Uniquely Theo

Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city has been described in travelogues as a “sub-tropical urban oasis“ and also as “the sunny, sophisticated capital city of Queensland.” I don’t think I can comment on the sophistication as I believe this would have required me to go to museums, art galleries, high end restaurants and perhaps a play or two. Those activities are not on my list of the top 4 things to do in a city. But I can vouch for it being sunny, sub-tropical and a very family friendly urban city with plenty of opportunities to play both downtown and in the suburbs of Wynnum, Manly, and Lota where my son lives. The final few days of my Aussie holiday were spent back in the Brisbane area at leisure while the rest of the family returned to work and other scheduled local activities.

Life was a bit lower keyed but it still had a lot of lively moments. I resumed my walking, either into town or on the bayshore, being mindful that I had signed up for a half marathon in Portland OR in10 days. I not only still had to step up my training miles but would be traveling halfway around the world, and would be needing to switch night and days around. I knew I could finish the course but I was more concerned about the pain factor should I blow off the final days of race walking. So my goal was to walk every day and include one 9-10 miler. For that I decided I would head to Lota Preserve to see if I could re-connect with the 8 foot python snake I met up close and personal a couple weeks previous. Not only did it stand me up, but Australia is heading into the summer season and the temperatures were climbing into the higher 80’s. I imagined reducing the discomfort in my feet from the long walk by soaking my feet towards the end in the pleasantly cold Wynnum wading pool. Being shallow however the water warms up fast so that the vision was quickly dashed. So I headed up into town and found a wonderful little coffee cafe to get a latte — and enjoyed it so much I returned there each day until I departed.

Public transportation is so accessible so Miriam, Luke and I headed into the city late one afternoon to meet Nick for dinner. We opted for both rail and river transit. We took the Queensland Rail into the city from Manly. Since I had never taken the CityCats, a catamaran ferry, on the river we opted for a “joy” ride since we had quite a bit of time before meeting Nick. Luke can identify the differences in the CityCats – from older to newer models in operation and insisted that I become proficient in this skill as well. Now in my mind the differences are subtle and difficult to commit to memories as this is not the type of information I normally choose to store in long term memory. But I worked at it as this is important to my grandson. More on this later.

 

Southbank was the destination on our “river cruise” but we got distracted and missed this stop. Much to Luke’s delight we could disembark and re-board a CityCat going the other way — and hopefully one of a different newer model. The distraction was the Australian Defence Force Army helicopters. They were practicing their routines for the “Riverfire” air show and fireworks display to be held on Saturday. They were flying low, hovering, and buzzing building and it made for a very exhilarating experience to witness. Once on shore, we wandered through the tropical gardens and by the man made inner-city beach of the parkland of Southbank with great views of the city. After spending some time at a playground for Luke we met Nick and the dinner choice settled on was “Julius Pizzeria” which to me is really a misnomer as it was not my ordinary concept of a pizzeria. It was a somewhat upscale restaurant. It was very busy though service was excellent with unruffled waiters; the menu had excellent variety of Italian offerings and many authentic thin crusted pizzas to choose from. The food was excellent.

I love the walkability of Wynnum – within a mile’s walk from the house, I can shop for just about everything I normally need. But one of the things I enjoy the most after the bay front is seeing the original Queenslander homes and in general the many homes resembling the architecture of the Queenslander homes. This style is very much the heritage of Brisbane. This style includes the raising of the main living spaces off the ground on vertical “stumps” of timber (we call them piles or stilts). This allows the building to “float” above the terrain. Stilt homes are typically build homes on stilts to prevent flooding. But in the original Queenslander, all have this underfloor area that is used to cool the building through ventilation as well as for protection from termite attack and other pests. Additionally, the design is both stylistic and practical and can overcome any variations in the terrain and allow for the flow of water across the terrain if rain excessive. The lower area is often screened around the base with wood strips.

 

This “stump” platform and the design and placement of the windows encouraged cross-ventilation and uninterrupted air flow for passive cooling. Nick and Miriam live in Queenslander and there is no air conditioning or heating, relying on the style of the home to regulate the cooling and heating of the home. It definitely is not the ideal solution in an age of air conditioning but I do like the eco-friendly and financially friendly aspect of it. As the breezes and fans don’t completely make for a comfortable temperature, I did opt for a space heater some nights. There is usually a verandah and it is a great outdoor living area and I really enjoyed their veranda with its mild breezes and shade. Though these homes are well suited for this sub-tropical climate, I noticed that more and more of the older homes and most likely all the new building have central air and heat and just use the architectural style.The roofs are usually steep and sheeted with corrugated metal. I also noticed walking through the neighborhoods that most of the homes in the areas I visited had front yard fences.

The grand finale of my visit in Brisbane was a family 2 hour sailing lesson and then a trip to the Brisbane Festival Riverfire for the evening festivities. Nick, Miriam and Luke are taking a series of 10 sailing lessons and wanted me to have the experience, so booked and extra outing so I could join them. It was great fun. I have never had much of a chance to sail so just learning such terms as main sail, boom, jib, keel, trim etc. was the first challenge. I had a chance to try several different positions but definitely my shot at managing the rudder was the most harrowing for everyone on board. Our instructor maintained control by straddling the rudder it and subtly (and then not so subtly) using his legs to prevent any catastrophic errors when I continued to forget to move the rudder in the correct direction or keep it centered. We arrived back at the dock though in good order without capsizing the boat.

We then journeyed from Manly Harbor, via Queensland rail, to the Brisbane downtown riverfront for the aerobics show of the Army helicopters and jets followed by the acclaimed Riverfire fireworks show. We again got to see the army helicopter display but of equal interest to Luke was the CityCat catamarans cruising the river. Each time one passed, and this was often, it was my job to identify which model it was. Fortunately I got a passing grade on this 3 hour quiz which occurred from our chosen vantage point on the not so easy on the derriere cement steps near the Riverside Center. We thought this a good vantage point from which we could see this ultimate array of pyrotechnics shooting from barges, pontoons, high-rise buildings, and the Story Bridge. We had a burrito picnic on the steps, people watched, and enjoyed being in the vibrant energy of this festival.The finale did not disappoint with an incredible 20 minute of blazing, booming, brilliant, sparkling, rainbow explosions. As we took the train home I felt sad that I would have to be leaving this lovely city, a wonderful country, and my dear dear son, grandson and daughter-in-law the next day. Our final outing on Sunday, departure day. was a trip to a Koala Reserve area, part of the property of the Nazarene Theological College.  It was a disappointment to not encounter any koalas there but I came upon the only kangaroo seen in the wild on the entire trip.

Not knowing if we would ever be coming back to the Red Center in Northern Territory Australia, we decided on one last very highly recommended area to visit — the West MacDonnell Ranges. This would be an approximately 550 K drive to the identified campground. Without a 4WD vehicle necessitated going back to Alice Springs and heading west to our destination which was Ellery Creek Big Hole Campground in Tjoritja /West MacDonnell Range National Park. It sounded especially inviting because it had one of the permanent water holes which we hoped to swim in. We anticipated getting there before dark, but barely. Since we had already seen the miles and miles of the stark and unremarkable bushland, we kept a good speed up and made decent time.

Since camping was first come first served, we had to consider alternatives as well since we would be arriving late in the day. We arrived there around sunset time and we were relieved to find 3 open sites to choose from. They all basically backed up to a large communal field and cook area. We were still setting our tents up on the fine red dirt, but had a bit more “privacy” vegetation on the site. It was a race to get camp set by dark, but since it was warm and there was no predicted rain in sight, we opted not to use the rain fly. It was a good bet because we learned that there had been no rain in this area since January. Luke was really hesitant because he was worried about privacy but soon got over it. Reclaimed water was used for flush toilets but there was no fresh water available for drinking or cooking. We were relying on the communal stoves to boil water as our gas canister was low but those metal plates do not transfer heat very readily to our cooking pots. It even takes quite a bit of time to cook anything directly on the grill. After about a half hour of trying to get the pasta pot boiling a generous fellow camper loaned us his gas camp stove to finish cooking the meal (in the dark of course by headlamp). But it always feels like a good challenge to accomplish the goal even under a bit of duress. The night was uneventful, no loud family’s nearby and we awoke early to break camp and head out for the days hike and then on to Alice Springs. We did not get to the water hole but thought it would be an option on the way back.

In the morning we headed first to Glen Helen Resort to buy water, a must have commodity for the Ormiston Gorge walk. I guess we had not really believed that there would not water or at least we would have a way to boil it. Glen Helen was an interesting “resort” of sorts near near Ormiston Gorge and seemed typical of Australian outback accommodations. It is rustic, with lodge rooms, stockman’s quarters, fixed tents and a range of caravan and camping sites on its website. I might better describe it as an aging old motel with rooms, shared rooms with metal bunk beds, platform tents and an unshaded lawn for camping and caravan parking. But they did have cold Coke Zero and cold bottled water-and that fulfilled our basic need!

After getting a couple liters of water, we headed to Ormiston Gorge and opted to take “The Pound” hike. I was curious as to why this trail was named “The Pound” and discovered “the pound” refers to the basin formed by the ring of mountains which book-end the MacDonnell range with Mt. Giles on the east and Ormiston Gorge on the west. The seven kilometer Ormiston Gorge Pound walk is a loop hike of the pound and gorge. It initially, gently climbs the lower hills, moves to a definitive pass from which the views are stunning of the pound. It descends onto the flat floor of the pound, and returns up the dry riverbed to the main waterhole.The rugged gorge walls of red, sunburnt orange and deep purples and the Ghost Gums growing up along the ridges and walls of quartzite and the layered rock formation along the river bed were quite beautiful.

In the early section of the hike the trail was flat, meandered along the road and a dry river bed with spare vegetation. I was beginning to think this hike would pale in comparison to the last ones we had done in Uluru and Kings Canyon. But it slowly began to climb hills, with several switchbacks and the tan sands giving way to red rock and ridges, until we were heading towards a saddle.

It was quite a scene to reach the saddle and see the expansive pound fanning out below. It clearly was a panoramic view of a basin surrounded by ridges and hills.

The trail led down into the pound and at that point we encountered sandy beaches of mostly dry riverbeds, though there was one small water hole. It was a good stopping point for lunch which was accompanied by an annoying chorus of buzzing flies. I donned my net and found a way to sneak food into my mouth without letting flies in. Thankfully, when on the move the flies were tolerable and a very minimal nuisance.

 

This well defined trail crossed the pound and was a combination of soft and harder packed sand, tussock grasses and other desert shrubs, interspersed with a variety of rocks. I was fearful that it would be a heavy slog through soft sand in the early afternoon sun. We crossed the dry sandy rocky Ormiston Creek bed at least 3 times due to it’s looping course.and at the third crossing it seemed like the rocks were increasing and multiplying exponentially. In retrospect I found the sand easier walking than the rocks that loomed in front of me.

The trail gets harder as you get closer to the Gorge. Soon we were scrambling, trudging, rock hopping, even stumbling further up the riverbed into the gorge from the pound. Sandy stretches, gave way to massive cubist like rock formations interspersed with enough moderate sized rocks to for us to engage in some “creative dance” to keep moving ahead. At points the trail was all boulders and rocks. River rocks coupled with the rust red walls, greenery and the layered formation of the gorges made for a spectacular scenery and I marveled at the array of colors of the rocks and boulders which spanned from the red and orange palette of colors and moved into many shades of mauve, purple and blue.

Sand clinging to the bottom of my hiking boots and loose sand on the surfaces of the rocks made a potentially hazardous combination and I caught myself slipping and falling on three occasions. Negotiating the rocks with beautiful scenery continuing to unfold the higher we climbed into the gorge was challenging but quite the feeling of accomplishment. Eventually we came upon a lovely oasis – a water holes in which a few young men were swimming. Since there was quite a sheet of brilliant green algae on portions of the surface of the water, I could not imagine diving in.

But after crossing to the left side of the water hole and rounding another bend not too much further up, we cam upon a much larger permanent water hole which was exceptionally inviting and was hosting several swimmers. It was just too much for us to be viewing a beautiful water hole with a magnificent backdrop and not immerse ourselves – so we doffed our shoes and jumped in in our clothes with a definite very loud yelp, proclaiming the water to be extremely chilly. But a chill after hot was a great feeling and a very refreshing finale for moderately difficult hike. And, off course the reward of cokes and/or ice-cream from the small concession at the end was definitely a plus.

It was time to get on the road, back to Alice Springs but first a stop at the ochre pits. They consisted of delicate colorful cliffs made up of layers of mudstone and silica in West McDonnell NP. The shades of the ochre range from crimson to yellow. The different colored layers are caused by the presence of iron oxide in varying amounts. The more iron oxide present, the darker and redder the color. These cliffs were a beautiful “canvas” of colorful curves and swirls. It was especially interesting to see knowing how the ochres play an important role in aboriginal ceremony. Though not a seemingly very popular stop I am glad we took the time  to see the ochre pits.

The next stop was our hotel, the Doubletree, and a needed re-grouping for our morning flight back to Brisbane. After many camp meals, we also opted to dine out and I suggest the Red Ochre Grill as it was one of the very few places that advertised serving bush tucker. Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by the original inhabitants, Kangaroo is bush food. Since up to this point I had not seen one kangaroo in the wild, I decided I would order one up on a plate in the restaurant. I ordered a kangaroo fillet chargrilled, with a shiraz glaze, served medium rare, on a roasted mushroom tartlet with a salad of maple bacon and apple. It was served beautifully and absolutely delicious and quite a welcome change from canned refried beans slithered onto a burrito, though with the gourmet touch of a slice of cheese in it. The others were not quite so adventurous with their food.  The following morning we were on a plane first to Adelaide and then on to Brisbane. Luke is very very interested in anything related to airplanes so he was in his glory filming the takeoffs and landings of a couple our flight.

 

 

 

We left camp at 7:45 for Kings Canyon in Watarrka National Park. It is often referred to as Australia’s Grand Canyon and is known for it’s soaring red sandstone walls and is part of the George Gill Range. The walls of Kings Canyon are over 100 meters high, with Kings Creek at the bottom. We intended to hike the King’s Canyon Rim Walk, a 6K (3.7 miles) with sweeping views of the gorge and surrounding landscape. The day was mild enough (it is closed if projected temperatures are 36 degrees) so we headed out on the walk around 8:30am.

There is a steep climb up at the beginning of the walk (the locals call it “Heartbreak Hill” or “Heart Attack Hill” due to its steepness) ascends to the top) treats one to spectacular views of the vivid orange-brown gorge below and of the surrounding landscape. We anticipated a 3-4 hour adventure. I was feeling quite challenged and felt winded about a third of the way up this first rock “staircase”. I realized I was trying to keep the brisk pace set by Nick and Luke – many years younger than this older adult. Settling into my own pace, I marveled at this impressive eye candy landscape. I keep thinking of how my definition of “eye candy” has evolved over time. At one point in life it was definitely handsome men but now it is breathtaking landscapes!

We opted for a 600 meter side trek to the Cotterills Lookout and it was well worth the challenge of negotiating the multilayered sandstone domes to get to the vantage point. I love the challenge of finding solid footing for my “safe” path up these adrenalin injecting rock outcrops! At times it was a bit frightful given the brisk wind and the crevices between the tiered sandstone “hills” thus requiring a bit of rock hopping. From this vantage point the cliff edges are spectacular.

 

About half way through the walk we descended down into the canyon via a staircase to a bridge across the canyon bottom. A permanent waterhole was visible but due to the arid conditions and lack of rainfall the amount of water was scant. Vegetation in the creek bottom is abundant and ancient ferns abound which are estimated to be over 400 years old.

 

We ascended up the staircase to the other side of the canyon. The last half of the walk passed through a large maze of weathered sandstone domes resemble ”beehives.” and often identified as the “Lost City.

The primary rock of Kings Canyon is formed of Mereenie Sandstone, a clean white sandstone. I was quite surprised to see broken sandstone almost white inside. The red exterior color is thought to be due to iron-rich dust blown onto the rock surface. It becomes chemically fixed to the sand grains by a form of fungi which thrive on iron, silica and rainwater.

 

After a brief rest we opted to take the two km out and back King Creeks walk tracing the bottom of the gorge. The entire creek bed up to the turn around point was a a completely dry bed with no waterholes. It was lined with tall trees and mostly shaded. Due to a rockfall the viewing platform was closed but having been able to hike the rim loop we were not too disappointed. Up until this hike I never felt through our travels that the flies were bad enough to warrant the fly net.  However I decided to get out the fly net as there was a very pesky constant annoyance. As on most of the hikes, since so much hiking earlier in the summer in Colorado with Tasia and Amara, one fun way to stay engaged in the surroundings is to find faces (and animals) in the rock formations, trees trunks and deadwood. I was psyched spotting a “skull” and “worm larva.”

 

 

Our journey through the Red Center Way continued post-sunrise at Uluru with the drive to Kata Tjuta National Park, 50 km north west of Uluru. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site so we anticipated another amazing experience. Our plan was to explore Kata Tjuta via the full circuit of the 7.4km Valley of the Winds walk. I anticipated a walk that would engulf me in another stunning patch of the Australian Desert. It had been suggested that the Valley of the Winds walk was an alternative to climbing Uluru and offered awesome views of the landscape from two lookout points along the circuit. The walk was sometimes steep, rocky and difficult and had been rated a rugged class 4 hike (high level of difficulty) but overall was I was able to negotiate it with reasonable caution on the steepest rockiest sections. The temperatures were warm but not near the point where they close the walk due to danger of heat and dehydration. Kata Tjuta is 36 red rock domes that make up “The Olgas.” Kata Tjuta is a aboriginal Pitjantjatjara word meaning ‘many heads’. The Olgas has historical significance and offers amazing hiking. The views awere breathtaking and were worth the effort of driving over and taking the walk.Another great benefit was it was much less crowded than Uluru.

Reaching the peak of the valley was the most challenging part for me. We again followed our “sandwich formation” with Nick and Luke the top crust, myself the filling, and Miriam the crust at the bottom. The first section was a gradual 2K cobbled, mildly rocky and graveled moderately difficult walkway to the Karu Lookout.

At that point the track split and we headed counter-clockwise to the Karangana Lookout. We were headed for a space between the domes at which point we could see below to the Valley of the Winds. During this climb to the lookout we were surrounded on all sides by steep rock faces. There were many steps, some steep rock domes to climb, challenging decent (I find that descending is much more treacherous the climbing and ll my falls and skids are on loose gravel and stones on rock steps and paths. I walking between sheer walls, up steep “staircases” and felt exhilarated by the challenge.

 

Leaving the lookout we had to negotiated some steep rocky terrain to enter the Valley of the Winds.The valley crossed the plain below through the dry grass, dry creek beds, spinifax, and desert flora and fauna and it becomes a true experience of the Australian outback. I had that feeling of being in the middle of no where. I could see towering rusty red domes, wildflowers, a clear blue sky, gentle winds and a variety of outback vegetation. This desert atmosphere is dry, very dry and though the sun was not yet of the scorching as one might experience in the summer months I felt a real need to consume minimally a liter + of water to keep hydrated. The dry air evaporates the moisture around me and even with the water I managed to get dehydrated. The one advantage of this, though I don’t recommend it as a technique, is not having to duck into the sparse bushes to eliminate the excess water!!! I wonder how all of the plants can survive I wonder how all the plants survive in this arid rocky area?

We all agreed at the end of the walk that it was exciting, challenging and much preferred as a hike to the flat terrain of the circumvention of Uluru. We still had to break camp and wanted to be on our way to Watarrka (Kings Canyon) and had a 350 km yet. So we managed to be out and the road by one o’clock, backtracking first the 50k to Ayers Rock campground and then on to the Lurijata Road to the Kings Canyon Resort. When I hear the word “resort” I mostly think of an moderately upscale hotel/motel with many amenities. The outback resorts are much more rustic in my opinion. We checked in and headed to the communal camping “lawns.” We had several areas to choose from. One was near a noisy gas station and bar, another right by the pool and the camping area for the busloads of high schoolers, and the third was a large empty red dirt lot, spare of trees. There was little vegetation (nothing resembling what I think of as a lawn) on it and the dirt was so fine I kept thinking of chili powder or paprika. We opted for the far end of the red dirt lot which had a spindly tree for shade and we hoped protected from the worst of the noise. We finally found the communal stoves for cooking in between a dreary looking bank of mortal room. The car hood was our table and we found ways to not have to sit in the chili powder. Here we needed to make sure all food was secured in the car due to the dingos roaming the area As it was getting dark we realized the “loud couple” and there loud friends were setting up camp right next us in the middle of this dirt field. We were a bit dismayed at the inconsiderateness of there rather noisy conversations and robust laughs that went on pat our bedtimes. Fortunately we all were tired enough to eventually fall asleep.