culture of the people works. With all this in mind I began my trek around Sydney and I have to say, I think I walked for miles over the two days. As China Town was just by my hotel I decided on this as my first port of call. It was only a small place but it had some huge markets that I wandered through at leisure. The markets consisted of cheap clothes and fruit and veg, somewhat like Gosport market but on a much greater scale. From here I was able to access Darling Harbour, first of all walking by the vast entertainment hall where most of the big rock style concerts are held. Darling Harbour is a natural harbour the other side of Sydney Harbour Bridge, but leading up to the harbour are gardens and entertainment, cafe's and shops. There are endless water features and wide open spaces. At the far end it is very relaxing, as you approach the harbour end you begin to meet the locals and the tourists. At the harbour edge you can split two ways. To the left you reach the maritime museum (oh joy!) and a large shopping precinct, which from experience has some great sushi and free wifi, plus good air conditioning. To the right there are choices of an Imax cinema, restaurants, aquarium, the monorail and walking into the city. First day I chose the latter and second day the monorail. The monorail reminded me somewhat of Chicago and I think it must be a standard for monorails. It goes round in a square, you pay $4 and can get on and off anywhere over a certain amount of time. It stops at all the relevant places but only covers a small area, so it doesn't go down to Sydney Harbour. It also goes over the Pyrmont Bridge in Darling Harbour which is the world's oldest surviving electrically operated swingspan bridge. The current swingspan bridge opened in 1902 and replaced the first Pyrmont Bridge which began operating in 1857. The swingspan allows access for vessels that are too tall to travel under the bridge. In 1902, Darling Harbour was Sydney's industrial heart and served as the gateway to a bustling hub of warehouses, railway yards and international shipping. The bridge provided the main transport route between the city and Sydney's growing western suburbs. It has more or less lost this label now and is a hub of tourist activity.

Sydney

The trip from Canberra to Sydney was short in comparison to the last trip of 10 hours. I think I also forgot to mention that the trip from Perth to Melbourne meant passing through 2 more time zones and a time difference of 3 hours on.
I caught a Murrays coach this time which was one of those that looked like a double decker, but actually only had the upstairs, underneath was luggage space. The coach was full and it was well air conditioned, cool and comfortable. The trip was a straight three and a half hours up the freeway. I arrived in Sydney just after lunch, found my hotel, again an Ibis, settled in and then went out exploring. I'm not stuck on Ibis hotels, but they are known the world over and although fairly basic are reasonably priced considering they are in the middle of cities. This Ibis was quite cold, as in atmosphere. It was ok for my purposes which was a bed and within walking distance from Sydney Central train station, ready for my trip to Turramurra. I discovered that I was more or less in China Town and very close to the south end of Darling Harbour, this suited me fine because I knew from past experience I could walk through Darling Harbour and get to the heart of Sydney. I have to say that I had forgotten Sydney and as I searched for somewhere for a meal, I got well and truly lost in the streets even though everything runs parallel and works in blocks. Still, I managed to find somewhere to eat and sitting with a map I worked out my location and went back to the hotel, replete and happy, ready for another day tomorrow.

Canberra

Canberra had not changed since we were there last about five years ago. It is a manufactured city, purely government and administration offices as it is the capital of Australia. This came about because of the arguments between Melbourne and Sydney. There is a very large artificial lake and two smaller lakes. All three are beautifully sculpted and looked after. There are facilities round the lakes such as a bike track and a jogging track, plus the inevitable cafes. On the lake there is rowing and dragon boat practice. There is also a paddle boat steamer to take visitors on tours.
Canberra suffered fires a few years ago which came very close to the city, it has destroyed large swathes of land to the North, including the astronomy centre. There is a military college to the West and as we drove through this, new candidates were being introduced to the college and we were lucky enough (or not!) to see a fly past by the Australian equivalent of the Red Arrows.
The city centre was like any other, a huge shopping mall housing shops that can be seen the world over.
I think the highlights in this area for me were seeing up close the huge gum trees, feeling all their very different barks, watching Gallahs feed their young, sulphur crested cockatoos flying wild in the trees, seeing wild kangeroos up close and a largish lizard sat on a rock!

Bus Trip to Canberra

The bus journey was uneventful. It was similar to travelling on National Express. Grumpy driver, uncomfortable seats!! We stopped in several places both for passengers and for, I think, the driver to log in or deliver something. Some of the places we travelled to before we arrived at Yass were Cloninbane, Stathbogieshire, Wangeratta, Wodonga, Waggawagga, Gumleygumley and Gundagai!! A whole new world!! The countryside was pretty much like England, just as green, but what defined it most were the shapes of the trees, which definitely did not look like our trees. The massive Eucalyptus Gums, of which there are 804 varieties, scatter the hillsides like giants. About four hours in to the trip we arrived at Albury station, which you can see on the photo. This was a stopping off point for some and a lunch stop for others. We had about 30 mins rest here. It was very hot, but the station was cool. It had a sort of a cafe where I bought some sandwiches and a drink. Then we were on our way again. About an hour out from Canberra, we stopped at Yass where I had to change buses. It was actually only a service station with McDonalds, KFC etc. The coach was ready and waiting. I changed my luggage over, went for a cup of tea and then it was time to get on our way to Canberra. An hour later we arrived. I spent that hour talking to an Australian lady of 84 who was on her way home. She was very interesting and told me some things about the journey and about herself!! It passed the time. As we approached Canberra bus station I could see Marg waiting for me. The journey had not been arduous and had gone quickly, much better than flying, which would have taken me less than an hour!!

Melbourne City

Melbourne is a great city, vibrant and modern and I don't expect, only being there for a day, that I even scratched the surface.
There was a mix of old and new. Federation Square was very modern although the stone of which it was made up, looked very old fashioned but it wasn't. Opposite was Flinders Street Station, an imposing Victorian building which sat comfortably in this area at the end of the shopping streets. Alongside this was the cathedral. All of this ran alongside the River Yarra, with its cafes and restaurants.
I spent little time in the hotel room, I walked alot and ate my meals in simple restuarants, finishing off in the Pancake House (not a surprise to me!) A potato and cheese pancake was in order, along with a milk shake! Having walked up and down the main areas for a while I went back to the central bus and train station, booked in for next day. Got myself some food for the coach, then back to the hotel for rest. A 10 hour coach ride was ahead.

Since my last blog I have had poor communication access. The only place that appear to have free wifi access has been in McDonalds. I have had numerous cups of tea in all the available McD's just to send emails to friends and family, particularly Stan who seems like a million miles away! I have to say I didn't realise that Australia were behind us in this respect and the other thing I didn't realise was how long it takes to make all these communications to loved ones via modern technology. Anyway, to move on. At the moment I am in Turramurra in Sydney and again no access via wifi but thought I had better start writing stuff up so that I can put it on the blog as soon I get back to Perth on Friday night. I then have about five weeks left in Oz.

Going from my last entry I realised that we were flying over the Australian Bight, from then on it became a little bumpy, but we landed in Melbourne at about midday having lost 3 hours again. Having travelled around a lot by now, transport is very easy and we caught a shuttle bus straight to Melbourne Central Station, where I easily found the train to Pakenham and to see Sharon, Mick and Jack. Pakenham was right at the end of the line, so I had no worries getting off at the right stop. However, I was slightly worried about seeing her again, but I needn't have been!! Sharon had not changed, but she may have found me changed. She had a lovely home and it was so good to see her and Mick settled so well into their new life. She had Australian friends whose company she enjoys on a regular basis, which is great. Jack, of course, sometimes has wobbles, but he has had to do some hard things, joining school and now a new high school. He has plenty of friends also and I thought he looked remarkably well and happy with life – just didn't like getting up in the morning!!
It was lovely just seeing them living in Australia and being able to share that for a short while. I didn't want to do anything special so we talked and pottered around, talked and took the dog for a walk, talked and picked up Jack from school or the skate park etc., etc. Mick has perfected the Aussie barbe and we had some lovely meals. I just had a great time. Last but not least I saw the enormous plot of land and the plans for what is going to be a fantastic house. I can't wait to go back and see it and Sharon knows that I will be back.
Pakenham is a lovely little town with a real cafe culture. It has everything that one would need and close enough to Melbourne if you wanted a bit of city life. The rest of Pakenham and the area where Sharon, Mick and Jack are moving to (Druin) has lots of areas of new building, but also lots of green areas and trees.
I was very sorry to leave them all and Buster, of course! But my travels had to move on. I went back to Melbourne on the fast train (only 8 stops instead of 28 stops!). Found a local Ibis, booked in and then went exploring Melbourne.

Sorry there are no photos as yet, but there will be when I get somewhere and the time to fiddle around with my camera.

Many apologies to all of you reading my blog. Unfortunately, free wifi seems to be totally the domain of McDonalds and although I go in there so I can keep up with emails and facebook friends I don't want to spends hours in there. So I will catch up when I get back to Perth.