Byron Bay

Yet another travel-blog entry. A mate of mine took me to Byron Bay, which is about 2-3 hours south of Brisbane. For readers who have been to Hawaii I would compare it to Haleiwa on Oahu. While we were there during the winter months, I'm sure the summer months would bring heaps of visitors. Fortunately not many people go to the beach here during the winter so the place was pretty quiet and easy to get around.

The first picture was taken at a place that sold the famous IQ lights. I first saw them when on vacation in Italy with my sister. They had some other lights for sale as well, and only set up shop after dark. Brilliant marketing move if you ask me... lights sell better at night.

I also took a stroll down the beach and played with the extended exposure setting on my camera to get a picture of the lighthouse, which is the brightest light you can see in this next picture. You can also spot a few stars in the sky. Don't know that I've ever been able to capture stars. The lighthouse is on the eastern-most point of Australia.


There are chock-a-block of beaches in Australia. "Of course, it's an island continent you tourist!" you say. Ah, but here's proof. This section of beach is named Tallow Beach and is what you see when you are walking up to the lighthouse and look to your right.


Of course, those of you who know me know about my intrigue with fish. Have you looked at the web address for this blog? So getting a chance to see my first whale was pretty awesome. There was a small pod of whales swimming along the coast that we could easily spot with the binoculars. Unfortunately my camera wasn't as good, but still a few noteworthy pictures were captured.



Dolphins were there too! The swam with porpoise. (What goes better with fish than cheese, eh?)


We finally did make it up to the lighthouse, which is still kept in immaculate shape. Such a striking view with steep cliffs. I chose this picture because you get more of a sense of how steep the cliffs are, but the sky isn't as blue as it is in some of the other pictures I took of the lighthouse...


...like this picture.


I already mentioned that the lighthouse sits on the eastern-most point of Australia. If I wanted to drive back to the States this is as far as I'd get. Well, I could probably get a little further with a running start, but fishing the car out of the water is expensive. That also assumes I have a car, which I don't. So for now we can just pretend that I drove here in an attempt to return to my fatherland, but was destined to look over the vast ocean of water between us and remember the good times. Wow, how romantic. Actually, I was more intrigued by the whales. WHALES!


They put a mock compass on the ground just to further emphasise the point. Yep, this way is east.


After some more eating and shopping and sightseeing we went to another beach. How can you not relax in a place like this? So peaceful. And for the record I didn't get into the water. I'm sure the water was probably warm enough, but cool breezes once you get out were too much.


That was my quick get away to Byron Bay. A great place to check out if you ever find yourself in Australia. For a great salad check out the rocket, pear, and Parmesan with sherry vinaigrette dressing at the Balcony. For a great dessert get the apple tart at the Arts Factory Buddha Bar. Hunkering for a tastey kebab, try Bay Kebabs. After that just see the sights. Good times, mate.

Walkabout Creek

Of course you have the Australia Zoo, or Steve's place. North of Brisbane this is the zoo to see when you come to Queensland. The thing is that it's incredibly touristy, and quite expensive. An adult ticket is $54. Well, that is Australian dollars, which is about 79 US cents as I'm writing this, which still makes a ticket $42.77 US.

If you don't mind a more low-key local flair then I'd suggest walking about Walk-About Creek in the Brisbane Forest Park. This hidden gem is accessible by bus from downtown Brisbane. Admission is only $5.70 for adults. The website says it best:

• "A visit to Walk-About Creek Wildlife Centre is a great opportunity to enjoy Queensland's wildlife. This re-created natural environment is home to a platypus, lungfish, nocturnal wildlife in a night-house, many types of birds in a walk-through aviary, wallabies and many other interesting animals."

Thanks to the Wildlife Centre I was able to see a real, living platypus for the first time. If I can figure out how to get a video linked on here I'll post it. For now you'll have to look at this picture to see if you can spot the busy little guy.


There was also an area where you can walk among wallabies. I know many of you will think these are kangaroos, but you'd be wrong. I'm not totally sure what the difference is, but they're different. My guess would be that wallabies are smaller than roos. All I can say is that I touched one. Fortunately animals in Australia don't have rabies, but I've developed this strange itch and a craving for grubs. Here's a picture of one of the little posers.


Of course a wildlife centre wouldn't be complete with at least one of the top 10 deadly snakes in the world. I think this is a black death adder. The darn thing never moved. Could it have been a rubber imposter? I wasn't about to poke it with a stick to find out. Death within 6 hours of a bite? Don't think so.


I forgot what type of freak of nature this thing is, but the picture looks hauntingly beautiful. I tried several times to take pictures of it, and it just kinda floated there.


Then there are tons of lizard-type creatures. Good thing this guy is planning a trip to Tokyo. He was a bit tired of stomping on buildings when I was visiting the centre. He was giving me the eye to make sure I didn't get too out of line with the wallabies.


Finally there was this guy, a quoll. I was told he belongs to a small group of marsupials that are carnivorous. When we first walked by his living arrangments he was a no-show. On our way out he was pretty active looking for something to eat. Many marsupials are only active during the dawn and dusk hours. I think he and the lizard-eye ran the place... at least that was the word on the path.


So that was my Sunday at the Wildlife Centre. I thought it was well worth the money. Throw in some koalas and kangaroos and you'd see just about any critter you'd be expecting when you come to Australia. The best part is that all of the animals at the centre can be found locally. Who doesn't like to support local efforts?

Video?

Eggs in Australia

I've just finished a nice breakfast. Fried egg with garlic salt and herbs, sprinkled with cheddar cheese on a toasted English muffin. What a yummy way to start the day. I'm sitting here pondering how eggs are different in Australia. For one, they are not refrigerated in the grocery stores. You find eggs on a dry goods isle just like a box of brownie mix. My food inspector alter ego keeps warning me that something is wrong. Perhaps we're too cautious in Maryland.

The other difference is that the eggs are a brownish color, not bleached white. Sometimes there are stamps on the eggs, which has some significance that is lost on me. The end result is generally the same... you know the whole egg white with a yellow yolk in the center. They seem to cook slightly differently, the yolk doesn't go completely solid like I'm used to with the white/bleached eggs. Maybe the eggs in the States are not bleached at all, they just come from different types of chickens. If anyone can solve this riddle please post a comment.

I can't write a post like this without giving a shout out to my Jackie. This is for you... Egg song.

UPDATE: According to someone with expertise in this subject, eggs in Australia do not have the same form of salmonella as in the States. The difference between the two strains of bacteria mean that in Australia the germs can't get inside the egg, hence there is not as much a need to keep the refrigerated all the time.

Icey Ice Addiction

I think one of the best parts about being new to a city is that you have no preconceived ideas about what is good or bad. When I got here I would just walk around and pick places that looked interesting to check out. Isn't that when you discover the best little secrets of a city?

During one of my explorations I visited this tiny shop around the block called "Icey Ice". They've taken the concept of shaved ice (not snow cones...) to a whole new level. Rather than using frozen water, they used frozen fruit juices. Let me tell you this stuff is amazing. I have been there almost once a week since I've been there. I am hooked on the banana icey ice with chocolate syrup and real bananas mixed in. I'm getting weak in the knees just writing about this.

On my last visit I discovered they have added more options to the menu. Oi! How did I miss this? I'm not too convinced the "Golden Flake" icey ice is such a good idea. Sweet corn? Seriously?

If anyone reading this ever comes to visit me, plan on a visit to my favorite sweets place.

Save Steve's place

Help make a difference. Sign this petition to prevent mining from happening in a wildlife preserve that was created in northern Queensland in honor of Steve Irwin. Signing this petition will force the government to decide whether or not to allow mining permits to be issued on the preserve. Unlike other petitions you may be used to this will make a difference. I added my name and thought it was worthy enough to post on here. Just click on the image, or go to www.savestevesplace.com

Cheers, mates!

Hearts champion

After 1000's of tries, and only once before in my life, I have played a perfect game of hearts on Windows. The odds are obviously stacked against you when the computer is playing three of the four players. However, playing a perfect game can happen. I believe this is the first time I've played a perfect game with more than 5 rounds. Notice that the first two I got all of the points, which happened before as well. The program is probably far from random.

Anyway, there it is. A perfect game. Now I can sleep.

Mobile Phones and Internet

Moving to Australia hasn't been as dramatic a transition as I had thought it would be. I don't find myself missing certain foods, shops, or much of anything really. With this one exception. They have a different way of billing for internet and mobile (cell) phones.

Let's start with the internet since it's the easier of the two to explain. In the States when you sign up for internet service you pay based on how fast a connection you want. I upgraded from something like 2Mbps to 6Mbps before I left Baltimore. The upgrade actually cost me $3 less than I was already paying. Go Verizon!

The same holds true for Australia. You pay more for faster connections, but they take it one step further. Here you also pay for the amount you download. That's right, you have limits to how much you can use the internet. Most plans start around 1GB / month, and for heavy users can go up to 10GB / month. For anyone who likes to watch videos, you're stuffed. For a point of reference, a movie on DVD typically runs between 4-8GB. I have a plan with my mobile phone that gives me 2GB of wireless internet, and a plan with the apartment network that gives me 4Gb. That's 6GB / month. I ran out this weekend. I'm probably going to pay through the nose in overage charges.

I suppose that having limits to how much you use the internet can be a good thing. We're quite spoiled in the States with unlimited amounts of almost everything. So, I can live with internet limits. Mobile phone billing? Here's how it works:

You pay a monthly price for a service package, just like in the States. For that monthly price you get calls, texting (SMS), bonus features, etc. If you sign up for a plan you get the phone at no extra charge (depending on how much you are paying). All of this sounds pretty much like the States, eh?

Here's where it gets weird. You don't get minutes, you get money. For example, when I signed up for the $69 / month "cap" I got $650 / month of calls and texting. They then calculate how much you used by charging you per minute or per text message. So instead of doing the math for you, that is saying how many minutes $650 will buy, you have to do the math yourself. That is, if you can find how much they are charging you per minute. Obscuring the billing by adding that extra step seems so unnecessary.

This billing method is not unique to one service either. One interesting thing to note, phone services were a government service until July 1997. Just like the States has a government agency to deliver mail to all residential / business addresses, Australia had an agency that ran communications including phones. The agency became more or less a private business, and now competes with other private companies. However, since they originally owned the phone lines and networks, they have an obvious advantage in the current market (although the customer service is reportedly pretty bad.) Maybe the billing system is a result of former government control.

They told us during our international student orientation to recognize that things can be "different" without being "wrong." For the most part I think I would agree. Mobile billing, at least for the moment, is wrong.

Arron, Aaron, or Erin?

You'd think I would have realized this much earlier than today, but the way I say my name gives people who are listening a picture of how to spell my name. For my entire life I thought you'd pronounce Arron, Aaron, or Erin the exact same way. Oh no. I tell everyone my name is "err-en," which apparently makes people think of the female version. I was instructed tonight that I need to say "ahh-ron." The group of my mates also added the jazz hands gesture to simulate the "Ah!" as an act of surprise.

Has anyone else been confused by the way I pronounce my name? Does anyone else think of different versions depending on how it's pronounced? I guess being in a foreign country means that even things like how you say your name can be significant.

Banana lollies

These luscious beauties are banana lollies. I have always had a weakness for circus peanuts, and the easter version of chicks and rabbits. These are similar in texture, but are usually slightly stale. Hard to believe they can actually package staleness! Imagine if they did that with Peeps.

I decided to share this simple pleasure I've found in Australia for those wanting to know of the more ordinary, less exciting things I've discovered here. Funny how the little discoveries make a place special.

Koala spotting

Can you see him? He's right there! Some mates and I went to Noosa State Park to check out just how much better the Sunshine Coast is compared to the Gold Coast. Honestly the whole trip was a bit of a gamble. Rain was forecast during the day, and although getting wet at the beach is kind of the point, spending the better part of a day sopping wet isn't always that much fun. Luck was on our side and the clouds parted long enough for us to enjoy some nice beach weather. Ta to my mate who was determined to check out the beach one last time before he returned to the land of the Japanese.

Getting back to my first koala sighting, we saw him hiking along a perfectly modern (interpret that paved) path to the beach. We saw this nice lady standing in the middle of the walkway staring up at a tree. Pretty leaves. Oooh. Aaah. Being human we stopped to see what she was seeing. She can't have all the fun. Without saying a word the message was conveyed. "There's a koala in these parts." As I'm typing this I am laughing to myself. On the way back we discussed how the park probably pays people to stop in the path and look up at the koala so the incoming people know where he is at. There are no signs or anything, and I'm sure they try to maintain some kind of balance of experiencing wildlife without overly obnoxious gawking.

Here's a closer view of the little guy:

To be honest, I'm not convinced it was an actual living koala. He hadn't moved an inch between the time we passed him on the way in and then a few hours later on the way out. My theory goes that the park put either a stuffed dead koala, or a stuffed animal koala in the tree to help park patrons feel more fulfilled for visiting. Either that, or the much sadder theory, the little guy died a few days ago but no one has noticed. Well, that's morbid. Let's just say that he was chill-axin' and couldn't be bothered to perform a song and dance routine for every Yankee bloke who passed by. Showtimes are at 7 and 9 don't you know? (Yes, it's early morning and I should be studying so cut me a break on the rusty humor.)

Apparently the park is well-known for it's koala population. At the entrance is a statue dedicated to a koala that was hit and killed by a car a few years back. How they got the car up the tree that far is beyond me. (Actually I just read the plaque which says Harrold died from a dog attack. Who knew that dogs climb trees too?)


After a wonderful day at the beach, we stopped to enjoy just one of the wonders of this place...


Australia is amazing.