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Flying Doctors, Outback Magic, Penguins, 'Roos And More
"How can I begin to tell you about my trip, where do I even begin? I am not even sure that the experiences of a 22 year old, back in 1991 are even of interest to you. The reader wishes to gain information about a chosen destination, and to be really useful, it needs to be up to date and accurate. Surely scraping together the memories of a trip to Australia that took place 10 years ago can hardly qualify as such? Well I shall write down my memories anyway, someone may wish to read them, but for those with the intentions of real travel, I'll add the up to date information you need. Now, back to 1991, the year my dreams of travel reached fever pitch.
Maybe you can identify with this; you wait years to go to a place you've always yearned to visit. There was always going to be you and a friend, but as time went on, nobody seemed available or even remotely keen. I wouldn't have said that at the age of 22, I was exactly worldly wise, strong or hugely independent, and yet with in 6 weeks, I had organised my working holiday visa, which included a medical so that I could be proved fit to work within the healcare industry, gathered references together from colleagues, so that I could register with a nursing agency on arrival, and bribed my parents into helping me pay for my flight with Garuda Indonnesia, to Melbourne, which would be my base. Without ever intending to, I was about to embark on my trip alone.
To get my visa, I needed to prove that I had sufficient funds to support myself for my years trip, in the event of being unable to find work. My bank statement demonstrated I had funds of £2000. It was a lie. My stepfather had transferred the money in, I had arranged a statement, he had transferred the money out! What I actually had was nearer to £500, but still I was hopeful of finding plenty of work.
What made me decide to make the trip all alone? Well a man of course, isn't that always a good motivating reason ? I had met him a few years earlier in London when I had been a student nurse and he ahd been a medical student on his elective. We had had this amazing passionate 3 days together, that spurned several years of letter writing, a 3 week trip around Europe together, and now, my trip to Oz. I had arranged to stay with friends of my father's who lived in Surrey Hills, a suburb of Melbourne, a city where British sounding places abound. They would meet me after my 21 hour flight, but of course 'the love of my life' would no doubt be there to meet me too.
Well, he wasn't, and I didn't see him until a few days later, after a phone call that had obviously jogged his memory, made him feel ever so slightly bad, and resulted in him coming to find me, and several months of 'seudo-steady relationship'. Actually, 3 days of passion, 3 years of letters (that's an awful lot of paper), and 3 weeks of travel, turned out not to have been enough to demonstrate 2 major facts; 1. This man was promiscuous, and 2. This man was an alcoholic!
So there I am, about as far from home as I could possibly be, staying with a family, complete strangers, who actually turned out to be my rock, and whom I still refer to as my 'foster family'. Emotionally, I was flat, desperately homesick, and wondering what the hell I was doing, I even had to deal with pneumonia, that left me breathless and needing Ventolin for the first time in my life, and that could quite easily have been the end of my trip. Luckily, with my foster family's support, I somehow found the determination, to get up and get on with things. I worked hard, nursing in a variety of hospitals, put some money into my Commonwealth Bank account, opened my Lonely planet survival guide, and once again, rekindled the dream of an Australian adventure. So here it is.
Melbourne And Surrounds
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The friendly rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney is legendary, and it's not surprising, both cities have huge appeal. I can't tell you about Sydney, I never made it there, but I can tell you a little about Melbourne, as it was my base for 6 months.
They say Melbourne could be picked up and transported to Europe, without looking out of place. Unlike Sydney, that grew out of the practice of sending convicts to Oz, Melbourne developed as a result of the gold rush, and has a mixture of splendid older buildings, and new skyscrapers. On ground level, you'd have to be blind not to notice Melbourne's tram system, and it's not just for the tourists, believe me, I used it to get to work everyday. It's reasonably cheap, and very extensive. It may take a while to work out which tram you need to get you to your destination, but hey, if I can work it out, you'll have 'no worries'!
A great way to see the city, is to hop on a tram. In 2001/2002, The City Circle Tram Service operates daily (except Christmas Day and Good Friday) from 10.00am to 6.00pm departing from specially marked city circle tram stops in Flinders Street, Spencer Street, Latrobe St., Victoria St., Nicholson St. and Spring St. and the service is free. You can hop on and off as many times as you like, and there's plenty to see.
Cricket really isn't my thing, but even I enjoyed a visit to the M.C.C(Melbourne Cricket Club), to see Australia play the 'Windies'. What a day,it was hot hot hot, and so were the steel band whose music blasted us from the giant speakers. I think the cricket was good, but as I say cricket's not really my thing, I couldn't even tell you who won. The ground is part of the Melbourne park complex, that hosted the 1956 Olympic games, hosts the Australian Open, and is where 'Aussie Rules' football was invented. If it's your thing, then why not take a look. You'll find it on Batman Avenue. Tours of the stadium are available through the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) daily 10.00am to 4.00pm, on the hour from the foyer of Gallery of Sport, phone: 9657 8879.
While I was in Melbourne, Elspeth, an old friend from England, also travelling round, came to stay with me for a couple of days, and we decided to go on a cheap trip to Phillip Island. Melbourne is great for cheap, well organised, trips lasting a few hours, to several days. They are often aimed at the backpacker, and it's a great way of meeting up with others travelling around.
The legendary 'Penguin Parade' of Phillip Island, 140 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, takes place on Summerland Beach, part of Phillip Island Nature Park. That evening, as the sun began to set, we found ourselves huddled together for warmth, bracing ourselves from the wind and oceanic spray, amongst 200 or so fellow tourists, all as cold and wet as us. Our guide had got us there early, and we sat right at the front of the crowd, sipping hot tea from flasks, and wondering what could be so great that we would subject ourselves to this idiocy.
Well it turned out, that after a days fishing in the waters surrounding Phillip Island, these little penguins decide to call it a day, and make their way up the beach in little groups, waddling as they go, and head for the warmth and cover of their nests. This of course involves traipsing past the goggle eyed tourists, who don't have the benefit of waterproof insulated feathers. I've read that these days, you can view the spectacle from boardwalks and viewing stands, but for us, this little parade right by our feet was utter magic, and later we were able to spy them through little port holes, all cosy and warm in their little nests. Well worth a visit, and you can also see Koalas, seals, and various other bird and animal life that are unique to the Phillip Island.
If you want to find out more, I've found a great website, where you can read all about the little penguins activities through the year. There are also listings of where to stay, and how to get there ect.
http://www.penguins.org.au/
Another memorable trip for me, was my 3 day trip along The Great Ocean Road. They say it needed the fighting Anzac spirit to blast out the Great Ocean Road route. Work began in 1918, when , thousands of returned soldiers descended on the area to start work. It was back-breaking toil using picks and shovels - helped along with the odd stick of explosive - and horses and drays, it wasn't completed until 1932. Prior to the road being built, many communities were isolated and difficult to reach, and when you drive along the road, you will understand why. To say the views are breath taking would be an understatement. The coastline is rugged, and the rock worn away over millions of years by sea, storm and wind, have left a dramatic series of rock formations that are constantly changing. The most visually stunning are the Twelve Appostles, 12 rock formations. Here is a little from an excellent website that's really helpful if you're planning a trip, and has some wonderful colour photographs if you just want to see for yourself;
'The mighty 12 Apostles are world-recognised icons of the Great Ocean Road. These giant rock stacks soar from the swirling waters of the Southern Ocean and are a central feature of the spectacular Port Campbell National Park that extends from Princetown to Peterborough.The dramatic and imposing limestone cliffs that are the backdrop to the Apostles tower up to 70 metres, while the tallest of the rock stacks is around 45 metres high.The Apostles had their beginnings up to 20 million years ago with the forces of nature attacking the soft limestone of the Port Campbell cliffs. The limestone was created through the build up of skeletons of marine creatures on the sea floor. As the sea retreated, the limestone was exposed. The relentess, stormy Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed, rock islands up to 45 metres high were left isolated from the shore.This has created the 12 Apostles and a host of other stunning natural features along this truly remarkable stretch of coastline. Among them are Pudding Basin Rock, Island Arch, the Razorback, Muttonbird Island, Thunder Cave, the Blowhole, Bakers Oven, London Bridge and the Grotto.'
http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/
This trip was great fun, not just because of the sights we saw, that also included knocking on the bark of a Eucalypt to try and wake the sleeping Koala at the top(they apparently sleep for 23 hours a day!), trying to emanate the Kangaroo warning road sign, spurred on by our friendly guide, 'Johno', no doubt having a great laugh at our expense(still it made an amusing photo), and the trek through the dense, tall-timbered rainforest of the Otway Ranges With its massive 88,000 hectares of waterfalls, lakes, glades of massive tree ferns and native animals. As a keen photographer, I went mad over the site of these huge unfolding ferns, and took shot after shot of vibrant green leaves, dripping with moisture, highlighted by shards of sunlight making their way down through the canopy. Johno told us that the Aborigines would eat the pod like structure of the ferns before they unfolded, we took his word for it and lunched further along our journey on burger and chips!
One of the few nice experiences of the doomed romance that had taken me to Oz, was an earlier trip along the Great Ocean Road, staying in Lorne, a picturesque seaside town, with great restaurants, café's and wine bars, where I accompanied him for a game a golf with a friend. Of course I wasn't the slightest bit interested in the golf itself, but I was more than amused by the sight of wild Kangaroo's sunbathing on the odd green, lying on their sides, with their huge furry testicles soaking up the rays. Females stood just feet away, with their young just visible peaking from their pouches, whilst others sprang across the fairways oblivious to the flying golf balls.
""Do they ever get hit?"" I asked.
""Well yea, occasionally."" Mutant boyfriend replied."" I once saw a ball hit one 'roo, bounce of him and hit another.""
Well obviously, there is a lot more I could share with you about Melbourne and Victoria in general, but as I want you awake for the next part of my whittle, I'll move onwards to the part of my trip where things began to get a whole lot more exciting!
I'd now been in Melbourne for about three months. I felt as if I knew the city reasonably well. I knew my way around(the city centre is actually quite easy to see on foot), I'd done the touristy things, and the not so touristy things, like barbequing by the Yarra river, and although I'd managed to get a good stream of work, things were beginning to slow down, and my funds were not looking too healthy. Had I had more money, I'd have started to think about booking trips further a field, to Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Perth, Sidney, and Darwin, but in my haste to get to Oz, I had left myself in the position of having a whole year to do these things, but with no money with which to achieve them.
South Australia Experience
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Then there was a development. My foster family had friends whose son was a pilot with the Royal Flying Doctor Service down in Port Augusta, South Australia. Would I like to pay him a visit? Well what could I say, what an opportunity, and if I got a train down there, it wouldn't cost too much either. I enthusiastically agreed, and so I found myself hopping on a tram, heading back into the city, and taking the 'Overlander' from Spencer Street station, that would take me to Adelaide.
The 'Overland' has been taking passengers by rail between Melbourne and Adelaide since 1887, and it's name derives from the affectionate old term 'Overlander', an adventurer who travelled across country. In my own small way, I felt as if I was embarking on a new phase of my trip, and with images from Neville Shute and Colleen McCullough novels flowing freely through my mind, I took my seat on the overnight train. These days they run 4 weekly round trips between Melbourne and Adelaide, and have recently introduced a daytime trip to Adelaide which will mean being able to see the beautiful country side along the way.
At Adelaide, I found a locker for my backpack at the station, and caught a bus into the centre of the city. I had nearly a whole day to kill before my next train, that would take me the final leg of my journey, onto Port Augusta. With my trusted Lonely Planet guide, and a few leaflets from the station, I made my way to a couple of museums, took a look around the city centre, had some lunch, went on a boat trip, and finally, with aching feet, headed back to the station to catch my train.
The train finally rolled into Port Augusta after night fall. My next challenge was to identify this guy that I had never met before, and as I stepped into the darkness from the train, my eyes scanned the few people walking along the platform. I needn't have worried, as Ray later told me, they didn't get that many young women sporting backpacks in Port Augusta back then, and I was instantly identifiable.
What can I tell you that will excite you about port Augusta? That it sits at the apex of the Spencer Gulf and is known as the crossroads of Australia? That it is the spot where Matthew Flinders stepped ashore in 1802, developing it into a major port of export for the outback's wool, wheat and minerals? Or that it has a population of 15,291? Riveted?
Well I could tell you about our picnic by the water, watching the Dolphins with their young swim up the calm waters of the Gulf, honouring us with a private display of their love and warmth for each other, the sun catching fins as they moved. Perhaps you might like to know about the bridge that spans the water. On one side, the white folk play, their youngsters splashing around in the water. On the other, the local Aborigine seem to be having far more fun as they use the bridge to make great dives into the Gulf, shrieking and messing around.
The town itself seemed just as you would expect an outback town to be. No multi-story buildings, no traffic jams, the odd bit of greenery, a single video shop, a no frills supermarket, everything spaced out, and local Aborigine folk drinking on corners, for want of something better to do. Of course, this was 10 years ago. Go there now, and I'm sure things will have changed somewhat.
For me, the most exciting thing about Port Augusta, was Ray, his work, and all the new experiences he was able to share with me. He drove me out into the Flinders ranges, real outback, and shared with me his knowledge of the outback, it's history, the wildlife, and showed me it's magic.
In daylight we would drive for miles, and then get out and walk, seeing crumbly old remains of settlers homes and rusting defunct farm equipment. I gazed in amazement at the site of flocks of Gallah's with their pink and grey plumes flying above, and the smaller flocks of wild Budgerigars that clung to the odd bush by the road. At night, forgetting my fear of spiders and creepy crawlies, he led me on foot to the top of a hill, where we lay watching the stars, as he pointed out to me the Southern Cross. Moonlight illuminated the valley around, and Ray explained which sounds belonged to which animals out there in the night.
We drove to the Barossa Valley, where wonderful wines are made, and a popular tourist region, and ate Kangaroo, rich, succulent and beef like, washed down with bold red wine that tasted of berries.
We visited Wilpena Pound, an immense crater-like fusion of stark purple ridges, described as South Australia's natural wonder. It's vast rim, is actually the stumps of massive mountains, once the height of the Himalayas, gradually eroded down over millions of years. The first Europeans to explore the Flinders Ranges and Wilpena Pound, were the crew of HMS Investigator with Matthew Flinders in 1802, as they pushed inland from Port Augusta, but it wasn't until the 1850's that the first farmers settled within Wilpena, adding the 'Pound' part to the name, as the shape of the geological structure was similar to the shape of sheep pounds back then.
These days, the 'Pound' is a Mecca for hiking enthusiasts, and Kangaroos and euros(small wallaby-like marsupials, not a Europeans currency) bound rampantly through yellow Wattle trees, Pampas grass and wild flowers, while bird watchers can seek out 97 different species of bird.
My first trip to Wilpena Pound was amazing enough, but my second would be even more of a 'fly by the seat of your pants' kind of experience!
By now, Ray had allowed me to go along as an observer on a couple of flights with the 'Flying Doctors'(RFDS). These had been routine flights in a small Piper Chieftain twin engined piston aircraft, used to transport multidiscipline medical and health care personnel to outlying towns and communities, but the plane itself was not medically equipped. On one particular night however, he received a call that a casualty needed to be collected from inside Wilpena Pound.
Contrary to popular belief, there are not always doctors on board emergency flights, but just 1 or 2 nurses, with a huge amount of skill and experience. This night, there was going to be room for me to come along and observe, as the centre's King Air(a twin engined turbo-prop), was going to be needed.
We arrived at the hanger before the nurse. There was no-one else there, and so Ray set about fixing the push back vehicle to the plane. Before this, he had warned me to keep an eye out for snakes, as they liked to come into the hanger at night. Now I'm not scared of snakes as such, but the prospect of coming across a wild one whilst minding my own business inside an aircraft hanger did somewhat alarm me( and I later got a good look at one that had been recently killed outside the hanger). What I needed was a distraction, and I got it. Ray called me over to the little tug like vehicle he was about to start up. 'Take a look at that.' He said. Sitting perfectly still on top of the engine, was the biggest grey spider I have ever seen, about the size of a dinner plate. ""Oh..my..God."" I squeaked. It turned out to be a Huntsman, perfectly harmless apparently, but what does that matter, I nearly had cause for a change of underwear!
I can't really explain to you the sheer excitement of sitting up front next to this guy that I'm falling for, as he pilots this amazing plane, you'll just have to take my word for it, but it was a very special time. As Wilpena Pound approached however, wistful feelings disappeared, as it became clear that there was no automatic radar working to guide the plane in. To reach the airstrip, Ray had to fly the plane in a spiral like motion to bring it down and onto the landing strip. It was somewhat hairy!
The patient turned out to be a little Aborigine girl of about 4, who had accidentally chopped the top of her finger off in a car door. She was flown back to Port Augusta, along with the tip of her finger.
Another trip enabled me to visit the outback mining town of Coober Pedy, which approached from the air, looked more like a moon scape, because of the hundreds of patches of mined earth. The Coober pedy Opal fields cover an area of 4,954 square kilometres, and the landscape is so distinctive, that it was used to film Mad Max Beyond Thunderome, Ground Zero, Stark, and more recently, Pitch Black.
The first thing to hit me as I stepped off the aircraft, was the heat. I have never been anywhere as hot before, and it was literally like stepping into an oven. Between November and March, temperatures can reach 45oC in the shade, now that's hot, especially if your walking round in the sunshine let me tell you.
As the vet that we had flown with, set off in search of local dogs needing castration, we headed for the local hospital. I was introduced to a very nice lady called Jean, who invited me to come along with her and give out the 'meals on wheels' to some local pensioners, and what a surreal experience it turned out to be.
Coober pedy is well known for it's population living in 'Dugout's' in the ground, basically caves, and this is exactly where the retired miners, hungry for their lunches, turned out to live. I even got to take a quick look inside, not to mention check out their outdoor 'dunnies'. One old boy told me that he needed to chuck unwanted snakes out of his dugout on a daily basis. After the meals were distributed, I was taken back to Jean's own cave dwelling, complete with electricity and modern comforts, set up on a hill with magnificent views. The whole thing was terribly unusual, and I was so lucky to have had the experience.
My last memory of Coober Pedy, was running to the plane, Pilot, vet and backpacker, as a smallish 'Twister' made its way across the tarmac, unsure of its path. We made it just in time, before the twister swept pass.
Useful address; Old Timer Mines
oldtimer@dove.net.au
After a couple of weeks staying with Ray, I was lucky enough to have accompanied him on a total of 9 retrieval flights, and I was very fortunate. I later returned to Port Augusta, and indeed, Ray was keen for me to stay with him there, even eventually settle, and although my experiences were wonderful, I could never imagine myself, this girl from greenest Surrey, living in an outback town with little going on. Although these days I probably have the experience to make a valid contribution to the work of the RFDS, back then, I was just a newly qualified staff nurse, and life on 'the ground' I fear would have been somewhat dull. However, I locked the whole experience away in a nice place, and like to take the memories out occasionally, when the rain is pouring down, and the house works up to my ears!
Nearly Finished...I Promise!
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I had many other adventures after that, and I never saw Ray again, or the guy who had originally wooed me to Oz in the first place. My travels took me to Queensland, where I enjoyed a riding holiday on a sheep farm, had a near downing experience of the Great Barrier Reef in shark infested water, and found myself thrown out of an old family friend's sons house, with nothing but my backpack, not even sure where I was, but that's another opinion, and this one has already been far too long.
What I really want to say to those who don't already know, is that Australia is an truly exceptional place to go. In the 6 months I was there(before problems, including money shortages brought me home again), I had a life changing time. One day I plan to return, this time with my husband and children, because there is so much I want to show them and so much yet to see.
If your still with me, thankyou so much for reading. I know it was long, but it was number 100, and I had to say everything I've said.
Juliet
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