Whittoons

Intent on Stalking the Wild Platypus, we landed in Hobart and mapped out our expedition.  We only had a few days to explore the wilds of Tasmania…and the towns too.

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Michele took a flight to spot the Wiley Platypus.  The Hobart information center gave us some leads and we were off.

A cross country trek brought us to Latrobe. By the looks of it, this place was the heart of platypus land.

Or at least the heart of promotion for platypus country.

Yet after a long walk along the nearby river and around Platypus Pond, no creatures appeared.  After a flood in 2011 and again in 2016, the walkways got wiped out…and I suspect so did much of the platypus population.

We did find some fine local chocolates with a platypus image molded on to the surface.  That would have to do for now.

So we returned to Hobart, a three hour drive past hundreds and hundreds of sheep, one windmill and the Bagdad Cafe.

On the advice of locals, we rose early for our next attempt.  We drove to Richardson to a site sure to reveal the platypus at 6:30 in the morning.

It was a haven for ducks…but not a platypus to be seen.  Michele asked an older gentleman walking his dog if he had seen any and he said, “Never, only eels.” SO we headed to the local cafe to commiserate.

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary offered some close up and personal contact with local wildlife so we made do with Tasmanian Devils, Frogmouths, and kangaroos.

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The sanctuary kangaroos are an indulged lot.  All visitors walk around with a bags of grain and those Roos that are not sleeping in the sun (or shade) may hop over to you in slow motion and nibble from your hand.

Our last chance to sight a platypus might be the Mt Field National Park.  Before heading into the park we took a side trip up to Lake Pedder, part of a four lake  and two dam hydroelectric complex.

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This higher country landscape looked like the Alaska tundra and barren except near the forest hugging the shore.  A large burn added to the sense of remote desolation.

Finally we made it to Mt Field and an easy hike up the the falls.

As the crepuscular light touched the forest, we sat near a stream close to the park picnic area and waited.  And what should appear for five seconds but a real, wild platypus!  A brief glimpse, that unfortunately Michele missed, but a sighting none the less.

Melbourne does not suffer from crane envy.  It has almost as many as Seattle.  The City appears to be booming and those from Melbourne are very proud of their city.  At the Ningaloo Park site where we spent two nights, Melbourne guests kept dissing Perth every time we mentioned the place.   Most Aussies are descendants of convicts so I am not sure why the disrespect for fellow citizens since all are from the stock or stockade as the case may be.

Now one thing in Melbourne’s favor is that they seem to have preserved some of the old architecture as they have built up like crazy.

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Across from the station, we entered the Ian Potter NGV to view two shows of photography by women- Petrina Hicks: Bleached Gothic show and Olympia: Photographs by Polixeni Papatetrou.

Petrina Hicks

Petrina Hicks

Polixeni Papapetroui

Polixeni Papapetrou

Olympia, the daughter of the late Polixeni Papapetrou, and the model in the two photographs above, was present for the first day of the show.   We noticed a certain fixation on the Alice In Wonderland story by several modern Australian artists.  Maybe, being Down Under in the land of marsupials and prehistoric birds, people feel they are often down the rabbit hole surrounded by Stranger Things.

Among the work by indigenous artists, it was notable that several artists were seeing the world differently and using new medium of neon and graffiti:

Brook Andrew: Buuga-Buuga

Redo Rennie: Initiation

[Brook Andrew: Buuga-Buuga, and Reko Rennie: Initiation]

Across the river and we had just enough time for a visit to NGV International for the Terra-cotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality, Cali Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape exhibit:

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Throughout the Terra-cotta Warriors exhibit, Cali Guo-Qiang has suspended 10,000 porcelain birds portraying the calligraphic drawing of the sacred Mount Li, the site of the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuang, and his terracotta warriors.

We missed the KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness show, but below is an example of Brian Donnelly’s work in the main hall.  Comic Pieta maybe?

Meals in Melbourne were in two very different worlds also: Chin Chin for lunch and Entrecôte for dinner:

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A gentleman at the next table at Entrecôte cut his hand on a broken wine glass, and I pulled out a bandaid from one of my many jacket pockets and came to the rescue.  The second time having a bandaid was of assistance. (Last time was on the light rail from Adelaide to Largs and a teen cut his hand.)  The Boy Scout in me survives…even though I never achieved Eagle status.

You land at an Aussie Air Force base when heading to Ningaloo National Park.  No photos permitted. Originally it was an American base when the US found it had a gap in its submarine communication system.  So they built transmission towers taller than the Empire State Building in a grid at the end of the remote, desolate desert peninsula.  American cars were imported, and everyone drove on the right side of the road. And a town rose up in Exmouth and eventually the Aussies took over…and returned to driving on the left side of the road.

After getting the keys to our rental Toyota Corolla, we found ourselves to be the last in the airport. It was deserted. Just a little creepy.  We headed north to Exmouth with a vast blue bay to the east and to the west, – rough hewn hills warn down over eons.

Breakfast was at the Social Society Cafe where they served everything vegetarian…and sold vegan dog food.  You can hear the dingos laughing like hyenas over that.  Actually there are warning signs about dingos up here though we did not heard any yipes in the night.

Past the tip of the peninsula, we could see the turquoise water to the west in brief glimpses through the low dunes along the coast.

[Note the submarine communication towers in the photo off to the right.]

Just arriving at our “camping” destination Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef, and like magic a humpback breached just past the reef.   A nice orientation.

Our stay was brief but we managed to snorkel twice, drifting with the current just off the beach over coral and multiple varieties of colorful fish.  While kayaking we floated over a sea turtle and startled a reef shark.   At night, we walked down to the beach, stretched out on the beach furniture…and watched the infinite stars above us.

Conversations over meals came in all varieties from political, to health policy and homelessness. And travel.  Our fellow campers seem to have been everywhere.  Taking the first Northeast Passage Cruise, riding helicopters to resorts for Christmas on the Barrier Reef,  arriving to much hoopla in Yangon on the first cruise ship to dock at their port, and on and on.  No travel envy here.  Several fellow campers were from Melbourne…and without much to say on the positive side for Perth.  “Nothing to see in Perth!”

Our base camp in Adelaide was an historic site, Largs Hotel, about 20 minutes by light rail from downtown. Right on the water and near the Largs Pier, this spot was valiantly holding on as an icon of a vibrant time of beach frolicking and fun.   Now it hosted a tiny casino and a bottle shop around back.  A bar and large restaurant still brings a few visitors and to be fair, this was a cool spring week and not conducive to beach frolicking.

A short flight on a jet prop took us to Kangaroo Island where we were met by a tour guide Michael and a 4 wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser.  Almost immediately our guide showed himself to be a acute observer.  Cruising down the main road across the island, he quickly swerved off the road, did a U-turn and stopped next to a wild echidna marching down the shoulder.

Well not actually marching, more like shuffling on tiny legs and shoving his/her (really hard to tell given the coat of spines) nose into the ground smelling out bugs.  It walked right by my knee as I squatted for a photo op…echidnas are not known for a sense of hearing or sight.

A new addition to the park contains grassland from a previous farm, so this is ideal habitat for kangaroos. Much of the older park has not be managed with fire, so is very overgrown and not suitable for Roos.  Several Roos were carrying around joeys. In surprising one or two, the young joeys nibbling on grass would dive headfirst into their mother’s pouch, then peer at us from the comfort of home as we drove by.

Our tour included dashing to sites between rain showers.  Lunch was served under shelter after walking through the woods spotting Koalas.  Koalas were brought to the island to rebuild their numbers, and they have now overpopulated the habitat.  Michael spotted three Koalas in one eucalyptus tree.  That is not good.  Usually it is one to a tree where they gradually … very gradually, eat all the leaves…and then move on.  Since it would be cause a huge uprising by animal lovers if they thinned the population by hunting and transporting them back to the mainland is exorbitant, the authorities have started to sterilize the cute little buggers.

At the Arches, the leaned into the wind to make it down to wooden platforms to see the enormous erosion that produced the natural arch.  Below were fur seal pups jockeying for position of repose.

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Though one mother was not too pleased with an interloper interrupting feeding time. We later learned that this fur seal population had invaded the island and gobbled up all the fairy penguins.

Final stop was at the Remarkable Rocks.  While utilizing a toilet at the site, a hail storm swept through and so I made what seemed like the logical decision to stay sheltered while Michele felt obligated to save Michael from the storm.  He was waiting for us out in the weather facing the onslaught. Both got completely soaked. Michele returned to the car to change into some Ibis wool underwear I had brought, while Michael persevered and lead me around the Remarkable Rocks.

Our flight back was not exactly smooth. Flight attendants stayed seated for the roller coaster ride.

Back in 1973 I was a crew boss for Petty Ray Geophysical Company,  working in the Great Sandy Desert.  Normally on our breaks, the company sent us to Perth, but we had passed an escarpment with caves during our cross county trek looking for oil and I asked to be dropped off at the site.  My crew thought I was crazy.  As you can see from the old photo, they left me with a large container of water and “Good Luck, Mate!”

I spent the week exploring the caves and found a variety of paintings depicting aboriginal song lines.  The silence was astounding and the nights spectacular.  Mid-week the crew drove several hours from base camp to check on me, and sit around my campsite.  As I flicked a scorpion into the fire, they judged that I had not gone bush nuts, so they left me in peace.

So here Michele and I were returning to the Outback to experience camping of a very different style.   Though not far from Alice Springs, we were privileged to enjoy extraordinary peace at the Squeaky Windmill,  beautiful bird calls from Galahs landing out front, (as well as Australian Ringneck Parrots, Western Bowerbirds and more) and a couple of wallabies at the watering hole.

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A day trek out to see the McDonnell Range took us to a road stop that had a lovely river cutting through a gap.  Other swimming holes are located at other range gaps yet the waters there were still, cold and had algae near the beach edges.

We did not venture in.

Crossing from Uluru to Alice Springs, we chose a rental car, though others in the past have used trustworthy camels.  Some camels still wild across the desert ever since the British brought in Afghans and camels to make supply runs across the vast outback.

This road side attraction was typical of the stops along the way…few and far between.  Here you could visit the Camel farm next door and take a short camel ride.  Here they told the story of the explorers Giles and Gibson looking to be the first to find a route across Central Australia.  Unfortunately, one horse died and Gibson went off for help with the other horse never returned.  Giles survived somehow.  The Outback is cruel. Definitely critical to fill up when you can so we took advantage to top off at the intersection of Lasseter Hwy and Stuart Hwy.

Respecting the wishes of the local aboriginal population, the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people, we chose not to try and climb Uluru aka Ayers Rock.  As of October 26th no one will be allowed to climb the sacred rock, but for now it looked like a bad day on Everest.  A line of rule breakers clung to a cable running up the precipitous trail, with some starting out in full 90 degree weather.  Absolutely nuts. Several people have died trying this and the attempt to conquer the peak is absolutely wrong.

We chose the walk around Uluru to view it up close an personal after viewing sunrise with hundreds of others.  Some in pajamas and one guy in his bathrobe but all there to capture the moment.

 As we learned from the Cultural Museum, several highly significant events occurred on and around Uluru in local Ananga legend.  The marks of ancestral spirit pythons versus poisonous snakes are on the walls, the vanquished snake is now a huge boulder.  The holes potmarked the surface, some created by the ancestral Minyma Itjaritjari mole.

We walked counter-clockwise for three hours to get a close up view of the rock, taking a view detours into a couple of gorges with sheltered watering holes, one still retaining water in this dry season.  In both gorges Michele and I had quiet moments to listen to the space around us..before more tourists found the spot.

How anyone makes it on these walks during the Australian summer is a mystery.  Temperatures reach 107 degrees?  Just stepping inside one’s rental car would be excruciating.  In the cool of one evening, we joined others to watch an art installation, the Field of Lights.

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In the cool of one evening, we joined others to view an art installation, the Field Of  Lights by Bruce Munro.  As we enjoyed beers before the show and as the sun tinted Uluru, another couple regaled us with their last four days and nights in the bush, sleeping in swags under the stars.   Knowing they would be going to a canyon where Prescilla in the Desert was filmed, the mate had purchased an outrageous outfit on eBay complete with size 14 red, high heeled shoes. Once at the site, he decked himself out in full regalia and showed us photo documentation on his phone.   The Show must go on so we downed our beers and headed out into the dry warm night wandering through the vast field of stars fallen to earth.

A site for tourists and locals alike, Mossman Gorge offers forest walks near cascading creeks and frigid pools for those with the nerve to indulge.  In the quiet moments along the trail, it is amazing to see the intertwining of vines and trees of enormous proportions. The huge vines eventually overwhelming a host tree as they strive to reach for daylight.  A slow quiet strangulation.   Up in the canopy an occasional screech or the slow hoot of a forest pigeon.

Humans are diminished by the scale of things, yet many fruits and seeds of these Goliath species have been used by the past aboriginal populations to survive.

Away from the constant chatter of Portuguese visitors or the crying of children, we could find a few isolated pools.

Though visitors approached one perfect spot with trepidation since a snake skin marked the trail as evidence of a lethal presence nearby.  Not the time to beat the bushes or explore the sand bars.  Tread softly but carry a big stick.

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Our retreat for the next three days and nights is a study in contrast with the Port Douglas Motel.  For one thing, you can not drive to your room.  At this eco-lodge, your car is parked for you, bags delivered to your bungalow and you walk everywhere.  Our package deal gets us a lower elevation bungalow in the woods.  The lodge sits atop the coastal promontory, and the most costly rooms sit up high.  But hey,  we have easy access to the beach and the nature walk.

From the tree house-like dining room, you can view visiting birds landing at a mini-watering hole up in a tree.

The beaches here are nearly empty, partly due to the season and the 25 knot winds yet this offers a magical space to share together.  The wind rocks you in your hammock.

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We drove onto the ferry to cross into an ancient forest – the oldest tropical forest in the world.  We felt a little under-prepared given the trucks around us with roo bars and exhaust pipes extending above the cabs. I expected to see Mad Max behind the wheel of one of these monsters.

Winding our way along curvy, narrow roads into the hills, the vegetation grew taller and thicker with each kilometer.  Layers of species of various hues and textures created a tapestry of foliage.

Yet danger lurks in the heart of darkness and along the bright lagoons:

So despite the idyllic conditions you need to stay on the alert or some creature from a deep lagoon may snatch you for lunch.

During our lunch break at Whet Cafe Bar [Lot 1 Cape Tribulation Rd, Cape Tribulation], a cassowary walked by. From out front row seats on the porch, I thought it was a pet trained to entertain the tourists.  But no, this was a wild critter moving quickly out of ancient times.  Known to be dangerous with a killer talon, she was given a respectable distance as I grabbed what shots I dared to on the go.

The food was amazing also.  Order Chicken curry if you head this way.