Beach path

First day in Melbourne was off to a great start! 
It was hot over 35 C! What better place to be than down on the bay.

I know I'm falling into some very familiar habits but visiting certain places has become a more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane, this little ritual is beginning to forge new memories of my old hangouts. This time I thought I'd extend my range and continue along the beach trail to Mordialoc.

It's such an easy journey on the train. I can cycle to the local train station, take my bike on the train, change lines at Flinders Street (hoicking my bike up the stairs or escalator) complete my train ride at Sandringham and the beach!

The obligatory homage to the Cerberus can be assumed but on a hot day the beach at Half Moon Bay is crowded and somewhat unpleasant with jetskis buzzing around. Busy days here should be avoided. The water gathers a sheen of oily residue from all the sunscreen and coconut scented tanning oil! It really can be disgusting... on the other hand if you're worried about getting burned you can just take a quick dip in the shallows and step out with an even coating of whatever sun-resistant slime happens to be the flavor of the day.

I didn't swim at the Cerberus but decided to explore the coast a little further. The beach road bicycle path passes some fairly interesting little spots and there are a few secluded beaches along the way that don't see nearly as many oil drenched sun bathers. I managed to find a path to the base of the Bluff in front of the Great Southern Hotel where a bunch of pelicans weren't too perturbed by my presence. I had that little space all to myself.

Although I'd been to Black Rock before I hadn't realized just how interesting it would be under water. I had a refreshing swim here and the water was quite clear. I didn't go snorkeling but could easily see that this rocky outcrop with it's sponges and water plants would be a fantastic place to explore.

Wanting to get home before dark I ended my tour at Mordialoc just before the river inlet. I turned around and headed back the way I had come. Rather than catch the train I planned to ride all the way back to Flinders Street Station along the coast. I totally recommend this ride! The path is really well designed some sections even have separate paths for bicycles and pedestrians! 

Plenty of weird and wonderful things to see along the way, not so much in terms of natural beauty but stuff of human creativity and just the humans in general. There's a lot of them and they like to get out and be seen. There are a lot of posers at the beach and they are all so beautiful and ugly at the same time. It's a kind of magic that inspires the primal desire to compete or contempt... ;) 

Being a week day the path became quite busy after 4pm. Cyclists on road bikes come barreling down on you and I noticed several pedestrians become unnerved as a lycra  clad hero wooshed past them at high speed. Thankfully all the bicycle traffic was heading out of town so I didn't have to worry about being constantly overtaken or getting in anyone's way. I was pretty much free to plod along slowly gawking at the freaks, the mansions, the yachts and the posers. 

When I arrived at the station I was able to walk straight through the doors of my train, which departed two minutes later. Made it home with daylight to spare.

Another great day.

Where ya going?

The beach where I live

Sometimes It's really nice where I live... :)



Best seen standing still... or walking slowly.

Chicory and history

Hi Ho!
Yeh so the climate talks showed us that it will take more than a bunch of world leaders talking to change the world. I'm sure deep down we all knew that! Yes I know my travel has also contributed to the problem and I am working on a long term plan to reduce this, however, since I am traveling I am committed to enjoying that great privilege while it I have access to it and to cherish the opportunity to share it with my family.

We all recently made a trip to a quiet coastal town not too far from Melbourne. What a great way to unwind! What a find! Of course the place we visited had been discovered and already the small weatherboard holiday houses were being gradually replaced by gigantic edifices of concrete and glass for the urban rich, however the place remained quiet and pleasant. I saw no grafiti whatsoever and we managed to walk a full 1.5km along the main street without encountering a car!






We visited a Hedge maze and discovered they had a meditative labyrinth which was another great way to unwind.

A short trip on a local ferry brought us to anothe beautiful and secluded part of the world that I could easily become acustomed to living in!
A visit to an old Chicory farm on a quiet rural Island and some wonderful encounters made this a favorite trip for all of us! We sampled some Chicory and ate scones... Yum!











Freedom for the spirit away from the rock and roll! Away from the agro and fumes in the full breeze of the southern ocean, home to the penguines and seals! No towns no haste. The gusty winds blow...





Oh I really liked it in that place. What better way to spend Christmas. Simply, quetly, in the fresh air with family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Four Days

Passover
Now is the last day of the four day Easter break. It's been a great chance to relax and enjoy being with the family. We've had a great time just hanging out together and taking it easy.
Sam has recently joined a church who get together for the Passover as part of their Easter program. Prior to Thursday night I was quite ignorant of the the various observances leading up to Easter but am keenly interested to learn more. I was glad to have been invited to attend and was very impressed with the service. We shared a meal of Lamb, bitter herbs, flat bread, salt water and boiled eggs. While the minister put the evening in context by reading a brief description of the event from the old testament when the Hebrews were saved from a pestilence which passed over Egypt delivering death to all first born. The service then moved on to the last supper and the events prior to Jesus capture and crucifixion by the Romans.

Before Thursday I had no idea of the significance of the Passover it was a great way to learn about these religious practices. The atmosphere in this Church is accepting and inviting, the people seem to practice true fellowship and the atmosphere very friendly and inclusive. So far I have been made to feel very welcome even though I have revealed to them that I am not a Christian. I would like to attend future services but can’t help feeling like an impostor and wonder if it is an imposition on them to have a non-Christian attending so regularly. I can’t help thinking my presence would somehow dilute the faith of their community.


Friday - Play & Lee Point Beach


Play-dough craft


On Friday we got up early and made a great batch of play-dough in four colours, red, blue, green and and pink. It's quite bizarre that flower can be bought far cheaper than clay and surely with all the starving people in the world it would be better eaten than molded into childish figures but such is life. Kids love playing with dough! Ours did for most of the morning until we put together the ever expanding Thomas track and played trains and farm animals for most of the day.


Lee Point beach, (Casuarina Coastal Reserve)

In the afternoon we went to Lee Point Beach and tried to fly our kite, there wasn’t enough of a breeze but I can’t be sure this is the reason it didn’t fly because I have never been able to get a kite off the ground for more than a few seconds! Somebody please tell me what is the trick! (I have since read that in Bermuda Christians fly kites on Good Friday as a symbolic gesture for the crucifixion of Jesus and his assent to heaven. What a coincidence that we chose to take the kite out on Good Friday!)


Driftwood on the beach

I prefer not to take the dog to the beach for a variety of reasons but she hadn’t been out for a while and Sam insisted. After just a couple of minutes there I already regretted having her with us. It wasn’t her so much as the accumulated harm caused by dogs and people in general. After being at the beach for just five minutes we were astounded to see a precession of people and dogs all filing onto the beach from the car park. It was peak hour at Lee Point and nowhere to stand without being accosted by frantic and excited K9s.
Besides the humbug of so many animals and people there is also the associated masses of dog shit polluting the beach. But this is not the thing that really bugs me. Lea Point beach is renowned for it’s migratory birds and is a flat backed turtle breeding site. There are small shore birds and waders dotted all along the coast, which are under constant attack from boisterous hounds, playful pups and bloodthirsty beasts! I have watched people unleash their dogs simply to allow them the joy of chasing wheeling shoals of shorebirds along the coast. The dogs barking and scampering as the birds launch from one roosting site to the next! Although it is unlikely the dogs would ever catch any birds, although they may, the effect of continually taking flight must be exhausting for the birds and would surely reduce their ability to survive. It sickens me to see so many dogs on the beach forcing the natural inhabitants off to who knows where.
Although our dog doesn’t stray from us while we walk, as far as I can see we are contributing to the harm done by so many thoughtless visitors. There is now a new dog free zone between Lee Point and Buffalo creek, but the signage is easy to miss on a low tide and we actually entered the area with our dog! We were not alone and I watched in horror as two young blokes took their unrestrained dogs straight into an area that was full of birds! One of the dogs chased something into the bushes and the whole thing got out of hand. This is just one small example of something that must be played out innumerable times on any day throughout the week. All the time the wildlife suffering so we can roam where we like. Soon the tourists will arrive at Lee Point caravan park and the beach will be littered with their plastic bait bags which are left to be washed into the sea and eaten by flat backed turtles! Coincidentally the turtles lay their eggs on the beaches of Casuarina coastal reserve but these are often dug up and incubated by Parks and Wildlife staff because they would stand no chance of survival with so many dogs roaming the beach! We have decided we will not take our dog out there anymore.


Dead shore bird devoured by hermit crabs


Saturday
On Saturday I bought a copy of The Ten Commandments on DVD for under $10! What a bargain! We've been watching it on and off all weekend. Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston were awesome and the poetic theatrics of the movie are great to watch especially since this kind of acting has been ditched for less wordy stuff. The masses of people seen in wide angle shots are actual people and not computer generated AI replicas! Of course there has been heaps of criticism of the films lack of authenticity in keeping with the story but I don't feel to corrupted. These days we are exposed to so many interpretations of historical or religious events that I expect most people would be able to establish that this is not the definitive account of what happened 3,000 years ago.
Saturday night we rode our bikes down to the Bucket park and met with some friends. We played in the pool/lake for about 2 hours! She hasn't been in the water for about four months and had forgotten how to hold her breath in the water but soon caught on and was keen to practice. It was a great day and the beginnings of the weather was very close to dry true dry season.

Sunday
On Sunday we ate lunch with friends who live in a third floor apartment opposite Nightcliff beach and enjoyed another delicious roast. The pumpkin was absolutely delicious thanks Gillian. From where we sat we could see the first mass of dragonflies stretching their newly emerged wings as they hovered on the sea breeze above the Casuarinas and Eucalypts. After lunch we ate a little chocolate and relaxed into the afternoon. The kids sang improvised songs and dressed up in costumes. They paraded themselves in front of us and waited for the applause, then they'd race off to find something more stunning to impress us with. When the costumes ran out they paraded around in their birthday suits! When the novelty of all this play had worn off and we were beginning to get drowsy it was time to go so we packed ourselves up and departed for an afternoon snooze! What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Another morning ride

I now have a new cycling LED headlamp which is worn believe it or not on the head of the rider.
This morning while it was still dark and all were sleeping I decided to put it to the test in a pre-dawn cycle through the monsoonal forest to Lee Point. But like the old story about the frogs who decided to jump off a log goes; deciding and doing are two different things. Suffice to say I didn't get out on the road until the birds had already risen and the dusky light of dawn was forcing it's way through our flat's roughly drawn curtains. Deciding that it was better late than never I rode anyway, with my flash new LET headdress on full beam.

Having read some interesting propaganda come sales pitch about the new housing development of LYONS I thought I'd like to see their storm water diversion and creek management plan in action, so I made a detour through the grounds of a local sporting club. There was smoke in the distance which I thought was just coming from a longrasser camp but as I got closer I found the burned out wreck of a utility work vehicle! Another one! This sort of thing is fairly common around the fringes of Darwin. As I like to ride in the bushland close to town I often find the remains of cars that have, most likely, been stolen, thrashed, smashed up and burned. Without condemning or judging this sort of idiotic behavior I have to wonder why anyone would do it? I can't say that, even in my most rebellious days, it had ever appealed to be as something cool to do. What satisfaction is there in this kind of destruction? It makes no social or political statement that is obvious to me. It just looks and smells like hateful destruction for the sheer thrill of it. How dumb.

Burnt-out utility

I left the scene and continued my ride. Cruised past LYONS and had a look at their drainage network. Lots of silt traps and soil retention stuff, wide sloping grassed banks and probably still no chance of preventing turbidity or reducing flow from the increased drainage that will be generated from the development (cynic). I'd seen enough of this place and was keen to get out on the beach. I left.

It was getting a bit late to be riding the full distance to Lee Point so I decided to have a look at the water quality down at the mouth of Sandy creek. At 7.00 am there were already a few dog walkers and joggers enjoying the clear morning air down at the free beach. The tide was out and conditions were perfect for riding on the sand. I cruised along to the mouth of the creek with the wide open horizon and miles of flat sand driving me along the coast. The creek is a fairly remote part of Casuarina Coastal Reserve but there were still a few tracks from someone who had already been there this morning or last night. Along the way I came across a few large jellyfish that had washed ashore, probably in rough weather. There was a large flock of small migratory coastal birds and I even saw a beach curlew, cool!

Jellyfish with sand-cycling shoe for scale

The water at the mouth of the creek was very muddy. I'd noticed there was a fair bit of muddy water flowing in from the new estate despite all their precautions and wondered how the increased suburban input would affect the life of the creek. Only time will tell.

View from the mouth of Sandy (Sandfly) creek

It was a great ride, I was gone a bit longer than I'd planned but arrived h0me just in time to greet Sam with her morning coffee and smile at our daughter as she woke from a full night's sleep. Wrecked cars aside, it was a great beginning to the day.

Unusual bird sighting at Nightcliff foreshore

On Sunday afternoon the family and I went down to Nightcliff foreshore for a picnic after a fantastic rainstorm. The sky was clearing and the atmosphere charged with activity as the birds all came out to take advantage of the pleasant conditions and abundance of food. We parked the car under Casuarina trees bursting with Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, Lorikeets, Friarbirds and Torres Straight (Torresian) or (Pied Imperial) Pigeons. There were Bar-shouldered and Peaceful doves all over the ground and a variety of Honeyeaters in the bushes. Amongst the squawking of the cockatoos and the screeching Lorikeets I heard the familiar gentle whistle of a Cockatiel (I used to breed them in cages). I looked around for a while and before too long found one solitary bird picking at the cracked Casuarina nuts that the huge black cockatoos had dropped.

The Wild male bird perched close to where we were sitting



The Male and most likely a Female feeding on the ground (the second bird appeared to be immature).

I gathered that the bird was an aviary escapee but who knows how long an escaped Cockatiel could survive so far from any wild flocks. Soon after I could hear another one in the trees nearby. I watched for a while and discovered them feeding amongst the Barshouldered doves on the ground right at the edge of the cliffs. Wow I never expected to see two of them! They were both grey birds (The natural colour of wild Cockatiels) so I'm still not sure if they were wayward wild birds or escaped pets.

Since I have lived in Darwin I have seen quite a few stray Cockatiels and I often wonder if they could possibly all be escapees. Generaly speaking pet birds don't last too long in the wild but it could be possible that these birds are able to survive for extended periods if the conditions are suitable. Having said that their natural habitat is in arid regions and these birds are in the Tropical North during the Wet Season! They must be recent escapees!????

Bowerbird update...


Chicks wait


Mother approaches


Feeding success

Last week the 2 eggs hatched and the mother bird has been very active keeping the chicks well fed and clean. When I visited this morning I was lucky enough to see her feeding the two plump chicks and removing all their waste from the nest. Unfortunately it's a little dificulut to get a decent photo of them because my camera doesn't have much of a zoom and I find it dificult to focus when shooting out of a grubby window.