Blog for Marcel

Queensland: crocodile creek

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 07:17:00 +0000

It's not really called Crocodile Creek; it's called the Dickson Inlet, and it's a mangrove lined tidal estuary that's upstream from the Port Douglas marina. It does have crocodiles, though. We took a sunset cruise up Dickson Inlet on our last evening in Port Douglas.

When cyclones are approaching, people take their boats inland, up the inlet, to protect them from the storms. Not always successfully, as the boat below shows! This yacht couldn't be salvaged after a cyclone, as the salvors couldn't board the boat -- because a large crocodile had taken up residence nearby. So the yacht was never salvaged and here it lies today. Crocs 1, salvors 0.

Our first croc sighting was this large male. Can you see it in the middle of the photo, close to the bank, just under the water?

A bit further up the river, we saw another crocodile: this time a female crocodile who most obligingly walked out of the water, turned around on the bank like a reptilian ballerina, and then disappeared back into the water. Perfect timing for us, but quicker than you think, so photos were a bit difficult. These are taken on zoom and with the movement of the boat, focus was a bit challenging.

We saw fish eagles and kites, both of which responded to salmon heads offered by the tour guide. (Apparently the fish eagle scorns all offerings other than salmon.)

And back into Port Douglas marina, just a couple of hundred metres away from the crocs.

Namibia: Sossusvlei

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:57:00 +0000

23 1/2 degrees south of the Equator, the Tropic of Capricorn passes though Namibia.

We stopped at Solitaire on the way from Walvis Bay to the Namib Naukluft Park, for tea and for Moose's famous apple tart.

Moose making his famous tart. Not sure which is bigger ... Moose or the apple tart!!??

Sossusvlei Lodge is situated 330 km south west of Windhoek on a 40 000 hectare private reserve in the Namib Desert.

Namib Naukluft Park has some of the highest dunes in the world's oldest desert. Sossusvlei is surrounded by monumentally high dunes, with sinewy crests and warm colours changing as the day progresses. The warm tints of the sands range from apricot to orange, red and maroon and contrast vividly against the dazzling white surfaces of the clay pans at their bases.

Hiking down Sesriem Canyon, close to Sossusvlei, where centuries of erosion have cut a narrow gorge about 1 km in length and 40m in height. Sesriem derives its name from the time when early pioneers tied 6 lengths of rawhide thongs together to draw water from the pools.

Namibia: Walvis Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:20:00 +0000

Our quad bike historical tour into the desert was undoubtedly the highlight of our trip!

We chose the prehistoric Kuiseb River and dunes just outside Walvis Bay, which are older than the Namib Desert (the oldest desert in the world).

Do you know that the gradient of a dune slip face is 34 degrees and it never differs no matter what the size of the dune is?

Physical evidence of petrified footprints of the ancient Khoi.

This desert fruit is called !Nara and is used by the Topnaars (descendants of the ancient Khoi inhabitants) as well as by the animals.

Evidence why the Namibian coast is called the “Skeleton Coast”. These old skeletons of the ancient Khoi people are exposed and covered again, from time to time by the ever shifting dunes.

Centuries-old ostrich eggshells that were used by the Khoi to keep their water in and have been preserved, being covered by dune sand for centuries.

A Topnaar (descendants of the Khoi) home in the dunes. These people, who today still live their traditional lives in the dunes and whose whole life centres around one desert fruit. They have no money, no electricity, no mobile phones and no motor vehicles. They prefer not to live in town with its amenities.

The magnificent flamingo flocks of Walvis Bay.

Namibia: Swakopmund

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:23:00 +0000

Swakopmund was founded in 1892 during German colonial rule and served as the territory's main harbour for many years. Swakopmund, similar to Dubai, is hedged by desert and sea. I was expecting much more German influence. In my opinion Swakopmund was rather like another South African seaside town.

Gavin is tucking into an eisbein at the Brauhaus.

Don opted for bratwurst, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.

Don, Gavin, Heidi and Ant on the jetty watching the African sun going down.

The Tug Restaurant overlooking the jetty.

The Wreck Restaurant on the beach where we enjoyed a good dinner and another amazing African sunset.

Namibia: Twyfelfontein

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:42:00 +0000

On our way to Twyfelfontein, we stopped at a Living Museum and had a most interesting experience interacting with a Namibian tribe who live permanently in the desert.

This is the entrance to the museum.

The Mopane bees (small fly-like insects) are extremely tenacious and are well controlled with branches from the Mopane trees, either behind your ears or continual swatting in front of your face.

Don is now in the museum.

Don is interacting with Terence who is demonstrating the use of a small knife.

This root for ear ache, this leaf for fertility, this bulb for malaria, this branch for stomach upsets, this stone for sun protection ... and the entire tribe seem healthy and happy??

Twyfelfontein is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with about 2500 animal engravings in the red sandstone, estimated to be about 6000 years old.

Namibia: Damaraland

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:11:00 +0000

Travelling south from Etosha the weather continues to be hot and dry ... an umbrella is essential to protect us from the heat.

Built in the wattle and daub style under Mopane trees and connected by a labyrinth of paths, the main building and chalets of the lodge look like an African village. Each of the chalets has its own vegetable and herb garden surrounded by a low wall. The gardens supply fresh ingredients for dinner.

As in any vegetable garden, scarecrows are essential for keeping away the birds. These guys are scary enough to keep more than just the birds away!

The viewing point for sundowners and for enjoying beautiful African sunsets.

Namibia: Etosha

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:37:00 +0000

The word 'etosha' means "Great White Place" and as you can see from the photos below it really is a great white place!

The Etosha Pan covers some 4700 square kilometres. At its widest point it is about 110 km by 60 km. The pan is mostly dry except after heavy rains when it floods via rivers in the north. It was dry, dry, dry when we were there!

Look closely ... no, it's not what you think ... Don was emptying water from the cooler box.

White Elephants ...

Herds of thousands of Springbok....

A herd of at least 500 Zebras ...

Gemsbok are now my favourite antelope species - sooo beautiful!

A solitary Wildebeest ...

Namibia: Waterberg

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:33:00 +0000

We travelled north towards Etosha to our overnight lodge situated inside the Waterberg Plateau Park.

Termite mounds were everywhere! Phallic symbols?

Termite mounds towering above me - wonder where all these ants are?

The Waterberg Camp is nestled along the base of the cliffs of the Waterberg Plateau. It towers some 200 m above the surrounding landscape, and the plateau with its sheer cliffs and fascinating rock formations serve as a breeding ground for many animal species.

The diminutive Damara Dik-Dik was seen foraging around our camp.

Namibia: Windhoek

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:09:00 +0000

After many years of planning a trip to Namibia, here we are on our way to what used to be called South West Africa, and was previously a South African protectorate. Our travelling companions are Gavin and Antoinette Robertson and Lionel and Joan Marran, old friends of Gavin and Ant.

What is a road trip without a roadside picnic? Note the bottle of wine on the bottom right of the above photo!?

This is the border between South Africa and Botswana.

Joe's Beerhouse in Windhoek is world renowned and not to be missed, serving German specialities in a uniquely decorated environment

Yes, Lionel is sitting on a toilet .. !! Non operational of course.

Queensland: Mossman Gorge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 May 2013 02:30:00 +0000

Mossman Gorge is about 20 minutes inland, travelling north west, from Port Douglas. The rainforest rises steeply on hills around the Mossman River.

There are a number of walking trails within the Mossman Gorge park, ranging from short easy boardwalks to a longer crcuit within the forest.

The river runs through the park. So much beautiful water.

There is a bouncy swingy flexible suspension bridge, used by the local children as a trampoline and swing ... we waited until they had finished playing before we walked more sedately across it.

And then there is the absolutely Gorgeous :) waterhole on the river ... after a walk through the forest, with an air temperature of 30 degrees, the cool water was very welcome. Can you see the three people near the rock in the centre of the photo? Smuts, Lee and Suz are checking out the rapids to the left. The water comes rushing down the gorge, over the rocks, and whooshes into the pool.

The 'fun' thing to do (apparently) is to swim into the rapids and then to whoosh down the current with the water. Here the three adventurers are setting off into the stream ... (I am taking this on zoom so it's not very clear) ...

... and whoosh! Out they come!

After a number of whooshes each, they return to base. Can you see all the fish in the water as well as our intrepid swimmers?

Great Barrier Reef

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:42:00 +0000

The Great Barrier Reef lies to the east of the far north Queensland coast. We chose a dedicated snorkelling boat (rather than a dive / snorkel boat) and went out to the reef on a perfect day.

Okay, it wasn't absolutely perfect ... there was a bit of a wind going out. It was a choppy 40 km to our first snorkel site.

But once we were next to the reef, the wind dropped. The air temperature was 30 degrees and the water temperature was 29 degrees. Bliss.

Lee and Suz were staying with us in Port Douglas. We had a memorable day on the reef together. We stopped at three snorkel sites during the day: the tide was going out, so at the last site the coral was very close to the surface. Water visibility was very good. On large outcrops, we hovered on the surface of the water and could see layers and layers of sea life: shimmering schools of small fluorescent fish, velvety clams, soft and spongy coral, spiky and stripy coral, bright yellow angel fish, some Moorish idols (for a lucky few) -- and we could hear as well as see big blue parrot fish chomping noisily on the reef.

At the second snorkel site, we were startled to see a HUGE fish swimming to the boat and lurking ferociously around us as we all swam off the boat. This was a Maori wrasse, advertised as Marvin in the brochure. Apparently 'Marvin' is a large territorial male, who challenges the boat (and snorkellers) every day as it enters his territory. Anyway, he was all bluster. But very brazen -- at one point, he swam above the snorkelling platform, which is lowered into the water to allow easy access.

Late in the afternoon, we headed back to Port Douglas. Here we are entering the marina, full of sea and salt and sun.

Queensland: Daintree forests

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:35:00 +0000

The Daintree Rainforest in the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest on earth. It's been a World Heritage Site since 1988 and is well conserved. Apparently some of the plant species have survived unchanged for 40 million years (and I bet the mosquitoes were just as annoying then too).

The Daintree is a beautiful place to visit. There are a number of walks that have been set up in the park, on boardwalks above the ground, so that walkers don't damage the environment but also (in my view) so that walkers don't step on unpleasant things.

The Daintree Discovery Centre has aerial walkways, about 4 metres above the ground, and audioguides that describe the trees and plants as you walk along the walkways. It also has a 23 metre tall tower, on five storeys. As you walk up the tower, you're able to see the different levels of the rainforest and the plants and animals that live at each level. From the top of the tower, you can see over the rainforest canopy -- well, most of it, as some of the trees are 30 metres tall. You can see the bright iridescent blue butterflies that flutter over the treetops, which are not visible from below.

This is one of my favourite spots. A very large spider had spun a very large web between these two trees and was waiting, poised on its web, to catch some dinner. We waited a while to see whether anything happened, but the blue forest butterflies simply danced around the web ...

Queensland: Daintree beaches

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:49:00 +0000

We explored every beach from north of Cape Tribulation (Emmagen Beach), southwards through the Daintree. They are all beautiful, pristine, clean and deserted (or almost deserted). What is striking is that the rainforest stretches from the hills all the way down to the beach. There's a mixture of palms, ferns, eucalypts ... and mangroves, always mangroves. (And with mangroves come crocodiles and drat! mosquitoes.)

We swam at the last beach (Cow Bay) and chatted to the friendly locals, who arrived at the beach after work for a spot of fishing and dog walking. Honestly, I don't know where to start (or end) with these photographs. I have hundreds of photos of beautiful (different) beaches. So all I will say is: if you like beaches, this is a part of the world worth visiting.

Far north Queensland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:33:00 +0000

The last time we flew in to Cairns airport was in 2000, but tropical north Queensland is just as lush and green as we remember, with sweeps of turquoise bays. The second map below shows the Great Barrier Reef on the coast.

From Cairns, we drove north, about 90 minutes, then we crossed the Daintree River on a ferry ...

... and drove into the Daintree National Park. The Daintree is a tropical rainforest and a World Heritage Site. This is the view from one of the look-out spots between the river and our lodge. (That's the Daintree River mouth.)

We're staying at the Daintree Wilderness Lodge, one of the eco-lodges in the park. This is our cabin, and the view looking up from the walkway at our front door into the rainforest canopy.

The central part of the roof of our cabin is a clear plastic strip, so we look up into the canopy from bed. There is a constant pattering of leaves, fruits and seeds falling onto the vegetation and our cabin below -- it sounds like rain, but it's not. (We're also giving our bug repellants a good workout.)

And finally (for today), we couldn't be in the north without ... crocodile warnings.

Jersey Boys Johannesburg

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 16:18:00 +0000

What a great way to spend a Friday evening watching the Jersey Boys at Monte Casino.
It's impossible to have lived in the 20th century and remain unaware of the Four Seasons who propelled themselves into fame by singing about a girl called Sherry.

And Tennille was at school with Daniel Buys who plays Tommy DeVito

So what happened in South Africa in the 1960s?

Cliff Richard visited Johannesburg
South Africa became a republic
Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment
Gary Player made his mark by winning top international golf tournaments
Prime Minister Verwoerd was assassinated
World's first heart transplant
Films shown at bioscopes were a regular form of entertainment
Shops closed at 1 pm on Saturdays and Sunday trading was prohibited
Squad Cars and Men from the Ministry were popular radio programmes
The mini skirt revolutionised fashion trends

... and Heidi-Lee and Julie-Anne started school!!!!!

Turner exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:36:00 +0000

We popped across to Adelaide on Easter Sunday to see an exhibition of Turner paintings from the Tate Gallery in London. Sadly the exhibition is only going to Adelaide and Canberra, and not to Melbourne. We love Turner and couldn't bear to miss seeing some of his paintings, so Adelaide it was! We last saw these paintings at the Tate in (gasp) 1983.

Adelaide was a bit grey and drizzly but that didn't matter for a flying trip. We've been to the Adelaide Art Gallery before and it is always a treat. (One of the recently acquired modern pieces is two half-horses -- real, stuffed -- joined into one strange beast and hung from the ceiling.)

But back to the romance and beauty of Turner.

In Turner's day (late 1700s, early 1800s), many of the critics and much of the public were critical of his lack of detail, of the 'impression' of light he created, rather than a literal depiction. Turner was a romantic artist -- long before the Impressionists -- but the Impressionists stand on his giant shoulders.

We own some high-quality art reproductions of Turner's works, including some beautiful books. But no reproduction captures the extraordinary quality of light in the original paintings. It's impossible to convey the way that light seems to emanate from the original paintings unless you see them. The paintings look as though there is a light source in the paintings themselves. They are astoundingly brilliant (in the real sense of the word).

Most of Turner's early work is in watercolour. He used layers and layers of translucent colour to achieve the clarity of the water and the light shining through hazy mist. Later paintings are in oils: brilliant, golden, creamy light exploding from the canvas. Here are some photos that I took at the exhibition. Obviously no flash is allowed, and there are reflections from some of the glass covering the paintings, but these photos give you some idea of what we saw.

The last photograph is a close-up detail of the preceding painting (the left-hand corner).

We loved this exhibition. It was a great way to spend Easter! (Monet's garden paintings are coming to Melbourne in May. Can't wait ...)

Major Robertson house renovations

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:56:00 +0000

Don's and my project for 2013 is the complete renovation of our old house with the intention to transform it into a house which is modern and attractive, and in keeping with our new house enhancing the overall value of our Bryanston property. Whew ... quite scary as per the pictures below.

Dust's and Tennille's rooms with what is now an ex courtyard

What is left of the kitchen

Tennille's old bathroom

Dust's bedroom looking into his dressing room and bathroom

Tennille's bedroom

Don's and my bathroom

Out goes the window and off goes the roof!

Looks like a bomb has hit us!! Or perhaps a tornado?

The tiles are off and the old beams exposed - lots of birds' and rats' nests.

The patio and lounge ...

We have big plans for this area - just wait and see.

A dump for building rubble -- yes, it was once a pool!

This will become a scullery in the new (old) house

Dust -- do you recognise your old bathroom?

And your old bedroom?

Eeeeekkk ... I hope we are doing the right thing!!??

Birthday Geoff

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:11:00 +0000

Happy birthday Geoff! To celebrate the big eight zero, I thought we might celebrate some of your early years. Aren't you just gorgeous, young man.

Then I couldn't resist this photograph of my mother and Geoff in January 1943. This is one of a number of photos taken in Bryanston, in the swimming pool of the house next door to the one we grew up in.

And finally, one of the family -- remembering that grandmother Jessie Kathleen Margaret shares a birthday with Geoff. She was born in 1900. I think this is probably about 1945-ish.

Happy happy day, Geoff and family!

Sunday fiddling

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:53:00 +0000

Last Sunday we went to watch and listen to our friend David playing his fiddle with the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club. The performance was in a local park, about 3 km away from our house.

The young couple in the photo above are Judy (Mary and David's younger daughter) and her young man Etienne. Etienne and his family come from Pretoria, and moved to Melbourne in the same year as we did.

Here's my friend Mary, in the orange top and white pants.

But on to the music. This is the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club. Our friend David is the bearded man, standing on the right of the pic. His face is obscured by the microphone in this photo, but you can see him better (well, maybe) in the video that follows. Enjoy the little slice of music -- we did!

Meet the fish

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:01:00 +0000

In our kitchen there is a fish bowl ...

... and in that fish bowl there are two fish. Meet our fish! These critters are fairly young -- they've been with us for about six months. My previous fish lived for more than ten years in this very bowl, but sadly passed on to the great fish bowl in the sky last year.

As you can see, these are minimalist pets. No fancy equipment in the bowl -- just some elodia (weed) that grows happily forever. This elodia is about six years old. I break off the old bits every week and throw them away. I also scoop out the fish into a plastic container, wash out the bowl with dishwashing liquid, and fill it up with tap water. That's my fish-keeping regime and it seems to work beautifully! The food costs about $5 for two years' supply, so they're pretty economical too.

Jolly difficult to take photographs of fish, it appears. They're never in the same spot together long enough -- and they're not very obedient. And no, they don't have names. They're fish.

Traffic fine 1943

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:51:00 +0000

We've inherited so many interesting documents that Mom (and her parents) kept over the decades. This traffic fine issued in 1943 is a wonderful example. It's still in pounds-shillings-pence: this is for seven and six (7 shillings and 6 pence)!

Mom was born in July 1929, so she would have been fourteen-and-a-half when this was issued. What on earth was she doing to get a traffic fine?

These photos are of my mother that I think were taken probably around this time. Maybe she was driving her father's car too fast ...? We'll never know.

Birthday Luke

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:17:00 +0000

Happy 27th birthday Luke! And oh, the nostalgia! Here is Luke at 22 months -- so, this would have been November 1987. Yes, I acknowledge that his hair was a bit long, but I knew once we cut off those blonde curls, that they'd be gone forever. (No blonde curls now, that's for sure.) Also of note is that I think Heidi made these little dungarees. Sooo cute.

Knysna

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 05:54:00 +0000

What an incredible view!! This is taken from Ei and Wyn Gay's magnificent home in Pezula, Knysna, where between Christmas and New Year we spent a wonderful few days relaxing, resting and ...

... playing golf. If you look carefully, you can see Tennille in the red shorts on the right hand side.

... fishing. Sadly not even a bite although we could see the little critters swimming in the lagoon.

... missing sandbanks especially when the tide was low. Hee hee.

... eating tapas at Bramon Wine Estate just outside Plettenberg Bay, in the vineyards.

... eating some more. NOBODY MESSED WITH THE CHEF!!

... watching the sun go down over the hills above Knysna.

... enjoying the magnificent flora.

... and lots of drinking! This was taken at Feather Bed on the Knysna Lagoon, only accessible by boat. Just as well the fish weren't biting!

Birthday Heidi

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:55:00 +0000

Happy birthday Heids! I have been keeping this photo for this special occasion -- it's one of my favourites. I estimate it was taken around 1964 or 1965, and Heidi would have been about seven or eight years old. It's taken in our pool, in the Berkeley Avenue house. We have very few colour photos from that time, so perhaps this was taken on a special occasion.

January oysters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:26:00 +0000

Thought I'd share my first oysters of 2013. These are my favourite -- Sydney rock oysters. And where better to eat Sydney rock oysters than next to the Opera House, looking across Circular Quay to the Sydney Harbour Bridge?