December [week 2]
Laura & Mark - 6th December 1999
This morning we were woken from our heavy and dreamy sleep by Daniel's bright and shiny face. It was just before 6.00am and it was time for a quick trip to look for a little more koala action. We donned the nearest and the warmest clothes that we had brought and got into the bus again. It was only a short drive to the koala site we had visited the day before, and Daniel was very hopeful that we would see more than a few distant "blobs" this time.
Unfortunately we were still not as lucky as we had hoped, and although some of the koalas were a little further down the trees than the previous day, there were less of them and they were still relatively passive. We did manage to find one or two that we could take a nice photo of, and we watched in awe as we witnessed one of the more wondrous sights of nature. There was a little baby koala that had lost it's mother and as we watched another female koala came across and slowly but surely coaxed it across. Soon the baby and the new-found mother were united and they continued their journey up the tree together, the baby clinging tightly to his surrogate mother's back.
Shortly after, we were driven back to the youth hostel where we indulged in a quick breakfast of Cornflakes, coffee, toast and slices of orange.
The next port of call was a national park where we would see a few kangaroos if we were lucky. And we were reasonably lucky as we managed to get up close to two kangaroos, long enough to take some photos before they hopped off into the distance. We also saw some Cape Maron geese, a goose-sized grey bird, apparently only to be found on Kangaroo Island (in South Australia at least). By this time it was already beginning to heat up and the chances of seeing much more as we scanned the park were getting slim, so we went on in the bus for another long drive.
We headed for the South-West corner of the island, where the tip sticks out towards Antarctica. Here we were to visit some fur seals (not as close as we were to the sea-lions) and some beautiful rock formations.
What we found certainly lived up to our expectations and more. It was a beautiful time of the morning when we got there, the sun was already hot on our faces, but the freshness of the morning was lingering in the air. It was wonderfully quiet in these highly touristy areas, as all the "upmarket" tours would still be busy with their four-course breakfast. We were instead heading straight down a slope which would lead us to the very tip of the coastline where we would discover "Admiral's arch". This huge and spectacular archway in the rock was caused by the constant battering of the icy-cold waves against the rock. The roof of the tunnel had hundreds of what looked like stalactites hanging from it. These were in fact the petrified roots of the trees that had once stood on the land above it.
Below the arch was a large area of flat rock, eroded to smooth by the same waves. Settled on this rock, sheltered somewhat by the icy wind, lay a colony of fur seals. These were darker in colour and looked larger than the sea-lions we swam with. It was our good fortune to have chosen this particular day for our visit, as the first of the baby fur-seals to be born this spring lay beside his mother on the rock. As we watched, the little baby flopped around a bit, and when a large male seal started to head in their direction, another large male, obviously the baby's father, hurried across to guard his mate and young. Once the hostile male had retreated, the family stood together to be admired by the onlookers (us).
If we turned around to face out to sea, we could see another area of rocks below us. There too some seals were playing in the waves, and as usual with all animals, there was a male chasing a female around, trying to impress. He looked to be succeeding when we left them.
We headed up the coast a little. Along the journey, the bus screamed to a sudden halt as Daniel had spied a snake by the side of the road that he thought we should take a closer look at. We cautiously crept out of the bus and across the road, but before we could get to close, it slid off into the scrub. Once it had disappeared, Daniel identified it as a black tiger snake, one of the four most deadly in the world. We were quite glad it had left once we'd heard that.
We went on to another headland which had a remarkable formation of rocks on the top of it. For the want of a better name, this formation had simply been called "Remarkable Rocks", which may not have been poetic, but it was precise. These rocks were made of granite and were formed during the period of volcanic activity on Australia. They had once been the magma, housed in a volcano, but when the volcano became extinct, the magma was left in the funnel to cool. Once it had cooled to form granite, the softer rock around it had eroded away leaving it bare to the elements. Some more vulnerable parts had also shattered or eroded leaving some "remarkable shapes". One of the rocks took the shape of a giant claw, others formed arches, sharp spikes and a whole variety of lunar-style landscapes. Sitting in that claw, high up on the cliff top, you had a great view of the wide, sandy bay which stretched back along the coast towards admirals arch. We admired the rocks, sat in them, and the boys of course climbed the ones they could, until we decided to move on.
Before returning to the Youth Hostel for lunch and to gather our meagre belongings, we made a detour past a farm on which they were busy shearing sheep. Here, inside one of the large sheds, about five men were busy doing the actual shearing. They would pull a sheep up from the holding pen below and hold it down with their left hand while they cut the wool off with he razor in their right. The sheerers were paid $1.70 per sheep, so the atmosphere was that of men hard at work, to get as many sheep done as they could. Apparently an experienced sheerer could do over 200 sheep a day. Meanwhile others gathered the wool and sorted into baskets according to quality. A couple of the braver (or more insane) members of our group had a go at it, but Mark and I steered clear of that. Mark due to his allergy to wool, and Laura simply because she couldn't think of anything she'd hate to do more. Once we'd been watching for a little while, Laura decided to go out and get some fresh air. With the pictures of the sheering still vivid in her mind, she stood in the sun and waited for her heart to stop beating so fast. Unfortunately with all that concentration on not thinking about the sheep, she was making it worse, and it wasn't long before she was feeling faint. And then, just to make matters worse, she fainted. She was soon feeling perky again as they drove away, but she couldn't help being reminded of the time she was at a sheep-sheering market in Holland, and she fainted then too. An allergy to sheep? Possibly, but never mind: lunch time.
What's for lunch? Left over Mexican, bread, barbecued potatoes and onion, and some boiled eggs. It was a very welcome meal indeed as we had already had a very busy morning.
After lunch we gathered our things and it wasn't long before we were off in the bus again. This time it was another long drive, to a small, hidden-away bay, with a picturesque sandy beach and crystal-clear, turquoise water. This was the kind of place you visit in your dreams. We were very quick to strip to our swimming things and go out into the calm water. We swam out to a little cray-fish boat, moored just a hundred metres from the shore. Here we climbed aboard and admired the crayfish which the fisherman (a friend of Daniel's had already caught that day). Crayfish are simply lobsters, and a lobster is a crayfish that makes money. He had already caught several dozen, and with each one fetching almost $30, he had quite a lot of money floating around in the hold just under his boat.
From the edge of the boat we watched the water, searching it for life. We saw several schools of small fish swim by and then came the real treat. A group of rays swam past the boat (like sting-rays, only these didn't sting). At first it seemed to be only two and they came and went. We dived into the water and swam above them for a while, but without a mask or snorkels, there was little we could see. Once we were back aboard the boat, a whole group of them came by together. They could be seen quite clearly, drifting along the sea bed, and there were seven of them in total, the largest being at least a metre in diameter.
Mark and I swam back to the shore, where we lay on the beach and enjoyed the sunshine. We were nearly off to sleep when Daniel came along to tell us that we were leaving soon. We got up slowly and reluctantly, it was so peaceful and warm in the sun, with the gentle lapping of the waves.
Before stopping at our last point of interest for the tour, we stopped at a little cafe where we bought an ice-cream. This gobbled up in seconds, we headed for "American River", a large area of swamps/lakes where we would see pelicans and hopefully some dolphins. As we drew up, Mark and I were both surprised at how easy it was to spot the pelicans. We had envisaged using binoculars to get a quick peep of them, but they were sitting right there in the carpark. And floating on the lake. And sitting on top of the lamp-posts. And they were HUGE!
It's no joke about pelicans having really large beaks, but the rest of them is pretty big too. We could get very close, and were even given the honour of being very-nearly pooed on by one (not us, another poor, unsuspecting member of our group who stood directly under one of the aforementioned lamp-posts).
Next was dolphin-spotting, which was made easy for us when one of the Canadian guys started leaping about and screaming that he'd seen one. He was very proud and pointed out to us as, sure enough, a fin popped out of the water and then lowered itself back in. Alright, so that was at least forty or fifty metres away from us, but we were proud of seeing any at all. We were given our final Kangaroo Island treat: the dolphin came closer. We all hurried to take photos and film as the dolphin moved into the area of water no more than 20 metres away. But as swiftly as it came, it was gone. A couple more long-distance spottings of two dolphins swimming together and that was it. We were off to the port again.
Daniel dropped us at the shop where we bought a little snack and ate it on the roadside. Then we were dropped at the ferry where we said our goodbyes and got aboard. Once we had crossed to the other side, we found our bus that would take us straight to Glenelg and were pleased when the two Canadian guys got on too. One of them went to sleep on the back row of chairs, but we had a nice long chat with the tattooed boy while the bus brought us home. A good chance for some sight-seeing tips for Canada.
We got home at 10.30pm and were completely shattered so headed straight for bed, an exciting and satisfying weekend behind us.
Laura & Mark - 7th December 1999
Today we did very little. Well, that is to say that we did very little that was special. Laura went to work from 12.00 until 19.00 and Mark did some more collecting. Being completely exhausted and slightly sunburnt still, we also got an early night, so there is nothing exciting to report about today.
We passed it in a daze, remembering the highlights of the exciting weekend and relaying them to whoever would listen (and even several who didn't).
Laura & Mark - 8th December 1999
Even less of merit happened today than the previous day, so in an effort to save both typing and reading time we will keep it short: we woke up, we got up, we worked, we went home, we cooked, we ate, we sat, we watched TV, we chatted, we brushed our teeth, we went to sleep.
Laura & Mark - 9th December 1999
At last there is something interesting happening today to break the monotony of the short but dull diary entries.
Today Laura worked from 07.00 until 15.00 again (the early starts were a real killer), but she had something to look forward to while she chased away the sleep that lingered in her body as she worked. Today, after work, all be it quite a long time after work, we would be going to the cinema. So when Laura finished work, she took the opportunity to catch up on some e-mails and some diary entries before catching a bus to meet Mark.
In the meantime, Mark had started work earlier too, in an effort to still make some money, and stop early to meet Laura on the bus.
Laura caught the bus from town at roughly 5.45 (a little later as the uses were always late) and the journey was going fine until they turned onto Anzac Highway (the main road out to Glenelg from the city). As the driver began to pull out of a bus stop, the bus stalled, and much to the dismay of many of the passengers, he didn't seem to be able to start it again. There were two very loud teenagers sitting two rows behind Laura who began to shout and swear at the bus driver. Then one of them promptly got up and walked down to the bus driver to make fun of him as he tried to get the bus started.
Laura was busy getting quietly furious at the reaction of these two obnoxious men (?), but she managed to refrain from making a comment. The bus finally started again (the two boys were by this time together again in the back row), and yes, there was an immediate reaction from them in the form of applause, and sarcastic "good one mate" comments.
Laura was just about to turn around and completely show up their lack of intelligence with some comment about brain cells, when the lulling movement of the bus calmed her and she continued reading instead.
Mark got on the bus in Glenelg and was - to the idiot boys' delight - wearing his shirt inside out. Mark immediately explained to Laura why this was (he was in a hurry after changing from his sweaty collecting clothes), and yes, he knew, when the boys couldn't help but add a jeering comment. At this point Laura really wanted to get nasty, but Mark (having not met with the boys' wit before) replied very tastefully that he was starting a new fashion trend. The boys seemed satisfied with this and went back to "good on ya mate"ing and generally making fun of every other person who got onto the bus. They had thankfully just got off the bus when the exhaust pipe made a loud "blowing up" noise, but sure enough, the boys laughed and cackled from the pavement.
We eventually made it to Marion and were well-and-truly ready for some greasy food and a film. We bought tickets for Toy Story 2 and then bought some very large value meals at Hungry Jacks.
Toy Story 2 was brilliant, witty and entertaining beyond words, and it has to be high in our list of film recommendations. We then headed homewards and with no bus troubles on the journey, we were early to bed again.
Laura & Mark - 10th December 1999
Today was another of the less exciting ones. Laura went to work for a full day from 9.00 until 17.00, then got in a little internetting before her driving lesson at 18.00.
The lesson went better than was expected considering it was the end of a day at the end of a week and she hadn't had any practise for a few days.
Mark did more collecting, but it was becoming less and less interesting by the second. And what with it getting closer to Christmas, the last person people wanted to give money to was him, besides, Mark doesn't take Credit Card.
We were reunited back at the flat in time to have some dinner and enjoy each others company, and a film. We were both tired though after such busy days, and Laura wasn't going to be getting any time off this weekend. She had only reached day 4 in her 11 straight days of working, so she wanted to save her energy for the other days (and the basketball game tomorrow). Mark too would be working both days this weekend, so we were both glad of a relaxing evening, with busy evenings ahead.
Laura & Mark - 11th December 1999
We got up this morning with basketball on our minds. Today would be the first time in 6 months that we played. We had arranged with a few people from Laura's work that we would have a quick game after work and then possibly go out for a drink.
When five o'clock finally came, the results were somewhat disappointing. Mark arrived a little later than expected after a long and confusing struggle to find Laura:
Mark got on a tram after his collecting, which took him to the city by 16.55, so he sprinted to the store, only to find that the front door was already locked. He ran round the back and walked in but there was no sign of Laura in the closed store downstairs. So back to the front to see if she was waiting there. No such luck. Like a ping-pong ball back to the back of the store again he went, but this time he'd ask where she was: she'd be waiting out the front.
The next disappointment was that Ben, one of the players, could only come for an hour and a half as he had a Christmas party to go to.
Thirdly, Alisha and her boyfriend had decided not to come after all.
And finally, one of the other guys who was coming (and had the key to where we would play) hadn't actually shown up yet either.
With the increasingly small group of us united, and armed with the other guy's phone number we headed off in the direction of the cars. Sarah (Laura's friend from work) had parked her car closer than Ben's so we drove Ben to his car. As Sarah gave the missing man another call, we listened to Ben as he played us a private concert on his guitar (he plays and sings very well, and is using his Cheap as Chips money to bring out a CD). We were all very impressed and we even managed to finally get hold of the missing man and arranged to meet him there.
With a quick stop at Ben's house to pick up a basketball, we found the Mercedes College with no trouble at all. What we found when we got there though was a different story. Kym (the long sought-after man) was no-where to be seen and we munched on chocolate in the carpark while we decided what to do. After feeling very silly sitting there for so long, we decided to explore the grounds and try to find the gym. After a short search we discovered that the gym was in fact the building that we were parked straight in front of, and we knocked on a back door and were let in.
Still no sign of Kym as we studied the group of basketballers who were mucking around in the gym. We finally decided to brave the courts and went to change into some more sporty gear. We then returned to the gym where we started to play on the opposite side from the large group of guys. We played two on two and it was only a short time later that Kym finally showed up. We carried on playing for a while, but soon Ben had to go home. He was kind enough to let us use his basketball in his absence and so we played on. Joined later by Kym's friend, we played until almost 21.30 before finally calling it a day. While Mark cooled down, Sarah and Laura had a little more chocolate and then we got back in the car with her and drove off.
She took us past her flat first so that she could get some clean clothes, and while she showered quickly, we chatted to her brothers. They were very keen to share stories of Australia and listen to ours of Europe and we got on well. Then we were back in the car again, direction Glenelg. We wanted to show Sarah where we lived and to have a quick shower ourselves. Sarah was mightily impressed at our humble little home and sat happily in front of our red and green TV while we chatted and showered.
We decided that it was getting late and that the basketball had worn us out, so as Laura had to work again the next day, we thought we wouldn't make the night any longer. We did however have new confidence in our petite home and so invited her over for dinner the following Monday. She accepted and we decided to go to a film after we had eaten, so that settled, she left to go home and we went to sleep.
Laura & Mark - 12th December 1999
Sunday.
This meant nothing to us though, as the alarm woke us up rather than nature, and we were off to work, rather than play.
Laura was working from 11.00 until 17.00 which was not a very long day, but a real killer as the shop was slow on a Sunday. Mark would work about the same hours, but stopping slightly earlier in order to meet Laura in town when she finished work. In fact he had to meet her pretty soon after she finished work as she was stupid enough to forget her time sheet and it had to still be in today.
When five o'clock came and the store closed for the night, the peace was only disturbed by the welcome sign of Mark sprinting down the escalator with the time sheet.
Now that work was out of the way it was time for some of the other things that had to be done: internetting, eating, socialising.
First: food. This took the form of a hasty MacDonalds.
Second: internetting. About an hour's worth at the centre in town.
Lastly: socialising. This was a little more tricky. We were both feeling exhausted by this point, but we still wanted to go to the carol concert that we would meet Gail at. After much deliberation, we decided to beat our fatigue and go. We caught a bus to the army barracks and were just walking the wrong way to get in, when Gail drove past in the car. Retracing our steps, we found the gate to the barracks only a few metres from where we'd started (trust us not to see it and to choose the wrong direction to head in). We entered the gates and found that the concert itself was on the part of the barracks we had walked past when going the wrong way. We were finally in the right place when we were greeted by Gail, and generous offerings of a sleeping bag to sit on, nibbles to eat, and champagne to drink. We accepted all three and snuggled together to keep warm as the concert started. Gail's daughter and her boyfriend were playing in the concert as they were members of the army band (as well as a few other friends of theirs that we'd met previously).
We were given programs which had the carols to sing in them and Mark and I joined in as best we could when appropriate. During the concert, the man who ran the camp gave a speech during which the conductor of the band was presented with a promotion from captain, to major.
There were also two guest singers, a woman who sang beautifully and clearly; and a man, who sang loudly (that's about all that can be said for him). There was also a short performance by Gail's daughter, her boyfriend and two others who had their own band outside of this one, and they played some lovely Celtic music. A battalion of bag-pipers also marched through and played a few songs, and of course there was an appearance from the man of Christmas himself: Santa.
He drove up in the back of an old convertible and threw sweets for the children "zwarte piet"-style. He then read out an amusing version of the story of Goldylocks and the three bears, during which the band helped out by making sound effects.
The concert was lovely despite the chill of the night, and we were very glad that we went. Two of Gail's friends dropped us off at home, where we were glad of a warm bed and fell asleep almost immediately.