Hutt River Trip

Its a little known "fact" that Australia isn't an island nation. There is a 75 sq km around 6 hours drive north of Perth that seceded from the rest of Australia 40 years ago due to an argument over wheat allowances. While the Australian government doesn't legally acknowledge the Hutt River Principality, it doesn't do much about it either!

In 1969 the Western Australian Government imposed quotas on the production of wheat. Farmers across the state had tough limits imposed on what they could produce, but some suffered more than others under the policy.

Leonard Casley, a farmer near Northampton, was restricted to 1647 bushels for the year. This miniscule production would be insufficient to pay even the interest, let alone provide income for his family. Not happy with the situation, he appealed to the government but that fell on deaf ears.

Leonard, his wife Shirley and their seven children enacted upon an antiquated law left over from the feudal system of England. The law of "Unjust Enrichment" enabled them to lay claim to government land surrounding his farm which would in turn increase his quota to a level high enough to make a decent living.

He succeeded in taking the land from the government, who in return rushed through a bill to allow them to resume any rural lands. Common Law was again called up, this time allowing the Casley family to form a "self-preservation government" and claim independence from the state of Western Australia and the nation of Australia, and their 7487 hectare property officially became Hutt River Province. It is the same size as Hong Kong and runs 8000 head of sheep and grows 5000 acres of crops.{source}

We have driven past the Principality, but never had time to make the detour:

But a friend is soon to be leaving Australia, and Hutt River was on his bucket list, so off we went!

Its a great drive up there. Long... but very pretty.

With lots of great places to stop off for a bite to eat and leg-stretch!

We camped at Port Denison for a night. Camping in a busy site with an excitable doggie is an interesting experience, but he handled it very well.

This was the sunset we were treated to. There was a cyclone of the coast, so it was windy and sometimes rainy, but it made for some nice photo opportunities.

Hutt River itself is a long drive down a straight, dusty and boring dirt road.

But someone didn't mind!

On arrival we got our visas and were told some of the history of the principality by Prince Leonard himself. Nixon kept barking at him though :S We warned him that if he didn't behave he would get his visa taken away and he'd have to wait for us outside the gates! We were joined by other friends who had made the trip in one day, and the best bit was that we had the whole camp site to ourselves to enjoy a beer and a catch up in the company of kangaroos and bush peacefulness. And for $5 a night (Plus the $2 entry visa, of course... cab't cross international boarders without a visa!

Busselton

Spur of the moment weekend trip to Busselton!

They have the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere- almost 2km long!

At the end is an underwater observatory, with windows out to see the exceptional sea life that lives in the warm currents of Geographe bay.

There was lots of good food, a new brewery to visit, and a spa bath :D

Best fish!

Fish, as seen from the surface at the end of the jetty.

Simmos Icecream

We went for a walk around Cape Naturaliste on the sunday morning

Built up an appetite for more good food and beer!

Crazy windswept hair, and a good chocolate stout :D

Back from Italy... moderately successful MMM

Well, its hard to keep up the me-made-ness when you've mostly made quite formal and fitted clothes then have to go hiking for a week! I went to tghe Piedmont region of Italy for 6 days. 2 days there, 5 real field days, 2 days back. Awesome, huh! The food was amazing- I ate soo much because everything was so yummy, and because I was with mostly Italians it was easier to find out what was good and/or a local speciality. I need to work on my Italian for when I'm there on my own!

But all in all it was a good introduction to my phd!

I took a few me made things with me; I didn't manage to get photos of everything, and the photos I did get are hurried, generally with wet hair :) I did sleep in my dino pyjamas every night, if that counts?!

See that jumper? Would you believe me if I said it was from ikea? ;)

The weather was variable!

Sunny...

Rainy...

Snowy...

But there were views that definitely made up for it!

All topped off with Gelato by the lake on the way back to the airport!

It was a long way to go for 6 days, but we had a great time. 

I'm nearly over the jet lag I think, though it took a few days.

I'm alive!

But still super busy.

Cairns was amazing! And it was really good to catch up with my best friend again after these long 3 years. Even if I would have seen her in 3 weeks anyway.

I went to my first ever wedding!
SO that was insiteful. At least I know what I'm in for now.

And now I'm posting from my slow satelite internet out bush... roughly -22 S and 120 the other one, if anyone knows Lat/Long.
Drill rig is going big guns, then followup work and cooking leaves little time for typing, even if the internet was better.

Hold out til monday!

So busy!

So busy!


Do you ever feel like the world is spinning really fast under your feet, but youre never quite touching the floor?!


I was out bush all last week on a Heritage survey. It went surprisingly well actually, apart from them not turning up on the day they were supposed to.


Off to Cairns tonight to catch up with one of my best friends from home, so spent today and last night getting some of the stuff I should be doing sorted. It should be a good few days though.


Ran 17km this morning.
Still 4 months til the City to Surf.
Maybe I'll do the marathon...

Eyjafjallajökull

Thats the big volcano thats erupting in Iceland at present, and causing such chaos around the world.
How could a Geologist not write about it!

So, according to Wikipedia, this volcano has been active on and off for the last thousand years, but this event started rumbling in 2009, with the first eruption on the 20th March 2010. That one just cause 500 people problems. When it erupted again on the 14th April, the amount of ash it has thrown up into the atmosphere has grounded planes all over europe, backing up air passengers all over the world. And suddenly the world has realised just how reliant we have become on air travel! (image is the ash cloud on  17th April 2010)

So, whats actually going on?

Well. We all know about volcanoes, right? Rock, so hot that its not solid any more, works its way to the surface because its less dense than its surroundings, and escapes at the top. Kind of like the way oil sits on water.

Now sometimes this is a nice smooth process. It all depends on the chemistry of the rocks. But places like Hawaii have really runny lava that erupts nice and easily, whereas volcanoes like Mt Etna, in Italy, have very sticky, thick, only just about liquid lava which doesn't escape as easily. As this kind of lava gets to the surface, all the gasses in it expand due to the drop in pressure at the surface. And BANG! It blows the lava to pieces and results in very explosive eruptions.

Now, the Iceland volcano is different again. Icelandic lava is pretty runny in general, but in this case the volcano is erupting under a glacier.

Hot lava + cold ice = water = explosions

Why? Ever made the very dangerous mistake of throwing water onto burning oil? It doesn't end well. The water flashes to steam and expands explosively, taking the burning oil with it and causing horrific fire balls (see picture!)

The same happens to the lava- when the molten ice mixes with the molten rock, the rock freezes instantly into a "glass"[i.e. solidifies so quickly its atoms can't get into a set structure kind of like with glass] and the ice flashes explosively to steam, explosively dispersing tiny little fragments of glass into the upper atmosphere.

Which then gets into plane engines and stops them from working and risks the plane dropping out of the sky.

What I find really amusing is that people are talking it personally, and expecting the government to drop everything and get them to where they need to be. It’s a

n.a.t.u.r.a.l.d.i.s.a.s.t.e.r. 

also known as an 

Act of God. 

Its no ones fault! No one can fix it or make it go away any faster. The volcano isn’t out to make your life harder. Its just doing what it does! Its costing the economy a huge ammount, they inevitably means its costing lots of people lots of money. But hey! You're stuck on holiday. Things could be worse.

I know, its not currently affecting me personally, but it might. Last time it erupted, it went on for two years. Hopefully it will boil off all the water and then hopefully the explosivity of the eruption will drop. But I've read a few reports of a "more sticky" lava coming up, so we'll see.
I'm flying home on the 3rd June. So fingers crossed it'll have died down by then. But if it hasn't, I don't expect the government to sail a ship over here to get me home.

Oh, and fingers crossed for Al- his ultra marathon is due to finish 3km from the volcano. Fingers crossed all his training won't go to waste!

Penguins!

Phillip Island was my favourite day of "Melbourne".

We went on a day tour with Go West down to Phillip Island, mainly to see the Fairy Penguins which return to the beach every evening.

The day started off at the Australian Garden in Cranbourne.  Not the most amazing place ever, especially since it was mainly a building site (for phase 2) and none of the water features were working. Which was a shame since part of it was meant to show the difference the presence of water makes to the plants... It would probably be of interest of keen gardener types who havn't seen much of Australia.

Then on down to Phillip Island, to the Chocolate Factory.
Now, officially I've given up chocolate for lent. That didn't last long! I fell at the first hurdle, as we walked in they handed us a truffle and I failed. It was a planned fail, so it doesn't count, right?
Its an AMAZING place! Think Willie Wonka. Ever wondered what a solid tonne of chocolate looks like? Ever seen 4 tonnes of liquid chocolate-fall? What about a giant mosaic of Dame Edna made out of truffles?

Then there were koalas...

And pretty rock formations...

Oh, and there was a snake too.

But mainly then there were PENGUINS!
We sat there in the freezing cold (for me...) in my many layers with millions of Asian tourists wearing even more layers, just waiting for the sun to go down so it was dark enough for the Little Penguins to dare come out.
But when they did it was amazing! We sat there, scanning the waterline for the little blobs.
Is that one?!

No, its a rock.

What about that?

Nah, seaweed.

That?!

Its the same rock, Ellen.

Oh.

Theres one!

And another, wow! Theres loads!

Want one!

That was pretty much how it went. 

As soon as there was one on the beach there were many, and they'd all group together, sometimes dropping back into the surf, sometimes just standing around, then eventually they'd make a dash for their homes back in the dunes. After a while, we went back from the main viewing area and watched them waddling around from the board walks. Totally amazing.

Some Fairy Penguin facts from the Penguin Foundation:

Little Penguins are amazing creatures that defy many laws of nature, let alone physics to swim, dive and live the way they do. We are proud to look after them and manage their habitat that enables many people from all over the world enjoy their incredible lives.
Did you know that ?

• The penguins at Phillip Island are the smallest of 17 species of penguins in the world (they are only 33cm tall) … their largest Antarctic cousin is the Emperor Penguin, standing up to 130 cm tall.
• Penguins are found only in the southern hemisphere; so you will never see a penguin and Polar Bear together in the wild!
• The name `Little Penguin` is now used instead of `Fairy Penguin` as it is a more accurate translation of their scientific name, Eudyptula minor.

Better in the water than Ian Thorpe !

• Penguins may swim 15 - 20 kilometres a day searching for small fish to eat. One penguin was recorded travelling 100 kilometres in one day!
• A Little Penguin has been recorded diving to 65 metres!
• A Little Penguin can actually sleep at sea, dozing as it floats on the surface.
• A Little Penguin can stay at sea for weeks, diving for fish, yet its waterproof feathers keep its skin absolutely dry.

The dangerous lives of Little Penguins

• Natural hazards for penguins are sharks, birds of prey, rough weather and fish shortages.
• Sadly, a penguin`s biggest danger is humans. They die from our plastic rubbish, oil spills at sea and on land from cars and introduced animals such as foxes, cats and dogs.
• A fox may kill as many as 30 or 40 penguins in one night. The fox is the penguins` main predator and keeps our rangers busy protecting the penguins.
• The Little Penguin`s dark feathers are not black like other penguins. They are a deep, rich blue. Their colour camouflages them from above and below the surface of the ocean.

I whole heartedly recommend going to see these little cuties.

If thats not possible, or you want to help more, why not adopt one?

Hitting the Streets

I figured instead of a true time-line I'd just group my thoughts on Melbourne together by activity.
Today being the general sights.

First thing that struck me was how uninspiring the skyline is. Maybe just because I'm so attached to Perth... I just expected more...

Then there are the trams. Remember to keep an eye out, they're not all as striking as the tourist ones! The tourist one was a good idea... free to jump on and off, bit of a commentry to let you know where you are and whats around. Its on the quiet side though, presumably to least annoy the regular people, but that menat if you were going over bumps or the traffic was bad the speach was lost beneather the rest of the noise.

I loved all the little alleyways and arcades. Some lovely architecture still hanging around, and some crazy shopping. Will definately go back without the boy in tow and really hit the shops. I just snuck in some early mornings and late afternoons around our plans.

I was really looking forward to the QV Markets, but I was underwelmed. The meat looked really good, and the deli section too. I bought some sausages (cornish, and mango!) for us to have for breakfast, and some bread and cheeses and fruit for lunch on the day trip, but otherwise was quite restrained.
The rest of the markets we just tat though. Not what I was expecting at all. The sunday markets at the Arts Centre and out at St Kilda were heaps better. Spent lots of money there, on pressed flower art and jewelry, wood stuff and the like.

I did like the old Baths just up the road though. Very cool brick work. 

And the old factory in the shopping centre. Very cool!

Federation Square was also funky. I like the patterns and the tickers built into the walls (in our case warning people that while most things were still open the storms had caused some damage so watch out). Its good having an open area with good facilities and transport links that can be used for events. The modern Village Green!

 

 Oh, and the fire show outside of the Crown Casino! We'd been told it existed, but didnt know much about it. From the way I'd been told I expected fire jugglers and things, not massive flame throwers! We were sitting having a drink in Federation Square when the sky lit up. So obviously we had to go search out teh source. The Boy loved it. I swear I felt the heat on the opposite side of the river, I dread to think what it would be like underneath!

We went into the Casino while waiting for more fire. My money started to burn a hole in my purse. I've never done more than played on the Pokies, so decided that I would get $10 (big spender!) worth of chips and play on the Roulette. Cards aren't my thing, but randomly putting chips on a table seemed easy enough.

There were a nice couple already on the table, so we joined with them. I put the chips in the wrong spot to start with... I don't know what the couple made of us! So I looked at the boy, he said "half 21/28" so I did. And it was 21. So 17 to 1 on our first chip. $2.50 x 17 = a good return! I took out my original $10 and we played a couple more chips, but then cashed it in because we wanted to go watch the fire. We ended up about 350% on the house. No complaints from here! I can see how it can become addictive, but we stood and watched two guys lose a lot of money in a couple of minutes... one lost $100 in literally 10 seconds, the other lost $500 in 10 minutes. But then, I guess that makes the highs even higher... I liked all the signs, like "what are you really gambling with?"

Snake handlers course this afternoon.

Scared but excited!

Melbourne Travels...

Back from Melbourne!

Apart from the lovely people losing our bag somewhere between Perth and Melbourne, and ripping it once they did finally get it back to us the following afternoon, we had a great time.

We flew out of Perth on Tueday afternoon, a bit of a last minute dash... Getting complacent from flying so often! We turned up with 10 minutes to spare for close of luggage check-in, which would have been fine apart from the whole of the WA SES were heading over to Victoria to help with the flood clean up, and they had a lots of gear to check! They've re-modelled the airport too, so the Boy and I circled for a while trying to find security... straight through security (and explosives check, as usual!) and on to the plane. 

Qantas served us up some food then turned out the lights for a showing of Up in the Air. Seems like a pretty good film, nice balance of chic flick and not so chick-flick.  The Boy was rather angry with them for showing an episode of something (2 1/2 men maybe?) before, so the captain talked over the key moment of the film to announce the local time, weather, blah blah, then turned it off with minutes to go. So now we'll probably never know if the lovely George turns his life around or not!

After standing at the carousel for that bit too long, with the growning feeling of "oh oh" in both our stomachs, we reported our bag as missing and grabbed a cab into the city, hoping the bag would turn up and planning what we could say was in it if not ;) We both had our nice clothes in it (my only pair of heels, his only pair of shoes, my pretty new dress) and weren't really relishing the idea of spending fun Melbourne shopping time on boring restocking of existant clothes...

Got to the hotel (Oaks on Lonsdale) and got our lovely room - 1 bed apartment on the 29th floor with a wrap around balcony and view out over the Cathedral, parliment and suburbs.

And crashed into our lovely massive bed, to prepare for full on days of shopping, penguins, cupcakes and luggage chasing.