Alice Springs - The Red Heart of Australia

Bill (and family) just had the pleasure of attending an Emergency Medicine conference (compliments of the Australian government) at a place called Alice Springs, almost dead center in the continent of Australia. The whole family went and contributed to the "kid soup" in the hotel swimming pool, along with 24 other conference attendees' offspring. A look at a map would suggest that the climate should be miserably hot and, hence, the surroundings barren and devoid of life - which couldn't be further from the truth. There are many "upside-down rivers" where the water flows on the surface during floods, but then 1-3 feet under the deep orangy-red sands during drier times - so a plethora of unique plant life abounds, in particular beautiful Red Gums and, higher in the 800million -year-old rocks, surreal white-barked Ghost gums (Eucalyptus trees). Some day trips included the dessert center with an abundance of plant and animal life, the reptile center where Ellary and Risa got up close and personal with lizards and an Olive Python, a trip to a local watering hole "Ellery Big Hole," a local Chasm steeped in Aboriginal custom and lore, and, last, but not least - a one day bus trip to Uluru=Ayer's Rock - 500km from Alice Springs. It's quoted as being the longest organized day trip in the world. We left at 6am and returned at Midnight and the temperature at Uluru was an unseasonably warm 39C (103F !). Everywhere we went we learned of Aboriginal legends, local geology, and the early exploration of the inner continent which led to the settlement in the middle of nowhere. En route to Uluru, we stopped at Jim's Road House where we saw a Dingo named Dinky who can "play" a piano and sing and is world famous - has been on radio, TV, newspapers, and magazines the world over. At magical and breathtaking Uluru, we heard fascinating accounts of Aboriginal legends and their explanations of various geological features of the rock and how this was passed from generation to generation to teach them the location of watering holes, etc. At sunset, we went to the sunset viewing area to experience, in an intimate setting with about 500 other people, the changing colors of Uluru as the sun went down.

Bill found the Indian Jones/Australian Cowboy (Kangaroo hide) hat of his dreams, hence his life is now complete.

We'd recommend a visit to anyone (only NOT in summer - it gets to 45C -116F).

BNER

Sailing in Paradise - The Whitsunday Islands

In mid September we all flew to the Whitsunday Islands - a collection of beautiful tropical islands at the south end of the Great Barrier Reef. After meeting up with our friend, Rick, who flew from the US to sail with us and hang out in Tasmania afterwards, we took a ferry from the small island we landed on, and hopped aboard the Morning Mist - a comfy 11 meter catamaran.

It was a magical week - perhaps our best family vacation ever - with a leisurely day sail from mooring to mooring in beautiful coves and bays, with fun snorkeling a splash away from every anchorage. There was a three mile long white sand beach, short walk to a cave with aboriginal paintings, plentiful sea life including breaching whales, dolphins, and sea turtles, and not too many other boats around competing for moorages. Sunsets were postcard colorful. The kids had fun bobbing around in the water and laying on a mini surfboard with a clear plastic bubble - so they could see the fish and coral. The weather was perfect and the water an amazing turquoise. Our eyes were bigger than our heads in our initial purchase of alcohol and snacks so we had some Boag's left over which we donated to some other sailors about to head out.

When we returned to Tasmania, a brief visit to a nearby National Park treated us with a look at some new little Joey's in their Mom's pouches.

A great week.

BNER