owww, oww!!! mozzie bites everywhere!!! oh well... nevermind... ;p anywayz, today, had a lesson in country driving!!! decided to head off to see the famed conargo pub (and have a coke there, since i had to drive) and the mythical "treeless plain", jus a bit further than canargo... about 120km from berrigan... anywayz, went up via jerilderie, and about 5km out of berrigan, we were bombarded with locust and grasshopper swarms!!! you'd jus feel like u were driving into a minefield, and these creatures, millions upon millions, would jus swarm thickly and splatter all over the windscreen, haphazardly distributing their yellow haemolymph in such a way that u could hardly see anymore... by the time we'd passed thru canargo and up the dirt road to the treeless plain, i only had a small window left, and trails of smeared splattered-bug were left by the wipers after my vain attempts to clear a bit more viewing space...
anyhow, the view when we got there was quite amazing, hardly a tree in sight!!! the ground was as flat as anything, wild and uncultivated, but teeming with grasshoppers and locusts... i can only think that, had they any sense of emotion, they would've looked upon my car in disgust and mourned the most unceremonious losses of so many of their own kind... it's a wonder that the lot of them didn't jam the radiator and cause the car to overheat... they do say that's a major problem with driving around here, when u're hurtling along the highways and squishing bugs at over 130km/h (insert guilty admission)... popular science also has it that if u drive at 80-90km/h or below, they jus bounce off instead of splitting open...
at least, managed to find a service station on the way back to make the windscreen somewhat more permeable to light and more respectable from an aesthetic viewpoint...
who knows?!? i might be doing the country a service... the locusts and grasshoppers are seen as plagues, quite unstoppable, unfortunately... this is a worry that they're coming down as far south as berrigan and terrorising the farms around here... they've been worried about them for six months or so, and only a few km left before they're in the town... i wonder what the repercussions will be for the local industry...
but i think the bugs are angry at me... i mean, if i were a bug (of the insectoid kind, quite apart from the fluffy kind), i'd see it as a declaration of war to be ploughing thru my territory and causing massacre like that... i guess i shouldn't be surprised then, that the mozzies are out in force to cause me as much misery as they have...
signing off, your fluffy bug at war in the country... ;p dave
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Country Life...
feeling like on the set of mcleod's daughters or similar, out here in the middle of virtually nowhere, in a lil town called Berrigan... ;p nice place tho, really, been lodging with ian & inara fox, a really lovely couple... they own a 30 acre property and an american-style house made from imported american pines and things, but it's soooo comfy!!! jus now moved again, staying with lorraine & rob beard, who live jus across the road from the fox's, it's really nice here too, tho they're renovating their driveway atm (so my car's living outside now under assault from the beating sunrays) ;p but it's all good... soo nice of them to billet me here!!! get treated like a king by my wonderful hosts!!!
it's a nice lifestyle actually, once you overcome the isolation... get woken in the morning by the crowing of the rooster and the beams of sunlight piercing the curtains... the beds are so comfy u jus don't want to rise, but then the idea of a nice warm shower and cooked breakfast beckons, as well as a day's duties to attend to at the hospital... - well, for us, could hardly call it duties ;p more like tourism...
amongst other things, been out to horse farms: some famous horses and breeders came from up here around berrigan... seen the extent of primary industry around, with rice crops traditionally being the dominant industry in the area (though in the last few years, because of the drought, wheat and maize have become the favoured crops of some of the farmers)... there's also some dairy, grain milling, and the basic amenities available in the town... there's not a whole lot more to do, except get involved in community activities - had a lion's club meeting on wednesday (where a few young ppl from the area got up to talk about issues - the one who ultimately won put together a well-woven speech about the rural community and what it means to live here...), and the swimming pool was kept alive with a fundraising swim-meet on friday night...
outside of berrigan, there's the nearby towns of finley, tocumwal and barooga, the latter two being situated on the banks of the murray river... finley had a huge tractor pull event on saturday night - wow, the dust and noise were incredible!!! the machines had to pull weights that redistributed themselves in such a way that as the tractor pulled further, more force was required to drag them... it's a rich man/woman's hobby, with hundreds of thousands of dollars being poured into modifying and supercharging the agricultural engines, which guzzle a tankload of aeroplane fuel over their 100m or so course... it's quite interesting, but a day close to the action is pretty well guaranteed to wreck your ears for at least a few days... and probably do some permanent damage too... at the end of it all, there was a humorous demolition derby where the final two cars left alive battled it out at speeds under 10kph, their engines were so shot by that stage!!!
in contrast to the calamity of the saturday night, so much of the stay here has been spent observing the peace and docility of country life, and the beauty of nature... always reminds me of God's amazing creativity to see such diverse plant and animal life so richly abundant, and without rigorous structure and routine to follow... such a beautiful change from the hustle and bustle of city life... even decided to take a glider flight (at sportavia) and see the landscape so wonderfully expanded out below... the weather, unfortunately, wasn't ideal, and there were some spots of rain... and my camera ran out of film... so i jus hope that the shot i have from up in the glider turns out well!!! but the breathtaking scenery from the glider will probably draw me back to tocumwal to take a glider course sometime in the future!!! ;p the aerodrome is also planning to start hang-gliding instruction in a few months' time...
anywayz, will update properly when i get the chance... country life is really enjoyable, but at the same time, really looking forward to returning to melbourne... really missing friends (especially missing u, sal)... - but will be back in not too long!!!
God bless,
dave
ps... in future blog, will talk about the state of healthcare in this town... since this is the major reason why we get posted to rural areas... coming soon ;p
it's a nice lifestyle actually, once you overcome the isolation... get woken in the morning by the crowing of the rooster and the beams of sunlight piercing the curtains... the beds are so comfy u jus don't want to rise, but then the idea of a nice warm shower and cooked breakfast beckons, as well as a day's duties to attend to at the hospital... - well, for us, could hardly call it duties ;p more like tourism...
amongst other things, been out to horse farms: some famous horses and breeders came from up here around berrigan... seen the extent of primary industry around, with rice crops traditionally being the dominant industry in the area (though in the last few years, because of the drought, wheat and maize have become the favoured crops of some of the farmers)... there's also some dairy, grain milling, and the basic amenities available in the town... there's not a whole lot more to do, except get involved in community activities - had a lion's club meeting on wednesday (where a few young ppl from the area got up to talk about issues - the one who ultimately won put together a well-woven speech about the rural community and what it means to live here...), and the swimming pool was kept alive with a fundraising swim-meet on friday night...
outside of berrigan, there's the nearby towns of finley, tocumwal and barooga, the latter two being situated on the banks of the murray river... finley had a huge tractor pull event on saturday night - wow, the dust and noise were incredible!!! the machines had to pull weights that redistributed themselves in such a way that as the tractor pulled further, more force was required to drag them... it's a rich man/woman's hobby, with hundreds of thousands of dollars being poured into modifying and supercharging the agricultural engines, which guzzle a tankload of aeroplane fuel over their 100m or so course... it's quite interesting, but a day close to the action is pretty well guaranteed to wreck your ears for at least a few days... and probably do some permanent damage too... at the end of it all, there was a humorous demolition derby where the final two cars left alive battled it out at speeds under 10kph, their engines were so shot by that stage!!!
in contrast to the calamity of the saturday night, so much of the stay here has been spent observing the peace and docility of country life, and the beauty of nature... always reminds me of God's amazing creativity to see such diverse plant and animal life so richly abundant, and without rigorous structure and routine to follow... such a beautiful change from the hustle and bustle of city life... even decided to take a glider flight (at sportavia) and see the landscape so wonderfully expanded out below... the weather, unfortunately, wasn't ideal, and there were some spots of rain... and my camera ran out of film... so i jus hope that the shot i have from up in the glider turns out well!!! but the breathtaking scenery from the glider will probably draw me back to tocumwal to take a glider course sometime in the future!!! ;p the aerodrome is also planning to start hang-gliding instruction in a few months' time...
anywayz, will update properly when i get the chance... country life is really enjoyable, but at the same time, really looking forward to returning to melbourne... really missing friends (especially missing u, sal)... - but will be back in not too long!!!
God bless,
dave
ps... in future blog, will talk about the state of healthcare in this town... since this is the major reason why we get posted to rural areas... coming soon ;p
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Country towns
;p this is really going to be a short blog - need to sleep, coz morning i go to Berrigan, my small town placement, which is in NSW!!! only about hour and a half drive, though, i think...
country here is nice!!! in shepparton atm, been here since sunday, tho celebrated really wonderful valentine's day with sal ;p u are so special and full of pleasant surprises!!!
country towns are so clean compared with melbourne, went for a run around shepparton earlier and around the lake - lots of nice ducks and things... hospital is nice too, apparently servicing all the surrounding townships, as far as some places over the NSW border...
anywayz - better go... - shall look forward to writing interesting tales from Berrigan!!!
country here is nice!!! in shepparton atm, been here since sunday, tho celebrated really wonderful valentine's day with sal ;p u are so special and full of pleasant surprises!!!
country towns are so clean compared with melbourne, went for a run around shepparton earlier and around the lake - lots of nice ducks and things... hospital is nice too, apparently servicing all the surrounding townships, as far as some places over the NSW border...
anywayz - better go... - shall look forward to writing interesting tales from Berrigan!!!
Friday, February 11, 2005
Perth Journal!
Wednesday 19th January – Early rise from bed, complete packing, continue sleeping in car on the way to airport. Only had about 4 hours of sleep previous night, so could hardly keep neck upright, let alone pay attention to anything that was happening. Before long, was on plane, neither able to sleep nor think, but got through a large chunk of Stradivarius, awesome book! Was quite strange, though, to notice pages of book curling up on being exposed to low air pressure. Presume something to do with moisture on exposed surface of page being lifted into the sparse atmosphere. Book’s pages now look as wavy as my hair and as wrinkled as the skin of someone much older.
Arrive in Perth, met up with my Uncle Ricky at airport. It’s nice to see him, although he’s much thinner than I remember. Quite possibly, he thinks the same about me! Perth weather is wonderful, so sunny, and so pleasant… so predictable – you could just say “about 30 degrees, sunny”, and you’d have been right for pretty much every day I was there. The breeze is pleasant and cooling too, so one welcomes the flow of air across face, unlike hot Melbourne days when the hot air tends to be anything but refreshing. We’re soon on the road, Ricky commenting on how heavy the traffic seems to be. I look around, thinking, “what traffic?” for, clearly, he must have been imagining things. Grab a bite, and proceed to house, and then to ice-cream shop that my Uncle owns (New Zealand Natural in Morley Galleria), to meet my aunt Agnes and cousin Val (who was looking as beautiful as I remember her from all those years ago!).
Mmmm - Ice cream!
Mmmm, ice cream is delicious! Part of brain that fears putting on weight is now dreading prospect of free ice cream for next two weeks. But said part of brain is positively silenced by the yumminess of said ice cream, smoothies, fruit floes, juices, practically everything in the shop! (except bananas) Dopamine receptors stimulated presumably by the chocolate part of ice cream, was feeling happy again.
Saw The Incredibles with my cousin, pretty fun movie, tho for kids. Wasn’t in much of a thinking mood, so just the right thing for me! Not a whole lot to comment. Looked around shopping centre, which was quite big for a city where light traffic is considered heavy. Had a nice dinner in Perth city’s equivalent of Chinatown, and after returning back to the house, felt utterly exhausted and in need of sleep – but ended up watching a wonderful match of tennis instead, where the Japanese 207th (or so) ranked player in the world managed to play a really entertaining, skilful match with the world number 1 (no need to name who!). Should have slept much earlier, but ended up finally getting to bed at what would have been 3.30am in Melbourne.
Thursday 20th January – Practically unable to move, but still woke up early in order to catch ride to Morley again. Had lunch at a bustling, beachside array of restaurants, stalls and cafés, some distance north of Perth. Entered into discussion with cousin’s parents (Val was at the shop) about their views on lots of things, including their view of young people’s culture. Discovered they were remarkably similar in their attitudes to my parents!
Afternoon, went north to Yanchep and the coastal township of Two Rocks, hoping to see the caves at Yanchep. The national parkland, though, had been recently devastated by fire, apparently the work of an arsonist. Why would anyone want to set fire to the parkland, honestly? It was one of two attacks in the space of not much more than a week. So the caves were closed, owing to continuing disruption to the power supply to the cave lights resulting from the fire. The landscape was reminiscent of another planet, with the vegetation consumed and leaving only bare skeletons of what was, previously, a feast of green, playing habitat to a wonderfully diverse ecosystem. This is merely another example of what man has been doing to God’s creation since we were given dominion. Quite sad, indeed.
Is this Earth, or Mars?
Bald hill! Fire-damaged, but surrounded by surviving greenery.
The local Indigenous tribes had some interesting legends to tell, as evidenced by a large serpent woodcarving and accompanying plaque.
Waugal monoliths legend - click on the photo, you can read it if you squint!
After passing through the Swan Valley region, dominated by wineries, including Houghton’s, and large fruit plantations, we returned to Perth. Went shopping at Koorong, my cousin’s family were kind enough to buy for me a leather-bound Life Application Bible! Thanks so much, it’s such an awesome present! Dinner was a value-for-money Japanese affair with huge servings of rice, meat/fish done in whatever style, sushi, and miso soup. The meals were almost too generous to finish, and the price makes you wonder how the owners could possibly be making any money. There’s little wonder the place was so popular.
Friday 21st January – Struggle to wake up, this day went to Fremantle. Not far from the house, we wandered around Fremantle, having a peek inside the maritime museum (which had one really great painting of the landing at Fremantle) and the Fremantle prison. The prison is no longer functioning in that role, but is now a historic site and tourist attraction. Some of the artwork produced by the prisoners was quite fascinating, and one could almost sense the hope and purpose that creating the artworks gave to the prisoners. It was as if, through the dots on the canvas and the messages they wrote, they were releasing a voice that had once been repressed and ignored, and there was at once a collective sense of freedom. Ironically, they only found their expression from within captivity. A large proportion of the prison art had been produced by Indigenous Australians, somewhat reflective of the disproportionately high number of Indigenous people who find themselves in custody.
Decided to stroll through the markets, a myriad of colourful stalls selling fruits, clothes, bags, various bits of art. Wistfully looked at some of the stalls selling ornaments, thinking about close friends and family, and wondering whether I should get something. Was almost on the verge of getting something when the shopkeeper, who’s actually quite nice, took it upon herself to give me advice to concentrate on studying hard (seeing I had told her I was doing medicine), and not to worry about other things in my life, like relationships. According to her, that would sort itself out once a stable career was established. This struck a hurting nerve, because it was so similar to what my parents say to me, and completely different to the way I think! I ended up not getting anything from the store. Resolve to keep trusting in God re: everything, and to view things like that under the illumination of God’s word. After all, God is, and always will be, first priority in my life, ahead of everything, including my career/study.
Saturday 22nd January – Found a wonderful ally in my cousin, who thinks very similarly to me! She taught me a lot, about patience, about endurance, about prayer and submission, as we dined on a scrumptious lunch at the Blue Duck Café over the beautiful Cottesloe beach. Once again, the servings were massive, and we could barely make it through our mains, let alone the thin fries and chilli! Took a lazy stroll on the beach, and found Perth sand much to my liking, not coarse like Melbourne beaches generally are.
Beautiful scene at Cottesloe!
Went to Subiaco, more markets, bought some fruit to chew on slowly as a jazz duo transported us to lazy New Orleans for a little while with some classics. They were so talented, their crooning voices were woven in effortlessly with thrilling trumpet countermelodies and sublime sax solos. A dad and his little kid were dancing, their eyes sparkling as though lost on another planet with nobody to watch and not a care or worry to think about.
King's Park - view of Perth
King's Park - the glorious rays of sun shine through the canopy!
The rest of the afternoon was spent taking in vistas over Perth and the Swan River from the vantage of King’s Park. If Melbourne only had parks so beautifully maintained, and beaches and water so pristine as Perth, it would indeed come very close to being the perfect place to live!
Sunday 23rd January – Went south to Busselton and Mandurah. Armed with two thermoses of double-strength espresso, and energised by the preaching of a pastor from New Creation Church in Singapore (about righteousness through faith – brought miraculously to our car by cassette tape), we travelled all the way from Perth to one of the longest jetties in the world (if not the longest) at Busselton. Imagine a jetty so long that most people rather take a train from end to end rather than walk! In any case, we decided to walk – whether to save money or to work off the obscene amounts of food we’d been eating, it doesn’t matter – twenty minutes or so to cover the almost 2km from beach to jetty tip. The end of the jetty had an underwater observatory. Schools of fish and divers were seen hovering around near the glass panes.
Panorama of Busselton Jetty
A column of smoke was to be seen rising up from the land just across from the jetty, begging the question, “was this the work of yet another firebug?” Fortunately, this was just a small fire, and within a couple of hours, fire-fighting vehicles were seen heading towards the fire. Not much more was heard of it over the following few days, so presumably it was controlled and extinguished before it had time to cause too much devastation.
Around sunset (which happens much earlier in Perth than in Melbourne, about 7.30pm), we found ourselves waist deep in an estuary near Mandurah, scoop nets in hand and plastic basin floating behind, to catch crabs! The blue manna crabs to be found at the southern end of Western Australia aren’t as big as the huge mud crabs normally seen in restaurant tanks, but they’re far more active and quick to run. It’s cute just to see a skittering of movement on the sea floor, and watch the crabs scurrying around, scared for their lives (rightly so), only pausing to contemplate their next move. The males are distinguished with bright blue across their claws, while the females bear no such resplendence. Crabbing is something that anyone able to wade around in the water can learn in a matter of minutes, and it’s a whole lot of fun! Success, though, requires many of the qualities that take you far in life. Patience, for example, is essential. If you scoop too quickly without waiting for the crab to lie still or move into your trap, you’ll do no more than knock its shell and allow it to run far, far away. Practice and perseverance are also vital for catching crabs. It takes some time getting used to visualising the depth of the water properly, and it’s a little disappointing to those who take pride in their hand-eye coordination when those first few crabs get away. But as with all things, simply treating the experience as a lesson and enjoying the failures as well as the successes makes crabbing a fun sport!
Destined for the dining table - Crabs scooped off the ocean floor at Mandurah!
On return to Perth, we feasted on the seven crabs we caught (we actually caught many more, but the rest were not large enough and were to be put back in the water – probably to be caught again and eaten once they grow to legal size). The crab meat was nice and sweet, but not being used to eating so much, a small battle was being fought between my complaining stomach and my brain, which was given to politeness in front of my relatives who kept on insisting on feeding me more. Note to self to rectify excess consumption by eating less from now on.
Monday 24th January – Trip into South Perth to eat at the Boatshed with Val. The restaurant overlooked the south bank of Swan River, and outside were surf catamarans for hire. Only one pair were out on the river at the time, but the river later became busy with a whole busload of tourists turning up to go on the river with the surf cats! Meals were nice, mine being juicy chicken breast (which turned up with wing as well) with mango sauce, avocado and salad. It was a delightful combination, and balanced well with the acerbic taste of the Balsamic mushroom dish my cousin ordered.
With my cousin at South Perth!
After relaxing a while and observing the opulent dwellings that seemed commonplace this side of the river, we headed to city and spent the afternoon shopping.
As if the crabs from the previous night weren’t enough, crabs were again to be our big meal for the night! This time we travelled not nearly so far, just down the road to Fremantle. The night was chilly, and we had to (for the first time) wear thick jackets to brace ourselves against the stinging cold wind at the jetty. We rigged the nets with baits of lamb neck and fish head and cast them out, waiting a few minutes at a time before hauling them in and examining the catch. In the meantime while waiting, we baited and cast our rods, hoping for some fish as well as crabs. Though quite a passive affair compared with scooping crabs in waist-deep water, this was still fun, more for its relaxation value than anything else. Another group were there, and they had to keep borrowing our measure to work out whether their crabs were legal or not.
The baits seemed to be working wonders this night! Not infrequently, a net would be hauled in with more than one crab quivering and struggling. Most were too small and had to be freed from the net and thrown back in. But some were quite large, one even ferocious enough to claw sharply and deeply through my uncle’s flesh. But that was just an act of desperation on the part of a crab doomed by its size to be taken home, cooked and eaten. All in all, fourteen crabs of legal size were caught, and made for another tasty meal! My thought to eat less never stood any chance. Instead, resolve to exercise furiously on return to Melbourne!
Fourteen crab feast!
Two male crabs among the crustacean harem. Males have a vibrant blue streak to distinguish them.
Tuesday 25th January – Shopping again today. Spent some time looking and very nearly being tempted by chocolates in the many chocolate shops in the city. Came across a really pretty alley, known as London Court, mostly white-coloured but decorated with coats of arms and flags, cobblestone paving and small boutique stores on either side, bustling with activity. The scene takes one back to 19th century London, and all that was needed were the horse-drawn carriage, bearded men with canes, top hats and suits to complete the time warp.
London Court!
While randomly entering shops around the city (and spontaneously buying things, as one of you will know), came across a clearance bookstore, where amongst all the unsold books and this year’s calendars was a treasure of a book called The Peoplescape. Based on the event of the same name that happened four years ago on the grassy slopes of Parliament House, the book had photographs of all of the thousands of montages put together to celebrate the lives of remarkable Australians. My brother’s cross-country coach from school featured among them, and so decided to buy it, remembering my brother’s key involvement in making the montage. Hopefully another thing to add to his growing memory box!
Wandering around the north side of Swan River, found several nice parks and walks to wander around. Took some pictures of the Glass Tower, a futuristic, but quite purposeless curiosity.
Perth's glass tower!
Nice meal of “violin duck” for dinner – the name was far more intriguing than the cuisine, though. I still wonder why it’s called what it is. If we were in a restaurant, perhaps its presentation would give the name some meaning. But since this was take-away, the duck had further been sliced into numerous little pieces, leaving no semblance to a violin. Thought of my own violin being sliced and eaten had to be fought off. Missing my violin heaps at this stage, sitting in its case all lonely and unplayed for eight days now.
Wednesday 26th January – Visited the monastery town of New Norcia. Long drive to get there, and felt completely paralysed with tiredness – meanwhile Switchfoot kept blaring in my ear, “dare you to move”. By the time we arrived, I’d had quite a long nap! Formed in the mid 19th Century, the monastery settlement readily took in indigenous people to learn and to work. The abbey would have housed a quite a number of monks, and there were a couple of lodges for lay people. Alongside the chapel, it was quite interesting to see a shed full of farm equipment and wine presses.
One of the college houses at New Norcia.
The museum was the highlight of the town. There was an upstairs art gallery, which contained so many interesting depictions of various facets of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Evidently, many of the paintings had won competitions before ending up in the gallery. I was filled with awe at the glory the depictions gave to God, and the many ways in which each painting identified at once both the complete humanity and complete deity of Jesus.
The neighbouring room was filled with splendid regalia that once adorned the monks during services, all very elaborate, in stark contrast with the simplicity of the settlement’s buildings. But some treasures were to be found, including several violins and related instruments made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The configuration of the instruments suggests that they were updated for modern playing during the 19th century. Music books (hymn books) were also on display and contained some original compositions by the monks themselves. It strikes me as odd though, how they could make music books so large, with each side about A3 size, or perhaps even larger.
The violin exhibit in the monastery museum!
Downstairs, more historical musical instruments were to be found, as well as agricultural tools used to manage the surrounding farmland. An apothecary cabinet from the period was also on display, with everything from gut sutures to strange elixirs. Although some of the bottles appeared half full, their contents were probably nothing like what the label proclaimed must have been inside a century or so earlier.
After a meandering drive back to Perth, we took our dinner at the Sizzler (haven’t seen these around Melbourne for years!) and taking an early night’s sleep.
Thursday 27th January – Back to Melbourne! Must say, there’s loads of stuff I have that I hadn’t anticipated I’d be bringing back home, including things such as badminton racquet, extra toiletries bag, a couple of bottles of eau de cologne, chocolates etc. Spent the flight back watching and snapping photos of a gorgeous sunset from well above the clouds, and mused about the impending storm in Melbourne (this was about 5-6 days before the storm arrived in Melbourne – presumably the storm we saw from above was a precursor to the freak storm, or perhaps it was the southerly system that mixed in with the west wind to form the storm that eventually arrived to wreak havoc). From above, the system looked almost cyclonic, but so calm and fluffyTM at the same time. Once again, I was in awe of the sheer beauty of God’s created nature, at once both unnerving and seductive, and forever unparalleled by anything made by man.
High above the clouds, where the plane doth fly...
Really, it was quite a beautiful closure to my trip west, to a beautiful city. Would love to visit again, and must say so much thanks to Val, Ricky and Agnes for making my stay there such a great experience!
Arrive in Perth, met up with my Uncle Ricky at airport. It’s nice to see him, although he’s much thinner than I remember. Quite possibly, he thinks the same about me! Perth weather is wonderful, so sunny, and so pleasant… so predictable – you could just say “about 30 degrees, sunny”, and you’d have been right for pretty much every day I was there. The breeze is pleasant and cooling too, so one welcomes the flow of air across face, unlike hot Melbourne days when the hot air tends to be anything but refreshing. We’re soon on the road, Ricky commenting on how heavy the traffic seems to be. I look around, thinking, “what traffic?” for, clearly, he must have been imagining things. Grab a bite, and proceed to house, and then to ice-cream shop that my Uncle owns (New Zealand Natural in Morley Galleria), to meet my aunt Agnes and cousin Val (who was looking as beautiful as I remember her from all those years ago!).
Mmmm - Ice cream!
Mmmm, ice cream is delicious! Part of brain that fears putting on weight is now dreading prospect of free ice cream for next two weeks. But said part of brain is positively silenced by the yumminess of said ice cream, smoothies, fruit floes, juices, practically everything in the shop! (except bananas) Dopamine receptors stimulated presumably by the chocolate part of ice cream, was feeling happy again.
Saw The Incredibles with my cousin, pretty fun movie, tho for kids. Wasn’t in much of a thinking mood, so just the right thing for me! Not a whole lot to comment. Looked around shopping centre, which was quite big for a city where light traffic is considered heavy. Had a nice dinner in Perth city’s equivalent of Chinatown, and after returning back to the house, felt utterly exhausted and in need of sleep – but ended up watching a wonderful match of tennis instead, where the Japanese 207th (or so) ranked player in the world managed to play a really entertaining, skilful match with the world number 1 (no need to name who!). Should have slept much earlier, but ended up finally getting to bed at what would have been 3.30am in Melbourne.
Thursday 20th January – Practically unable to move, but still woke up early in order to catch ride to Morley again. Had lunch at a bustling, beachside array of restaurants, stalls and cafés, some distance north of Perth. Entered into discussion with cousin’s parents (Val was at the shop) about their views on lots of things, including their view of young people’s culture. Discovered they were remarkably similar in their attitudes to my parents!
Afternoon, went north to Yanchep and the coastal township of Two Rocks, hoping to see the caves at Yanchep. The national parkland, though, had been recently devastated by fire, apparently the work of an arsonist. Why would anyone want to set fire to the parkland, honestly? It was one of two attacks in the space of not much more than a week. So the caves were closed, owing to continuing disruption to the power supply to the cave lights resulting from the fire. The landscape was reminiscent of another planet, with the vegetation consumed and leaving only bare skeletons of what was, previously, a feast of green, playing habitat to a wonderfully diverse ecosystem. This is merely another example of what man has been doing to God’s creation since we were given dominion. Quite sad, indeed.
Is this Earth, or Mars?
Bald hill! Fire-damaged, but surrounded by surviving greenery.
The local Indigenous tribes had some interesting legends to tell, as evidenced by a large serpent woodcarving and accompanying plaque.
Waugal monoliths legend - click on the photo, you can read it if you squint!
After passing through the Swan Valley region, dominated by wineries, including Houghton’s, and large fruit plantations, we returned to Perth. Went shopping at Koorong, my cousin’s family were kind enough to buy for me a leather-bound Life Application Bible! Thanks so much, it’s such an awesome present! Dinner was a value-for-money Japanese affair with huge servings of rice, meat/fish done in whatever style, sushi, and miso soup. The meals were almost too generous to finish, and the price makes you wonder how the owners could possibly be making any money. There’s little wonder the place was so popular.
Friday 21st January – Struggle to wake up, this day went to Fremantle. Not far from the house, we wandered around Fremantle, having a peek inside the maritime museum (which had one really great painting of the landing at Fremantle) and the Fremantle prison. The prison is no longer functioning in that role, but is now a historic site and tourist attraction. Some of the artwork produced by the prisoners was quite fascinating, and one could almost sense the hope and purpose that creating the artworks gave to the prisoners. It was as if, through the dots on the canvas and the messages they wrote, they were releasing a voice that had once been repressed and ignored, and there was at once a collective sense of freedom. Ironically, they only found their expression from within captivity. A large proportion of the prison art had been produced by Indigenous Australians, somewhat reflective of the disproportionately high number of Indigenous people who find themselves in custody.
Decided to stroll through the markets, a myriad of colourful stalls selling fruits, clothes, bags, various bits of art. Wistfully looked at some of the stalls selling ornaments, thinking about close friends and family, and wondering whether I should get something. Was almost on the verge of getting something when the shopkeeper, who’s actually quite nice, took it upon herself to give me advice to concentrate on studying hard (seeing I had told her I was doing medicine), and not to worry about other things in my life, like relationships. According to her, that would sort itself out once a stable career was established. This struck a hurting nerve, because it was so similar to what my parents say to me, and completely different to the way I think! I ended up not getting anything from the store. Resolve to keep trusting in God re: everything, and to view things like that under the illumination of God’s word. After all, God is, and always will be, first priority in my life, ahead of everything, including my career/study.
Saturday 22nd January – Found a wonderful ally in my cousin, who thinks very similarly to me! She taught me a lot, about patience, about endurance, about prayer and submission, as we dined on a scrumptious lunch at the Blue Duck Café over the beautiful Cottesloe beach. Once again, the servings were massive, and we could barely make it through our mains, let alone the thin fries and chilli! Took a lazy stroll on the beach, and found Perth sand much to my liking, not coarse like Melbourne beaches generally are.
Beautiful scene at Cottesloe!
Went to Subiaco, more markets, bought some fruit to chew on slowly as a jazz duo transported us to lazy New Orleans for a little while with some classics. They were so talented, their crooning voices were woven in effortlessly with thrilling trumpet countermelodies and sublime sax solos. A dad and his little kid were dancing, their eyes sparkling as though lost on another planet with nobody to watch and not a care or worry to think about.
King's Park - view of Perth
King's Park - the glorious rays of sun shine through the canopy!
The rest of the afternoon was spent taking in vistas over Perth and the Swan River from the vantage of King’s Park. If Melbourne only had parks so beautifully maintained, and beaches and water so pristine as Perth, it would indeed come very close to being the perfect place to live!
Sunday 23rd January – Went south to Busselton and Mandurah. Armed with two thermoses of double-strength espresso, and energised by the preaching of a pastor from New Creation Church in Singapore (about righteousness through faith – brought miraculously to our car by cassette tape), we travelled all the way from Perth to one of the longest jetties in the world (if not the longest) at Busselton. Imagine a jetty so long that most people rather take a train from end to end rather than walk! In any case, we decided to walk – whether to save money or to work off the obscene amounts of food we’d been eating, it doesn’t matter – twenty minutes or so to cover the almost 2km from beach to jetty tip. The end of the jetty had an underwater observatory. Schools of fish and divers were seen hovering around near the glass panes.
Panorama of Busselton Jetty
A column of smoke was to be seen rising up from the land just across from the jetty, begging the question, “was this the work of yet another firebug?” Fortunately, this was just a small fire, and within a couple of hours, fire-fighting vehicles were seen heading towards the fire. Not much more was heard of it over the following few days, so presumably it was controlled and extinguished before it had time to cause too much devastation.
Around sunset (which happens much earlier in Perth than in Melbourne, about 7.30pm), we found ourselves waist deep in an estuary near Mandurah, scoop nets in hand and plastic basin floating behind, to catch crabs! The blue manna crabs to be found at the southern end of Western Australia aren’t as big as the huge mud crabs normally seen in restaurant tanks, but they’re far more active and quick to run. It’s cute just to see a skittering of movement on the sea floor, and watch the crabs scurrying around, scared for their lives (rightly so), only pausing to contemplate their next move. The males are distinguished with bright blue across their claws, while the females bear no such resplendence. Crabbing is something that anyone able to wade around in the water can learn in a matter of minutes, and it’s a whole lot of fun! Success, though, requires many of the qualities that take you far in life. Patience, for example, is essential. If you scoop too quickly without waiting for the crab to lie still or move into your trap, you’ll do no more than knock its shell and allow it to run far, far away. Practice and perseverance are also vital for catching crabs. It takes some time getting used to visualising the depth of the water properly, and it’s a little disappointing to those who take pride in their hand-eye coordination when those first few crabs get away. But as with all things, simply treating the experience as a lesson and enjoying the failures as well as the successes makes crabbing a fun sport!
Destined for the dining table - Crabs scooped off the ocean floor at Mandurah!
On return to Perth, we feasted on the seven crabs we caught (we actually caught many more, but the rest were not large enough and were to be put back in the water – probably to be caught again and eaten once they grow to legal size). The crab meat was nice and sweet, but not being used to eating so much, a small battle was being fought between my complaining stomach and my brain, which was given to politeness in front of my relatives who kept on insisting on feeding me more. Note to self to rectify excess consumption by eating less from now on.
Monday 24th January – Trip into South Perth to eat at the Boatshed with Val. The restaurant overlooked the south bank of Swan River, and outside were surf catamarans for hire. Only one pair were out on the river at the time, but the river later became busy with a whole busload of tourists turning up to go on the river with the surf cats! Meals were nice, mine being juicy chicken breast (which turned up with wing as well) with mango sauce, avocado and salad. It was a delightful combination, and balanced well with the acerbic taste of the Balsamic mushroom dish my cousin ordered.
With my cousin at South Perth!
After relaxing a while and observing the opulent dwellings that seemed commonplace this side of the river, we headed to city and spent the afternoon shopping.
As if the crabs from the previous night weren’t enough, crabs were again to be our big meal for the night! This time we travelled not nearly so far, just down the road to Fremantle. The night was chilly, and we had to (for the first time) wear thick jackets to brace ourselves against the stinging cold wind at the jetty. We rigged the nets with baits of lamb neck and fish head and cast them out, waiting a few minutes at a time before hauling them in and examining the catch. In the meantime while waiting, we baited and cast our rods, hoping for some fish as well as crabs. Though quite a passive affair compared with scooping crabs in waist-deep water, this was still fun, more for its relaxation value than anything else. Another group were there, and they had to keep borrowing our measure to work out whether their crabs were legal or not.
The baits seemed to be working wonders this night! Not infrequently, a net would be hauled in with more than one crab quivering and struggling. Most were too small and had to be freed from the net and thrown back in. But some were quite large, one even ferocious enough to claw sharply and deeply through my uncle’s flesh. But that was just an act of desperation on the part of a crab doomed by its size to be taken home, cooked and eaten. All in all, fourteen crabs of legal size were caught, and made for another tasty meal! My thought to eat less never stood any chance. Instead, resolve to exercise furiously on return to Melbourne!
Fourteen crab feast!
Two male crabs among the crustacean harem. Males have a vibrant blue streak to distinguish them.
Tuesday 25th January – Shopping again today. Spent some time looking and very nearly being tempted by chocolates in the many chocolate shops in the city. Came across a really pretty alley, known as London Court, mostly white-coloured but decorated with coats of arms and flags, cobblestone paving and small boutique stores on either side, bustling with activity. The scene takes one back to 19th century London, and all that was needed were the horse-drawn carriage, bearded men with canes, top hats and suits to complete the time warp.
London Court!
While randomly entering shops around the city (and spontaneously buying things, as one of you will know), came across a clearance bookstore, where amongst all the unsold books and this year’s calendars was a treasure of a book called The Peoplescape. Based on the event of the same name that happened four years ago on the grassy slopes of Parliament House, the book had photographs of all of the thousands of montages put together to celebrate the lives of remarkable Australians. My brother’s cross-country coach from school featured among them, and so decided to buy it, remembering my brother’s key involvement in making the montage. Hopefully another thing to add to his growing memory box!
Wandering around the north side of Swan River, found several nice parks and walks to wander around. Took some pictures of the Glass Tower, a futuristic, but quite purposeless curiosity.
Perth's glass tower!
Nice meal of “violin duck” for dinner – the name was far more intriguing than the cuisine, though. I still wonder why it’s called what it is. If we were in a restaurant, perhaps its presentation would give the name some meaning. But since this was take-away, the duck had further been sliced into numerous little pieces, leaving no semblance to a violin. Thought of my own violin being sliced and eaten had to be fought off. Missing my violin heaps at this stage, sitting in its case all lonely and unplayed for eight days now.
Wednesday 26th January – Visited the monastery town of New Norcia. Long drive to get there, and felt completely paralysed with tiredness – meanwhile Switchfoot kept blaring in my ear, “dare you to move”. By the time we arrived, I’d had quite a long nap! Formed in the mid 19th Century, the monastery settlement readily took in indigenous people to learn and to work. The abbey would have housed a quite a number of monks, and there were a couple of lodges for lay people. Alongside the chapel, it was quite interesting to see a shed full of farm equipment and wine presses.
One of the college houses at New Norcia.
The museum was the highlight of the town. There was an upstairs art gallery, which contained so many interesting depictions of various facets of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Evidently, many of the paintings had won competitions before ending up in the gallery. I was filled with awe at the glory the depictions gave to God, and the many ways in which each painting identified at once both the complete humanity and complete deity of Jesus.
The neighbouring room was filled with splendid regalia that once adorned the monks during services, all very elaborate, in stark contrast with the simplicity of the settlement’s buildings. But some treasures were to be found, including several violins and related instruments made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The configuration of the instruments suggests that they were updated for modern playing during the 19th century. Music books (hymn books) were also on display and contained some original compositions by the monks themselves. It strikes me as odd though, how they could make music books so large, with each side about A3 size, or perhaps even larger.
The violin exhibit in the monastery museum!
Downstairs, more historical musical instruments were to be found, as well as agricultural tools used to manage the surrounding farmland. An apothecary cabinet from the period was also on display, with everything from gut sutures to strange elixirs. Although some of the bottles appeared half full, their contents were probably nothing like what the label proclaimed must have been inside a century or so earlier.
After a meandering drive back to Perth, we took our dinner at the Sizzler (haven’t seen these around Melbourne for years!) and taking an early night’s sleep.
Thursday 27th January – Back to Melbourne! Must say, there’s loads of stuff I have that I hadn’t anticipated I’d be bringing back home, including things such as badminton racquet, extra toiletries bag, a couple of bottles of eau de cologne, chocolates etc. Spent the flight back watching and snapping photos of a gorgeous sunset from well above the clouds, and mused about the impending storm in Melbourne (this was about 5-6 days before the storm arrived in Melbourne – presumably the storm we saw from above was a precursor to the freak storm, or perhaps it was the southerly system that mixed in with the west wind to form the storm that eventually arrived to wreak havoc). From above, the system looked almost cyclonic, but so calm and fluffyTM at the same time. Once again, I was in awe of the sheer beauty of God’s created nature, at once both unnerving and seductive, and forever unparalleled by anything made by man.
High above the clouds, where the plane doth fly...
Really, it was quite a beautiful closure to my trip west, to a beautiful city. Would love to visit again, and must say so much thanks to Val, Ricky and Agnes for making my stay there such a great experience!
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Chinese New Year!!!
wishing all a happy, blessed Chinese New Year!!! ;p just a short blog today... around this time every year, there's lots of eating to be done, thus ruining any chance of me sticking to my self-imposed resolve to eat less and exercise more... not to say i haven't been exercising... went for a 14km run yesterday (my usual run) - but it turned into a 10km run + 1km walk + 3km run... not a good sign, since i don't usually have trouble getting through the course!!!
but yes, food!!! ;p too much of it, in fact... huge home dinner last night, prawns, ham, mushrooms, vegetables, rice, hmmmz... even curry, but i didn't have any of that since i had far too much on my plate already... there was a huge juicy rockmelon afterwards... so tired, after having run and then eaten, i could do nothing but find my bed and sleep!!! ;p
fortunately, i'd recovered by today... Chinese New Year!!! the rooster crows, and it's another reminder that my mother's going to be turning a multiple of twelve this year (i shan't disclose) ;p since she's a proud rooster herself... enjoyed a nice dinner and movie tonight with Sal, although we were caught up running after trams and running to the kino, to ensure we weren't locked out!!! saw Vera Drake, a movie that tackles the issue of abortion and its complex facets in the setting of post WWII England... quite impressed actually, by the way that it doesn't try to oversimplify the issue, nor make any loud statement on an issue that's clearly not black and white... it's littered with ironies as well, and the characters are neat caricatures, conveniently tied in a web of relations for the sake of the movie, diverse enough to cover a range of viewpoints... recommended viewing!!!
;p anywayz, before i sign off, shall leave you with a psalm that is very thought-provoking... it talks about "bloodguilt", and says "surely I was sinful at birth", which some would say is referring to soul ties that are handed down from generation to generation... it goes deeper than soul ties though, since we are all sinful by nature ever since the first man, Adam, and none of us can declare ourselves on our own to be without sin... this psalm is a very strong reminder of our need to remember God in our lives first, that our sin is against God, and that we need to submit ourselves to Him... but our God, in His infinite love and mercy, has granted us a way to come back to Him and receive forgiveness, through Jesus Christ... so shall rededicate life to God, and be submissive to Him in all things, for we need God, as always, and forevermore, and in Him we shall find our dwelling place!!! ;p
God bless,
dave
but yes, food!!! ;p too much of it, in fact... huge home dinner last night, prawns, ham, mushrooms, vegetables, rice, hmmmz... even curry, but i didn't have any of that since i had far too much on my plate already... there was a huge juicy rockmelon afterwards... so tired, after having run and then eaten, i could do nothing but find my bed and sleep!!! ;p
fortunately, i'd recovered by today... Chinese New Year!!! the rooster crows, and it's another reminder that my mother's going to be turning a multiple of twelve this year (i shan't disclose) ;p since she's a proud rooster herself... enjoyed a nice dinner and movie tonight with Sal, although we were caught up running after trams and running to the kino, to ensure we weren't locked out!!! saw Vera Drake, a movie that tackles the issue of abortion and its complex facets in the setting of post WWII England... quite impressed actually, by the way that it doesn't try to oversimplify the issue, nor make any loud statement on an issue that's clearly not black and white... it's littered with ironies as well, and the characters are neat caricatures, conveniently tied in a web of relations for the sake of the movie, diverse enough to cover a range of viewpoints... recommended viewing!!!
;p anywayz, before i sign off, shall leave you with a psalm that is very thought-provoking... it talks about "bloodguilt", and says "surely I was sinful at birth", which some would say is referring to soul ties that are handed down from generation to generation... it goes deeper than soul ties though, since we are all sinful by nature ever since the first man, Adam, and none of us can declare ourselves on our own to be without sin... this psalm is a very strong reminder of our need to remember God in our lives first, that our sin is against God, and that we need to submit ourselves to Him... but our God, in His infinite love and mercy, has granted us a way to come back to Him and receive forgiveness, through Jesus Christ... so shall rededicate life to God, and be submissive to Him in all things, for we need God, as always, and forevermore, and in Him we shall find our dwelling place!!! ;p
God bless,
dave
Psalm 51
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Argh - long time, no blog!!!
i really ought to update this properly... sometime soon (hmmmz - that's still quite nebulous) i'll write up a perth blog, as i now have photos...
yes, that means, i'm back in melbourne!!! ;p have been since thursday nite, actually... had a nice flight back, took pictures of the sunset from high above the clouds, and saw the melbourne nightscape...
was wonderful to spend time with sally again, after 10 days, missed u heaps!!! ;p
today - some good news, some bad (well, not really bad... jus surprising...) - good news, the paper i did some work for has been accepted for publishing, and should be out in 3 months!!! ;p it's been a long time coming, but was a rather extensive investigation into the perception of pitch using various strategies in the cochlear implant... and comprised several long experiments (over the course of a couple of years) - so good to see it's finally going to be recognised...
the (kind of) bad/surprising news - as some of u know, i'm going to shepp on rural placement the week after next... i have my timetable, and it included postings to places i hadn't heard of... - berrigan, robinvale... - turns out these places are both interstate, in new south wales!!! i guess it'll be interesting, but expensive/long, tiring drives... and having to go so far... oh well... ;p i guess i can enjoy the scenery on the way, perhaps spend some time on the murray river... hehe...
speaking of crossing rivers, i'll finally suggest a reading from Joshua 1:1-9... we are told to always be courageous, to trust in the Lord, to meditate on His word and His ways, and through our God, we can be confident to gain those blessings intended for us by Him... ;p love this passage!!!
yes, that means, i'm back in melbourne!!! ;p have been since thursday nite, actually... had a nice flight back, took pictures of the sunset from high above the clouds, and saw the melbourne nightscape...
was wonderful to spend time with sally again, after 10 days, missed u heaps!!! ;p
today - some good news, some bad (well, not really bad... jus surprising...) - good news, the paper i did some work for has been accepted for publishing, and should be out in 3 months!!! ;p it's been a long time coming, but was a rather extensive investigation into the perception of pitch using various strategies in the cochlear implant... and comprised several long experiments (over the course of a couple of years) - so good to see it's finally going to be recognised...
the (kind of) bad/surprising news - as some of u know, i'm going to shepp on rural placement the week after next... i have my timetable, and it included postings to places i hadn't heard of... - berrigan, robinvale... - turns out these places are both interstate, in new south wales!!! i guess it'll be interesting, but expensive/long, tiring drives... and having to go so far... oh well... ;p i guess i can enjoy the scenery on the way, perhaps spend some time on the murray river... hehe...
speaking of crossing rivers, i'll finally suggest a reading from Joshua 1:1-9... we are told to always be courageous, to trust in the Lord, to meditate on His word and His ways, and through our God, we can be confident to gain those blessings intended for us by Him... ;p love this passage!!!
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD , the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them-to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates-all the Hittite country-to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:1-9
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