Luxury in Australia

"It is a luxury to do something that serves no practical purpose: the luxury of civilization!"
   The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Steadman

Luxury:  swinging on a rope swing above Coffs Creek

Luxury: surfing at Park Beach on a weekday

Luxury: hiking Coffs rainforest with a friend

Luxury: rescuing and caring for orphaned or abused animals

Practical:  doing school work to learn and grow

Luxury:  doing school work in a lounge chair by a river in Tasmania

Luxury:  hiking with your family in Cradle Mountain National Park

Practical:  transporting family from one lodging to another

Luxury:  transporting your lodging (camper van) from one national park to another

Luxury:  sitting at a view point on top of Cradle Mountain

Practical:  washing sweat off your body

Luxury:  bathing in Crater Lake

Yet again, I am reminded of how lucky we are...

Nadia

Beautifully wild and unspoiled Tasmania

It's a beautiful and sunny late afternoon with Nadia and I sitting in foldout chairs in the shade of the camper van we've rented to tour around Tasmania. We're along the banks of Coles Bay on the East coast of this rugged and unspoiled island and are really enjoying the natural scenery and incredible wildlife all around us.

We flew in 4 days ago in Launceston, north Tasmania and were met at the airport by our camper rental guy who took us to our new home on wheels for the next 10 days. After a half hour introduction of how everything works we headed out to a camp ground about an hour to west. After arriving, we parked along a small creek and quickly set up (i.e. plug the thing in and set out the fold out chairs). I then went for a small walk and within just a couple of minutes saw a platypus swimming along without a care in the world. Sitting out having coffee the next morning I saw a couple of wallabies (small kangaroo types animals) hop by - not a bad start to our adventure.
The next day we went to an animal park and saw and learned about Tasmanian devils. They're small black animals with sharp teeth, reddish ears, and a white patch on their chests. The hiss a lot at each other and bare their teeth but rarely fight. Maya and Mira really enjoyed feeding kangaroos while there.

Two nights ago we camped in Cradle Mountain National Park but didn't arrive to our campsite until after dark. We were only there a few minutes and starting to prepare dinner when we were visited by some friendly wallabies and a beautiful bushy tailed and sturdy looking possum. Yesterday, inside the park, we hiked for 4 hours to a mountain pass and had lunch overlooking beautiful mountains and lakes. On the way back we saw a juvenile wombat which Mira fell in love with and which Maya and Mira were able to pet while the chubby little guy chomped away on grass shoots.

Now we're at Coles Bay where we'll hike tomorrow to a lookout over a place called Wineglass Bay. From everything we've read it should be a nice hike. If lucky, we may even see some penguins on the beach. Until now, South Africa had been the most southerly latitude we've traveled to. We me get even further south, depending on what route we take once we get to New Zealand, but for now Tasmania is the most south we've ever been.

Last week we enjoyed spending time with friends and great hosts Carol Ann and Tim, in Coffs Harbour. The beach there is beautiful, as are the hills with massive old growth trees and hiking trails. Tim took us on a short hike one day through the forest, which aside from being beautiful ended up being quite eventful. After only 5 minutes in the woods I had to pluck a leech off my ankle. I kept looking down after that to see if any others were trying to get my blood and, low and behold, I picked 26 more leeches off my shoes in less than an hour. Luckily for me, I kept them all off. Nadia wasn't so lucky because after returned home she took her sneakers off to find lots of blood spots on both her socks. Once she had her socks off  she pulled 4 leeches off her feet. She's still scratching the bites, which itch like crazy for days.

At the end of our time in Melbourne (Feb 26th-27th) I also had the chance to attend the men's quarter finals at the Australian Open tennis tournament and watched Novac Djokovic beat Nishikori from Japan.

Cheers, Rob

Kookaburra, Coffs Harbour - what a sound these birds make

Tasmanian Devil

Mira making a friend

Maya feeding roos

With young wombat - cutest animal ever according to Mira

Cradle Mountain National Park

Nice spot for lunch on our hike

Nomads at Crater Lake

Maya balancing in the forest

Melbourne, a beautiful city

On top of the Eureka building overlooking Melbourne

In the clutches of a street artist in Melbourne

Mira  helping a street magician who kept calling her "Kevin"

Djokovic at Australian Open

Friends

I have lots of friends.  Like clouds, they love me so much they follow me everywhere I go!  And trees, they cling on to me all the time just so I will stay with them!  And Water! Every time I touch it it stays on as best it can!  But they are only my friends because I am nice to them!  If you break a tree or do anything bad to them, they will grab on to you and not let you go so that you don't do it to anyone else.  And clouds, if they see you polluting, they will stalk you and pee on you if you do it again.  And water, if you dump trash in the ocean, it will stay on you so you don't do it again.  If you do, it will get one of its children to sting you or bite you!  Everything is living.  Everything has eyes. Be nice to our planet and it will be nice to you.

- Mira

What?!

Every once in a while on our trip, I'll be taken aback and have to do a double take.

There was that time in Myanmar.  We were traveling between Bagan and Kalaw, on a VIP bus.   The seats were quite wide.  There were three seats per row.  There was a stewardess who came by to give us cold wet cloths and a bottle of cool water when we boarded.  On the back of each seat there was a TV screen with three channels, each playing movies.

At one point during the bus ride, I looked out of the window.  We were driving through peaceful rural countryside which was full of farms and the ruins of centuries old Hindu and Buddhist temples.  As we were whizzing past the beautiful ancient temples, I was sitting on a fancy air-conditioned tourist bus watching a comedic science fiction movie starring Bruce Willis - really!  How surreal is that?!

I had another moment like that a couple of weeks ago.  I had been in Finland when Rob, Maya, and Mira left Asia and flew to Australia.  When I rejoined the family, Mira filled me in on the adventures she had had while we were apart.  She told me that she really liked being in Australia.  When I asked her why, she said it was because everyone spoke English and the labels on packaged foods in the grocery store were all in English (so she knew what everything was).  I hadn't even noticed but yes, life is in fact easier when you can read (and understand) labels and warning signs.  And indeed, everyone speaks English here!

I am grateful to be traveling with my daughters.  They keep me paying attention.  They remind me to notice things.  They keep me in the now.

Nadia

Two countries later and finally a new blog from Rob

Greetings from Coffs Habour, Australia.

It's been awhile since people have heard from me so my apologies. The reason, in part, is because a damn taxi driver stole my laptop in Hanoi - ahhhh. I've therefore been without the proper kit to send off a blog with photos for some time. Thankfully, Nadia graciously bought me a new laptop when she arrived in Melbourne so all is well and I should be able to get back on track with a post every week.

Since I last wrote, which I believe was from Cambodia last month, we've explored a bit of Vietnam and are now bouncing around Australia. For most of this time, we've been fortunate enough to visit friend after friend along our route. After leaving Cambodia we all flew to Ho Chi Min City (formerly Saigon) and spent an interesting day visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels where the Vietcong worked, lived and fought  first against the French and then against the Americans. We crawled through the tunnels and wow were they tight - not for the faint of heart. From Saigon, Nadia flew to Helsinki, Finland where she had a week-long work assignment with an organization she really likes and has worked for before called Inclusive Security. Maya, Mira and I flew north to Hanoi and continued on to Halong Bay - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and where iconic limestone cliffs rise directly out of the sea. We spent two days on a boat with a group of medical students from Australia and had a great time exploring caves, kayaking, biking, and enjoying the sights.
After Halong Bay the kids and I went to visit my good friend Reed (from our Jordan days) who now lives in Hanoi. It was in the taxi ride to his house that my computer was lost. We were only with Reed for a night but it was good to catch up.

The girls and I then flew to Sydney and directly onward to the center of Australia to Ayers Rock (known as Uluru by the Aborigine). We enjoyed a night in the desert and hiking around the giant rock before taking a bus 450km to Alice Springs where we spent a few days doing day trips exploring the outback. The kids were excited to see an incredible number of beautiful birds, large lizards called goanna, wallaby and kangaroo, snakes, etc. Alice Springs is a place that feels like it's at the end of the earth and where 80% of the population is Aborigine although, sadly they seem marginalized.

After days in the outback we re-united with Nadia in a small coastal town called Merimbula, where we spent a few days at the beach house of Nadia's Australian friend Mandy (from their Seattle days) in an even smaller coastal town called Pambula. It was a nice few days where we relaxed, went to the beach, watched kangaroos bounce around everywhere, surfed a bit, fished a bit (again no luck), and pretty much just 'chilled out'.

We then traveled to the beautiful city of Melbourne where we stayed with Nadia's former room mate and good friend Megan from her post-doc days in Toronto. We stayed at Megan's flat in a trendy area of the city called St. Kilda, which is only a couple of blocks from the bay. In addition to spending quality time with Megan and her partner Murray, our time in the city included a walking and tram tour of the city, a trip to the top of the tallest building in Melbourne for a great view of the city, watched several street performers, Nadia and the kids going to the Museum of Modern Art to view an Andy Warhol and I Wei Wei exhibit, me attending two nights of men's quarterfinal tennis at Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open, and the kids enjoying a 100 year old amusement park which is still in operation.

After Melbourne we traveled about 90 miles west along the coast to Torquay where our good friend Diane, from our Zimbabwe days, lives with her two kids Zakele and Lindiway. This is where the famous surf mecca of Bell's Beach is located, as well as the home of both Rip Curl and Quicksilver surf gear. The kids went surfing a couple of days (with wetsuits - the water is cold this far south), rode bikes, and slept with their new friends in a tent in the yard. It was great to catch up with Diane and see how the kids have grown.

We're now in Coffs Harbour, which is a 90 minute flight north of Sydney and along the coast. We're staying with Nadia's good friend Carol Ann (from their San Diego days together) and her family. Again, we're right at the beach and had a chance to do a bit of surfing today. The waves are big here so we just rode the white wash. Maybe we'll try for bigger waves in the coming days.

Rob

Tight fit to get into a Cu Chi tunnel

Maya 30ft underground in tunnel

Kayaking Halong Bay on a cold grey day

Woman rowing a wicker basket style boat

The girls at Halong Bay 

Exploring massive and beautifully lit tunnel 

A little guy hanging out in tree near the beach 

Aluru - Ayers Rock 

Girls hamming it up 

One of many beautiful lizards in the outback 

Kangaroo 

Kids hiking with guide along dry riverbed outside Alice Springs 

Surfing close to shore in Coffs Bay

Wax

What is it about wax these days? It seems everywhere we try to surf the boards have no wax. I mean, it's only happened twice, but still, that's two out of the two times we have tried to surf in Australia. First, Mira and I rented a surf board in Pambula, in New South Wales. The next time we were borrowing a board from our friends in Torquey, near Melbourne. In Pambula the conditions were pretty good. The waves weren't closing out, it was warm and sunny, and it wasn't too choppy. It would have been perfect had I not slipped off my board a thousand times. It was even hard just to paddle put without slipping off sideways. The next time, while in Torquey, it was choppy and the waves weren't great, but I wanted to give it a try anyway. Every time I tried to pop up, my hands would slip right out from under me, and I would face plant into either the surf board or the waves. No matter what, a board without wax is super slippery. What's so difficult about rubbing a surf board down with wax every once in a while?

- Maya

Third Culture Family

Traveling, living, and raising my family in less industrialized countries around the world has many advantages:  we get to know countries deeply;  we (including the kids) are tolerant of the "other";  I have friends all over the world; and we are easy going and flexible (I think!).

I do however miss out on things.  I became aware of this at 18, when, as a third culture kid, I moved "home" to live in USA for the first time as a young adult attending university.  I am aware of it now, as I explore the city of Melbourne in Australia (the first heavily industrialized country we've travelled to on our Big Trip).

The beautiful and clean city of Melbourne

The big cities are incredibly clean in "first world" countries.

St. Kilda's extraordinary clean city beach

People make space and dedicate resources for art and sports.

Maya in front of Eureka Tower, with it's installation of The Bees

Mira watching a street performer along the Yarra River in downtown Melbourne

The venue for the Australian Open Tennis Tournament in downtown Melbourne

There are other things too, which I sorely miss in my "normal" life in less-industrialized countries:  organic foods, multi-cultural restaurants, grocery stores with an international range of reasonably-priced ingredients and produce, city planning, functional public transportation, and many friends and family.

At the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, with Megan, friend of over 20 years

There are pluses and minuses where ever we choose to live...

Nadia