Sydney

This might be the easiest Where in the World yet. The iconic building in front of which Ethan and Siena stand was designed before the technology was developed to complete it. It was supposed to take 5 years and $4 million dollars, and ended up taking 15 years and over a $100 mill. The young Scandinavian architect got so fed up with the bureaucracy that he finally threw up his hands and left in disgust. We are told he has never returned to see his completed masterpiece. This is the Sydney Opera House.

We spend 3 fabulous days exploring this wonderful city. Sydney is very much a harbor city, and we take ferries from cove to cove. The ferry out to Manly beach was particularly exciting. The 20’ waves washed over the front, and the boat pitched and rolled. The passengers all treated it like an amusement park ride, and there were laughs and shouts as each wave hit. One gentleman, who bravely stayed on the bow deck for the entire voyage, told us that he had been coming out here his whole life and had never been drenched by the waves before today. How lucky for us, I guess… The beach at Manly was closed because of the waves, but it was a beauty anyway.

We wandered around the city, taking way too many pictures of the bridge and the Opera house. Fellow engineers might find it interesting that the two concrete pillars are there just for looks, and to instill confidence in those who cross it. It is the arch that supports the bridge.

Sydney is gorgeous in the day and truly special at night. The smell of the salt water, the gentle lapping of the waves, the ferries ferrying around, lots of people walking, the reflection of the lights in the water—just fabulous! The Australians are friendly and outgoing. We strike up conversations on the ferries, in restaurants, on the beach and in pubs. This is another place we feel perfectly at home. Kim was even asking locals questions regarding the job market, he of no job at home…

One rainy afternoon, we went bar hopping in the Rocks, the oldest section of Sydney. After several cozy places, we happened upon a new favorite bar in the world, The Lord Nelson. Having had friends and relatives recommend it to us, we were not surprised to find we liked it. The home-brewed beers were excellent. I had the Three Sheets (although I wasn’t) and Kim had the Trafalgar. Mine had a hint of citrus to its nose, almost like a weiss beer with lemon, whilst the Trafalgar was more of a bitter. We both like ours much better than the other, and finished them off quickly. They weren’t cheap—like $5.75 for a pint—but very tasty!

No Worries~!
The Beatties

Melbourne and the Blue Mountains

We bid farewell to my parents at the Melbourne airport, and are greeted by friends we made in Italy. 7 months after meeting Virginia and her two youngest children on a beach in Monterossa, Italy, we arrive in their hometown for a visit. It feels like we are still with family. We explore the beautiful city on a glorious day. Matt, the youngest, plays hooky and accompanies us on tours of Captain James Cook’s cabin (moved here from England), the old gaol (jail for those of us unfamiliar with this spelling), and the parliament building. We were in for a surprise on our jail visit. They want the experience to feel authentic, so they treated us like criminals. I’ve never been yelled at so much in my life. And, I paid to have it done. Weird, huh? The kids were deputized as assistant wardens and rather enjoyed the experience—maybe a bit too much.

From Melbourne, we traveled north to New South Wales. Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? These hills are covered with eucalyptus trees, and, we are told, when the sun shines on them, they are eerily blue. These are the Blue Mountains. They were rather gray and misty when we were there, but the vistas, when the clouds lifted, were great. The kids are standing in front of the 3 Sisters. The myth regarding them tells of a powerful sorcerer, who can change into a bird with his magic shinbone (why a shin bone????). One day, he told his daughters to stay on top of the mountain, away from the horrible ogre. The ogre charged towards them and the father didn’t have time to help, so he turned them into rock, and he was in so much of a rush to save them, that he dropped his shinbone, thus preventing him from changing himself or them back into human form. This bird, the lyrebird, is continually digging in the soil in the hopes of finding the lost shinbone and saving his family. Our hike started with 1000 steps down (no, that’s not a typo, and crickey, as Siena would say, were my quads sore the next few days). We opted not to climb back up, back took the steepest railway in the world, an astonishing 52 degree incline. The seats were reclined like dentists’ chairs, but when we were going up, we still felt as though we were going to fall off forward. Here is how it looks from the top. We almost get back to the car before the skies open up.

Cheers to you and yours!
The Beatties

G'Day to Ya!

“G’day Mates! A cracker of a day (pronounced “die”), aint it? Crikey it’s been coming down in buckets the past few days. The weather has been absolutely shocking down in Tassie. Although no surprises there, since the weather there is always just ordinary. It got so frosty one night that I needed to put on a jumper. When we get a lovelie day like today we like go to a bonza beach. So put on your cosies and your thongs, and don’t forget to take your sunnies along! If you are running late, no worries. Remember to bring some tucker to throw on the Barbie. We’ll pick up some chips and crisps. We can have lollies or biscuits for dessert. There’s footy on the telly for the blokes and brollies for those fair skinned Sheilas! Good on ya. ”

Does this sound like English to you? It’s English all right, but not the English we speak back home in the US. This is Aussie English, and I need a translator for some of it. Here’s my translation of the first paragraph:

Hello, Friends! It’s a very nice day, isn’t it? Wow, it has been pouring recently. The weather has been terrible down in Tasmania. The weather there is usually bad. It got so cold one night, I needed to put on a sweater. When we get a nice day like today, we go to a nice beach. So, put on your bathing suit and your flip flops, and don’t forget your sunglasses. If you are running late, no problem. Remember to bring some food to throw on the grill. We’ll pick up some French Fries and potato chips. We can have candy or cookies for dessert. Aussie rules football will be on the television and I’ll have umbrellas for the fair skinned women! Have a nice day!

We haven’t gotten all the lingo down, but Ethan used “mince” instead of ground beef the other day and I’ve started to call my mother “Mum”.

Hooroo! (Goodbye)

Siena

South of Down Under

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? If Australia is Down Under, we’ve just fallen off the bottom of the world. We take an overnight ferry south out of Melbourne. We wish the boat would either go slower, or leave later, but, as it is, we arrive at a bit before 7 a.m. Siena certainly doesn’t think this is a reasonable time, but it does give us the whole day to explore. We are now in the smallest of Australia’s 7 states. This island was first populated by convicts from England. The prisons there were over crowded, and the crown needed somewhere to put the dangerous criminals who might have stolen a loaf of bread, or arrived late to work. England had previously exported their convicts to the American Colonies, but after 1776 we were unwilling to accept them. And thus, England turned to the New New World and sent them here. While Australia’s mainland saw many convicts transported to their shores, this state had the repeat offenders sent here. Today, it is better known for the elusive, nocturnal, carnivorous marsupial: The Tasmanian Devil. This is Tasmania. Ethan and Siena are sitting overlooking Wineglass Bay. This beach frequently makes it on lists of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I’m not sure how anyone can decide which beach is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, but I’d like the job of visiting and ranking them myself. And, we certainly agree that this is near the top of our list.

We find the animals here very tame. Evidently, the wallabies liked the salt on Siena’s hands. We never saw any Tasmanian Devils; wallabies were as common a sight as squirrels at home. We hated seeing them dead on the road, but it was testament to how overpopulated their numbers have become to have cars hitting them so frequently.

We visited some beautiful parks, with majestic mountains, pristine rivers, pounding surf, and the cleanest air in the world this side of Antarctica, it’s only neighbor to the south. Cradle Mountain provided spectacular vistas and was perfectly mirrored in Dove Lake, doubling its beauty.

The day we were going to go on a boat tour there were 25 foot swells. Although it prevented us from going out, it gave us amazing views of the surf pounding against the waves. We felt the spray on our faces although we were 350 feet above the sea by the southernmost lighthouse in Australia. The wind was so strong at the top, we literally had to fight to stay in place. Holding the camera still was even harder!

We continued our streak of seeing at least one rainbow every day during my parents’ time with us. The optimistic viewpoint is, “How wonderful to see a rainbow every day.” More realistically perhaps, it means it rained every day as well. However, the rain always timed itself to allow our walks to be dry, and we were able to keep our sunny outlook despite some inclement weather.

The seafood on Tassie was especially noteworthy. Great fish like barramundi and the blue gurnard (sp?), Tassie oysters served on the half shell and fresh mussels made the majority of our diet here. Unfortunately, as all liquor had to be shipped, the booze and wine were very expensive. Luckily, the local brew, Cascade Draught, was good. Interestingly enough “draught” is part of the name, and does not refer to it being on tap. My father, trying in vain to get a lager on draught, was unable to convey his desire to the barmaid. It was a fabulous conversation to listen to. She evidently thought he was a bit dim to be requesting such a thing, and my father thought the same of her for failing to know what a draft beer is, after all she was the barmaid. They went back and forth several times before Kim and my laughing put an end to the circular reasoning. Another rather curious fact about Cascade: It has a tiger on its label. The last Tasmanian Tiger died in captivity about 70 years ago.

Between the wind and the beers, Tassie was a drafty place!
The Beattie Clan + the Fischl Duo

Ethan Plays Around the World

You wouldn’t think there would be much opportunity to play while traveling with only your parents and a sister, but there has been lots. I’ve played with many different people in many different places on this trip around the world. My family has been for almost 11 months, and I've played with kids and adults in most of the 32 countries we've visited. It has been in some unlikely places.

In Egypt, we were waiting at a bus station for a bus to Hurghada, a town on the Red Sea. The bus station was in the middle of no place. It was almost completely empty, and the parking lot was just dirt, not paved. My father and I decided to play Frisbee. An Egyptian boy was watching with interest. My father threw the Frisbee to the boy. He did not catch it, but he picked it up and looked at it. Then, he threw it to me. It wasn’t a bad throw but it was clear he had never thrown one before. The Frisbee went to my father and then onto the boy again. This time my father showed him how to throw it properly. The next time he threw it to me it was a perfect throw. Soon, my father stopped playing; the Egyptian boy and I played until the bus arrived. When we got on the bus, I saw him pull out the lid of a plastic container from behind a shelf. He threw it to his friend. It did not work as well as a real Frisbee, but it wasn’t bad. They may still be playing Frisbee today.

The next time I played with children was in Zanzibar, Tanzania. We were at a beach and there were a lot of people standing in the water. We were the only foreigners there; everybody else was a native Zanzibarian. Again I started first playing Frisbee with my family until I could see everyone was interested in this flying disc. We threw it to one man, who laughed, and threw it back. I was standing on land and would throw the Frisbee into the water and everybody would dive for it. Once somebody had the Frisbee, they would throw it back to me. There was another boy, about my age, on the beach with me who was trying to catch the Frisbee, too. He was fast and agile. We joked he could be in the NFL. I caught some of the throws, but I would say he caught most of them. I was only guaranteed to catch the ones that were on an angle because he was ready for the Frisbee to drop straight down but I, because I had played more, knew it would curve, and positioned myself so that it glided back to me.

One day when we were in Myanmar we walked past a field where school kids were at recess. I gestured that I would like to play soccer with them. They nodded yes; I had a big advantage. I did not have flip-flops on and I wasn’t wearing a longee (a skirt). The other kids on the other team was teasing me by passing the ball back and forth between each other and making me run like a mad man. After a while I finally got the ball and almost scored, but I didn’t because of a stupid rock in the middle of the goal. After that, recess was over so everybody went back into the school.

In India, I played cricket with a couple children on the street in the front of our hotel. The street was cobblestone and very narrow. A small car could barely fit through. Because of this, cars were infrequent, but a lot of motorcycles raced around the blind corner at the end of the block. Not only did we have to jump out of the way of the motorcycles, but, we also had to avoid the ditches of sewage on the sides and the cows standing in the way. The smells were odiferous. I would bowl the ball, then run and catch the ball and dodge the cows on the way. I had to wash my hands well after playing, because the ball landed in the cow manure and the sewage ditch a few times during our game.

Sometimes, it doens't matter so much about the game itself, but the view is so memorable. In Thailand, I asked if I could join a game, in English this time. All the people playing worked in the hotels and restaurants, so they all spoke English. They played every evening, at low tide, when they got off work. The time frame was very strictly limited. If it got dark, or the tide came in, the game was over. Most of the players weren't Thai, they were Burmese (from Myanmar). They were working in Thailand because they were refugees from Myanmar.

Another amazing setting for a game, was playing on the cricket grounds in the middle of Singapore. The cricket grounds in Singapore was a regular sized cricket pitch right in the middle of the "big" city. It was surrounded by skyscrapers. I again asked if I could play in English because everbody in Singapore speaks English. It was only a man playing with his son at first. When I joined, we played two on one, both of us kids against the dad. Then, another boy came and joined us. It was never a full game, just two on two, but it was an unbelievable time.

It has been great playing with people around the world. I’ve played in many countries and many continents. I've made friends, and had lots of laughs. It was interesting to watch how people react to playing with a foreigner. Most of them laughed and giggled at me when I asked. After I asked, it has been so much fun.

Australia

A relatively short flight on a good airline (food, reclining seats, free booze), takes us to Australia. We are a bit concerned with being a bit let down by this country as it has the disadvantage of following our absolute favorite New Zealand, but, there is no disappointment from the first day.

New Zealand has no native land mammals. While we loved seeing the sheep and cows, it wasn’t thrilling. Within the first two days in Australia, we see kangaroos, koalas, and kookaberra birds. Remember the song, “ kookaberra sits in the old gum tree-ee, eating all the gum drops he can see-ee.” Apparently, the eucalyptus tree is a gum tree. The koalas eat the leaves and the kookaberras eat the berries.

One morning, we had a mob (group of kangaroos) of over 30 ‘roos grazing on the grass in our backyard. There were three nursing sheilas (females), and it was wild to see the joeys (babies) burrow their heads into mothers’ pouches for some milk. You can’t believe how wonderful it is to watch them hop. 100 + pound adults can bound over 6 foot fences without any apparent effort. It isn’t silent, either. There is a distinct “thud” on landing.

The koalas are cute, but boring in comparison. They sit in the eucalyptus trees and slowly munching on the leaves. If you enjoy watching paint dry, koalas are your kind of animal. Actually, we did see one move. It reached out for another branch, and languidly moved onto it. Then, it sat back down and started eating again. In total, we saw 6 koalas.

The bird life was beautiful and much more active. The brightly colored parrots dive-bombed us when we were trying to take pictures of the koalas. In fact, I was startled when one landed on my hand holding the camera. It was impossible to get a picture of that, but I was able to get one of my mother in another moment!

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? Along the southern coast of Victoria (a state in the south east of Australia), there is a spectacular drive. There are steep cliffs, going straight down into the water, wide sweeps of beach, and huge waves crashing onto shore. We stop at Bell’s Beach, home of a surfing world championship, and watch the surfers. It is wild to see them cut into the curl of the wave, and back out. Sometimes, they would catch a wave perfectly and we would watch them come out of the tunnel formed by the breaking huge wave. Further along this gorgeous road, there are numerous sandstone rock stacks standing in the surf. The most famous of the formations is the Twelve Apostles. As the name indicates, there used to be 12 stacks or towers just off shore; now there are only 10 as the other two became undercut by the persistent waves, and toppled over. We see a huge arch, in front of which the kids are standing, and look at pictures of when there used to be a second arch connecting the now island to the coast. 10 years ago, this bigger arch collapsed. We learn that the sandstone is eroding at a rate of 5 centimeters a year. How much longer will some of these amazing structures remain standing? This is The Great Ocean Road, and it is great!

The Aussies are famous for and proud of their beer. And they should be. The beer here is wonderful. We’ve tried several different types from local microbreweries. Each is quite distinct. We particularly liked one which was brewed at a vineyard. It actually had the same sort of bouquet as a white wine. The prices aren’t so good, though. Even at a package store, the prices are over $2 Australian ( $1.50 USD). The wines are fabulous, and relatively less expensive. We prefer the big reds, and they produce great Shiraz, and Cabernet blends here. The local cuisine is a combination of fresh seafood and English pub-type fare. Lots of pies, delicious fish and chips, great mussels and scallops--rich food. Luckily, we can wash it down with the wine!

G’Day to ya, Mates!

The Beatties

The North of the North

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? Although New Zealand is roughly the size Colorado, it is long and thin. The North Island is over 800 kilometers long, and the roads hug the coasts, snaking around bays and hair-pinning their way up and down mountains, making the drive almost double in length. It is too far to go to the end without a very long drive: at least 3 hours each way from where we are in the Bay of Islands, more time than we are willing to spend in the car. Our dilemma of wanting to see the entire island and the reality that we don’t have the time is unexpectedly solved. We have an especially special day when my parents splurge on a surprise for us. We go by single engine plane up the peninsula that juts furthest north on the north island of New Zealand. This is a holy site for the Maori, where the souls of the dying leave the earth. The tree on the right side of the rock is supposed to be 800 years old, and the individual, aware of their imminent departure, sit underneath the tree, sliding into the ocean when their time has come. The kids are standing on Cape Rienga. If you look behind them, you can see the waves from the Pacific angling in from the right meeting the waves from the Tasman Sea on the left. It is a spectacularly beautiful spot, not to mention the plane rides in both directions on a magnificent day.

There are 250-meter tall beautiful sand dunes near the Cape. They change dramatically, even from day to day. To reach the dunes, we ride in a 4 X 4 bus through a riverbed. The river is flowing and our driver warns us he cannot slow down, and absolutely not stop as the base of the river is quick sand. After brief inactivity, the bus will be stuck. In 4 hours, the vehicle will vanish from sight, reappearing in 6 years on the adjacent beach. We are shown pictures of a car that has recently emerged on the beach. With only 2 months left on the trip, we can’t wait that long. But our driver drives like the wind through the creek so it is not to get “quicksanded”(a new verb) We are thrilled to go sledding on the steep sand dunes, straight down the fall line. As we see the river rapidly approaching, we dig are hands in the sand to slow our descent so as to prevent our entering the water. Kim, ever pushing the boundaries, gets his feet wet. The river used to be the main “road” connecting this area with the rest of the island. It still has a state road designation!

The west side of the long cape is lined with a wide beach. Stretching for 64 miles, the Kiwis have wisely named it the 90 mile beach. We are told that Australia has a 90 mile beach, so New Zealand needed one, too, to keep up with the Joneses, I guess. We watch tour buses driving on the beach, right at the water’s edge. Fishing here is excellent, but hazardous. Many people have been swept out to sea by the unpredictable waves. The strong riptide and large number of great white sharks makes getting out difficult. We are glad to be looking at this gorgeous beach from 1000’.

We’ve had a marvelous time in this beautiful country with friendly people. I think if it weren’t so far from our families we would seriously consider moving here some day. In fact, Siena teased Kim that we were lucky there were no houses with for sale signs in one town he particularly fell in love with.

A last note on the food here: the seafood and the lamb are excellent, the rest is very British. If you like pies (meat, sausage, shepherd's, etc), and fish and chips, the food is great. If not, come for the scenery, not the food!

Cheers, with the wonderful reds they make in Hawke’s Bay!
The Beattie Clan

New Zealand

It has been 4 months since we had any fellow travelers. We are thrilled to greet my mother who is joining us for this leg of the trip. What a surprise to see my father walk off the plane as well! The kids are in heaven, and we all realize how much we miss our family and friends. Our trip is 10 months over, with only 2 more remaining. It hardly seems possible that we will soon be returning to our home, school and job(s?).

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? All of New Zealand we’ve visited so far has been glacial. This portion is volcanic, and man is it volcanic! The kids are standing in front of a geyser, which was spewing boiling water 60 feet in the air as we stood gaping, and breathing through our mouths. It smells vaguely like rotten eggs here in Rotorua. They are on the North Island of New Zealand. Auckland, the largest city in the country, with almost ½ of the national population, is built on 48 volcanoes. Not all of these are extinct, which makes you wonder about the sense of living here. The insurance exposure here makes New Orleans seem like a safe investment by comparison. We are continually reminded that we are on a fault line between the Australian and Asian plates, with New Zealand sitting along the huge arc known as the Ring of Fire, encircling most of the Pacific with volcanoes and earthquake prone regions. Evidently, the two plates are moving quite a bit now, as there have been several minor tremors since our arrival.

We see more evidence of geothermal activity on the east coast. Hot springs are very close to the surface. At low tide on this one beach, we are able to dig a shallow hole and luxuriate in our own hot tub. We needed to choose carefully: many places were so hot the water was scalding. Even in our fabulous spot, we couldn’t dig our hands into the sand without withdrawing them quickly. The phenomenon is only accessible an hour on either side of low tide, and, despite the isolated locale, a large crowd, mostly backpackers, has gathered to experience this. Can you see me and Siena on the left edge of the picture? The scene may look orgy-esque, but it is a really friendly, laid back vibe, and we feel right at home, despite being older (Kim and I) and younger (Siena) than anyone else there…Ethan has opted to stay at the house with my parents rather than join us on this adventure.

We had thought that the South Island was the spectacular, and had not heard much about the beauty of the North, but this area is beautiful. Some of the landscape looked eerily familiar. We are pretty sure Castle Rock Entertainment’s logo was filmed here on this stretch of coastline.

This beautiful river gorge was the home of the elves, Rivendale, in the Lord of the Rings movies. The entirety of the trilogy was filmed here, and the countryside looks just like the Shire. We hear all the locals with chubby cheeks were enlisted as hobbits for the movie. We keep our shoes on (hobbits go barefoot), but raise our pints to say-

Cheers to you, mates!
The Beatties