A Poem

This poem was forwarded to me today by a friend, we don't know the name of the author however. As with everything else involved with this tragedy - it is very moving.

"Black is all I see"

Where green and gold once cloaked the land

Where eucalypt and pine did stand

Where man did live and lay his hand

"Now black is all I see"

Where horses grazed and cattle drank

Where grasses lined the river bank

Where stood a house and water tank

"Now black is all I see"

There was a town with store and hall

Which proudly stood 'neath ridges tall

Now nothing moves or lives at all

"And black is all I see"

There stood a home and there another

Where lived a daughter, father, mother

A sister, cousin, neice or brother

"Now black is all I see"

Our nation grieves and holds them tight

Throughout the darkness of the night

Till daybreak brings an ashy light

"And black is all I see"

"Poor fella, my country"

N.D. 11 FEB. 2009

Amazing Animals

Photos keep coming in of the koala, a very shy nocturnal creature, venturing into territory it normally avoids and reaching out to humans for help during this terrible situation in Victoria, (the bike photo is from the heatwave in South Australia last week.) There are stories of dogs dragging their owners through the blinding smoke (one was a 90 yr old lady) to a dam or river, thus saving them from the fires. This morning a man who had lost everything (except his horse) credited this same horse for saving his life. This is the story he told, as the fire was rushing towards them, his horse - normally a gentle and docile animal - knocked his owner across a fence, to a steep downhill slope which fell into a river below, the man tumbled down into the river and spent 2 hours there while the fires burned around him, the horse bolted through the smoke and fire - it sustained some burns, but is now reunited with its very grateful owner. This tragedy south of us is not over yet!

These 2 little guys help themselves

Amazing People At the same time north of us, two thirds of Queensland (1 million square kilometres) is under water. Apart from businesses, household goods, crop and livestock losses, there is sludge and mud everywhere, and some not so nice creatures (crocodiles) are lurking in these flood waters and of course the snakes are looking for high ground - which just could be inside a house!!! Yet, these Queenslanders (who have been in this dire situation for near a month now) have given very generously to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

Our lucky morning

This morning, Friday the 13th, we were fortunate to be visited by a pair of "Gang Gang Cockatoos" they stayed around for a couple of hours feasting on a flowering cotoneaster, before disappearing to who knows where. We usually only see the gang gang about once a year, even though we have the gentle king parrot, eastern rosellas and the sassy little lorikeet - year round.

The male Gang Gang (female is all grey)

Over the past few evenings we have been entertained by the superb fairy wren and his harem and a family of tiny honeyeaters darting around under the hydrangeas and azaleas. Hopefully they are here to stay and will bring more of their kind.

A special birthday celebration

Today four of us had lunch at a local restaurant - Jamesons on the Pier -to celebrate my cousin, Nalda's, birthday (age is a secret), lovely peaceful atmosphere at this place, great to watch the local birdlife, and the comings and goings on the Clyde River. The food was excellent as always, as was the company. Happy birthday Nal!!

Locals relax on Jamesons pier

The Merinda - our local cruise boat

How different it is in the Northern Hemisphere

While the news out of the disastrous bushfires in Victoria continues to shock and numb us , with the death toll going up by the hour, I receive photos of the extreme weather conditions our family and friends are enduring in parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Frank's brother (Peter)sent these from England a couple of days ago - extreme weather in reverse.

We have friends with farms in the areas where the bushfires are, I spoke to one of them this morning and the fire had burned up to their back paddock behind the house on Saturday, temperatures were 48 degrees (C) with winds up to 90 klms per hour. Janet said she had never experienced anything like it in the whole time she has lived out here (originally from England).

The mood here is very sombre - disbelief at how fast these fires have destroyed whole towns, leaving so many people dead and badly burned in its wake. We are a country which endures bushfires every summer, but never has there been such a devastating loss of life.

Highlight of our Week

This week has been loaded with fun, but the highlight was on Wednesday, when we drove from Tabourie to Gerroa to have lunch with an old friend, Sandy, and her husband, Tom. Sandy and I shared a house with 3 others girls in Auckland back in the late 60's, they were very special times, leaving us all with the most wonderful memories. We managed to get most of us together last Easter in Toronto on Lake Macquarie for a 40 plus year Reunion - 3 of the old gang and their partners flew over from NZ for it. Anyway we met Sandy and Tom at a great little cafe overlooking Gerroa, and just talked, laughed, had a wee sip or 2, laughed, talked and all of a sudden it was 4.30pm and the staff were trying to close the Cafe.

Sandy and Tom run their embroidery business from their home in Lithgow, and have created some rather stunning works of art, including the embroidery work on one of the Pope's garments for his recent trip downunder, and then there is their incredible work on some of the original Star Wars movie costumes. (photos of some of the garments below).

We are going to catch up with some more of the old crew when we go to Auckland with Frank's sister and her husband (Margaret and Kevin) on 13th March. Really, really looking forward to our get together at Col and Den's on the 14th March at Kohi. Catching up with Sandy and Tom was definitely the "highlight" of our busy and fun week.

Late lunch at Huski

After our "beach crawl" it was time to explore Huskisson (known as Huski) with the intent of finding somewhere to eat. We walked down to the Wharf, which was just a hive of activity, not least being a group of energetic teenagers jumping (and on occasions pushing each other) off the Wharf. Apparently this is "illegal", but it was obvious that these rules were not being enforced on such a hot day. Fun group of youngsters - very chatty - very active - and yes, I retreated quickly when I realised I just could be their next target to push in - cheeky bunch of kids, but they were having loads of fun. We decided to watch them from a safer distance - an airconditioned Cafe overlooking the wharf.

.

Huski's swimming pool

After a most enjoyable looong and relaaaxing lunch, we drove back to Lake Tabourie - next thing on the agenda is to meet up with a group of friends this evening at the old Woolshed building in the park, for a barbeque - and later on entertainment by a Jazz Band!.

Gems of the Shoalhaven region

Today we escaped the heat by doing some exploring around the beaches of the Shoalhaven region - in the comfort of our airconditioned 4WD. These beaches are truly beautiful - some of which have the whitest sand - there are so many of them, and even on an atrociously hot day like today they were quite sparsely populated. There were also strong sea breezes to assist in escaping the torrid heat. Have posted below photos of a few of the many beaches we visited.

Hyams Beach

Overlooking Blenheim Beach in the Jervis Bay Marine Park

Above Nelsons Beach

Looking across to Callala Beach from Huskisson

Sharknet Bay - Huskisson

A few days at Lake Tabourie

Last Tuesday we packed up the caravan, and headed north (about 45 minutes) to meet up with a large group of friends at a park right on the beach (and lake) at Lake Tabourie. Weather has been really sweltering, but being so close to the beach, we are getting a sea breeze to assist the airconditioning.

(Photo: our van at the bottom of our driveway).

(Photo - looking across Lake Tabourie to our Tourist Park)

Very early walks along the beach at Tabourie, and around the lake have been the mandatory start to each day - actually a lovely time of day not only to walk, but for some photography.

(Photo: Herself and himself at 7 am - very tall and very trim, - photos don't lie!!)

Trips to Ulladulla for some shopping are good value in weather like this - "our shopping malls and cinemas have become modern temples where the hoards flock to worship the air conditioning!!.

Cooling off in Ulladulla Harbour)

Lazy Saturday

Saturday was another very warm day, so we decided to start our day early with a stroll around the Moruya village markets on the banks of the Moruya River, after which we drove to Broulee Beach as we wanted to catch the Navy sponsored "Surf Boat" Competition we had seen advertised, but we had the wrong date, instead there was a Junior Body/Surf Board Competition in full swing with lotos of energetic young kids everywhere!! Were they enjoying themselves?? Broulee Beach is a very long beach, favoured by surfers and attached to Broulee Island which can be walked to over a long sandbar when the tide is very low!

It was then time for morning coffee, so we travelled to Malua Bay Beach to try a new cafe, the sea breeze kept us reasonably cool while we sipped our coffee. We are in the midst of a terrible heatwave, the worst and longest in over 100 years.

We went home for an hour or so to catuch up on a couple of phone calls, then back in the air conditioned car for a half hour drive south to Tuross Heads Beach and Lake. A light lunch at the Pickled Octopus Cafe overlooking Tuross Lake was the order of the day, with Frank his grilled fillet of Grenadier and salad, and me, the Linguini Puttanesca, all of which was washed down with a sample of the local wines. A delightful couple of hours to say the least!!

The lake at Tuross is always busy, and we were hoping to catch a glimpse of the lake's new temporary resident "a dolphin and her offspring", however she must have been visiting elsewhere in the lake when we were there. This dolphin and her calf crossed the sandbar that separates the sea and this freshwater lake on a very high tide a couple of months ago, and has been quite happily cavorting around with the other locals - pelicans, cormerants, swans and other water birds. The National Parks and Wildlife Officers are keeping a close watch on her, and hope to be able to get her back out to sea at the first opportunity when the sandbar is back under water, certainly before there is torrential rain which will desalinate the lake even more - fortunately there is plenty of good dining for them in the lake at the moment. So here's hoping that she and her babe can get back out to sea where they belong - very soon!