Things I Have Learned In Tasmania

Posted on December 17, 2013 by jaynezak

“Today is your special day, even if today might be tomorrow to an Australian. And even though you’re not Australian, it doesn’t negate the fact that today may or may not be tomorrow.” Jarod Kintz

Tasmania was discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642. It was called Van Diemans Land after the Governor of the Dutch West Indies. Two hundred years later, it was named Tasmania.

Hobart is the capital of Tasmania.

Legs only allowed.

The oldest bridge in Australia is the Richmond Bridge in Hobart.

Tasmania has wonderful wine, dramatic coastlines, great coffee, rugged mountains, fresh cheese, pure water and delicious food. (Wicked Cheese)

With the growing demand for food and wine as part of the travel experience, Tasmania becomes a must see destination.

There are a number of high quality vineyards such as Frogmore Creek and Pooley.

Tasmania has the largest lavender farm in the world and is one of the largest growers of pharmaceutical opium. (They have some serious cold medicine at the local chemist. -opium field)

Australia’s first casino was in Tasmania.

Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world.

Tasmania has more golf courses than any other Australian state . (With all this green, it makes sense).

The oldest brewery in Australia is the Cascade Brewery in Hobart.

In Salamanca, the yellow sandstone warehouses, inspired by Georgian architectural style and built in the 1830s once held grain, whale oil, wool and apples. Now Salamanca Place is undoubtedly one of the liveliest parts of Hobart, thanks to the many cafes ,restaurants, shops, pubs and galleries .

.The Salamanca Market is a particularly popular place on Saturdays for both tourists and locals, operating between the hours of 8:30am to 3:00pm.

There are over 300 stallholders at the markets each weekend. These include organic vegetables, fresh fruit, hot potatoes, coffee, chocolate, pastries , nuts and that’s just the food! There is hand-worked glass, paintings, Tasmanian timber, ceramics, fashion, handmade toys and more. In the background, you’ll hear street musicians entertaining the crowd, perhaps playing a harp, strumming their guitar or singing an old jazz song.

The world’s smallest marsupial, known as the pygmy possum, is native to Tasmania. (could be a pigmy possum, could be something else)

Much of the island is vast, empty wilderness. Tasmania receives more visitors per year than its whole population, which tallies in at over 500,000.

The first telephone call in Australia was made in Tasmania.

Bonorong sanctuary motto is “doing well, by doing good”.

It is not a zoo but a place to rehabilitate injured and orphaned wildlife and hopefully release them back into the wild. (Koalas and friend, baby wombat)

They are researching and breeding the Tasmanian Devils. They are now an endangered species due to a highly contagious facial cancer that is killing them off.

Always good advice!

Most of their funding comes from guests visiting the park so definitely go when you are in Hobart. Especially if you like hanging out with kangaroos.

Australia’s oldest and first synagogue was in Hobart, built in 1845.

The Tasman Penninsula had a devastating fire last January. The highway follows the blackened trees and new green grass which grows back quickly after a fire. 65 properties were destroyed including the school. ( sheep are grey from rubbing up against the burned trees )

Tasmania has amazing vertical sea cliffs and sea caves and walks around the cliffs.

There are many natural beautiful sites carved out by the sea. There is Pirates Bay Lookout, then down to the Tessellated Pavement, Blowhole, Devils Kitchen and Tasman Arch.

Look out for the Devils.

Coles Bay, was the first place in Australia to ban plastic shopping bags in 2003.

I am at the top of Mt Wellington – like Charles Darwin was in 1836. The only difference is that I went by car on a road and I am standing on a man-made lookout point.

It is cold and windy up there but beautiful views.

We are filling water bottles from some of the sweetest water I have ever tasted. (Mount Wellington)

The best way to see the Tasman Penninsula and sites of Hobart is with Patrick of Great Expeditions.http://www.greatexpeditions.com.au. He is informative and fun and really cares about making sure you have the best experience in Tasmania. Thanks Patrick for an amazing trip and great coffee.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Mona Roma To MONA, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Posted on December 9, 2013 by jaynezak

Mona Roma To MONA in Hobart, Tasmania

But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.”Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.””How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.”You must be,” said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.” Lewis Carroll

What happens when an art collector/mathematician uses his ability to beat the odds in casinos and makes millions of dollars? If it is David Walsh, he builds an art museum in Hobart Tasmania. He builds the most expensive privately owned museum in Australia. It opened in January 2011. The museum is called MONA – the Museum of Old and New Art Modern art and ancient artifacts are shown side by side. It is free if you live in Tasmania. It has quickly become their number one tourist attraction . (MONA ROMA dock)

The day begins on a camoflage painted boat in the Hobart Harbor called the MONA ROMA (get it ?roamer?) complete with sculptures of livestock in the back. You can also drive (it is a peninsula) or take a taxi boat.

They serve champagne, coffee and hor d’oeurves during the half hour journey on the Derwent River. The arty people who I did not see when I arrived in Hobart are on this boat at 930 am.

When you get to MONA it is hard to find the entrance. There is a mirrored building behind a tennis court . Apparently David Walsh likes tennis.

“When you go to a conventional museum you are forced to walk up stairs and past pillars meant to make you feel small and then have academics tell you it’s culture but David wanted none of that so he built this place underground.”, according to the curator.

After finding the entrance, you are given an Ipod Touch. It uses GPS to work out which piece of art you are standing in front of. (Lobby)

The Ipod Touch called the 0 is one of the things that makes museum designers very curious about MONA.

As the guide says: ‘We don’t have labels on the walls. We have the O. Use it to read about the art on display and to listen to interviews with the artists. It’s free.’ (Fat car, Erwin Wum)

There is a running commentary by David Walsh, artist interviews and explanations. They have cute names, like the truth, the gospel, gonzo (that would be David Walsh), Tweedle dum (that could be David Walsh) and Jabberwocky and art wank. Pick the explanation you want to hear. (1$ for your story James Newitt series of photos and stories)

Enter your email address, and you’ll later be sent a diagram of the route you took through MONA and the artworks you saw.

When you tap on the icon for the artwork, information appears along with a place you could check if you loved or hated it – way too subjective for modern art . I don’t like to make decisions when I am looking at artwork. Sometimes I didn’t use the O at all. But that is probably ok with David Walsh also. ( The Mice And Me by Meghan Boody)

According to my visit email, I did hit love for Berlin Buddha by Zhang Huan. It is made from incense ash collected from temples around Shanghai and faces its hollowed aluminum counterpart. The ash moves and decomposes with time. It is based on the concept in Buddhism from “existence to nothing.” Yes the artist is a Buddhist.

There is no flash photography and they will charge your phone at the coat check while you are having lunch, if you take too many pictures and use up your battery. (personal experience )

From the lobby, a spiral staircase descends 17 meters underground, ending in an open basement with a 250-million-year-old Triassic sandstone wall (the rock it was built on)

There are three levels of steel and stone filled with art, objects and a lot of video /techno works. It is all shocking, educational and entertaining.

Visitors are encouraged to get lost in the maze of dark hallways, where hidden staircases might turn into open galleries and rooms go out into dead ends. I missed a few important exhibits on the first day but found them on the second. Whatever you see during your visit is what you are supposed to see. There is no set route.

It feels like the “art ride” at Disneyland, but in a good way. From the minute you walk in to the exhibition space all five senses are engaged. They stay that way for your entire visit. My first visit was eight hours. ( Paradise by Kutlug Ataman)

Being an avid museum goer all my life, it was hard to not to keep looking for those plaques to tell me what I was seeing. Not being technologically adept, I had some trouble with the O at first. But it is such a techno place, the O kind of works. I like having the record of my visit (I had a few glitches the first time – the second time I knew how to do it perfectly.) to refer back to as I write this. ( The Frieze Of War Treasures by Sarkis)

The exhibition is called the Red Queen. And it is interspersed with some of the original collection. “The Queen is driven, by abstract forces, to run in order to keep pace with the world around her. However fast she goes, she never seems ‘to pass anything””[Do] all the things move along with us?” wonders Alice.’… Is human-ness nothing but a set of such behaviours?   The answer, we hope will remain elusive; there will be no lessons learnt or taught, only contagious inquiry into human nature.” From the Mona website ( Untitled White Library by Wilfredo Prieto)

Many of my favorite pieces were the video ones and the death gallery that I couldn’t photograph or explain. (Artifact by Gregory Barsamian – This is amazing. It is giant head with window holes in it and this photo is of one of the videos in the head)

I had a cold. Tasmania is one of the largest producers of pharmaceutical opium and has some pretty strong cold medicines. I was taking them. From the moment I tripped down those stairs, I was definitely having the full Through the Looking Glass Art experience. (Zizi the Affectionate Couch with sounds by Stephen Barass, Linda Davy, Robert Davy, Kerry Richens)

Fly Safe,

JAZ

Metro Etiquette In Melbourne, Australia

Posted on December 2, 2013 by jaynezak

Metro Etiquette In Melbourne

“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.”

-Gustavo Petro

train etiquette. super simple stuff in Melbourne.(real subway signs)

Fly safe,

JAZ

People In the World

Posted on November 24, 2013 by jaynezak

People In The World

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou

Army Officer (Panama)

Artist (Mexico)

Author (Australia)

Baker (Turkey)

Bystanders (Scotland)

Bride (Lithuania)

Couple (US)

Diners (Japan)

Explorer (Peru)

Geisha (Japan)

Monks (Burma)

Musician (Peru)

Mustached (Mexico)

Painter (Argentina)

Parader (Mexico)

Photographer (Argentina)

Policeman (Argentina)

Prayer (Myanmar)

Puppet maker (Myanmar)

Rider (Argentina)

Shaman( Peru)

Shopper (England)

Skateboarder (US)

Students (Japan)

Tour guide (Turkey)

Tourists (China)

Tribes-man (Panama)

Vintner (Argentina)

Weaver (Peru)

Zookeeper (Australia)

Fly Safe,

JAZ

Things I’ve Learned In Melbourne, Australia

Posted on November 21, 2013 by jaynezak

Things I’ve learned in Melbourne

“I once sang ‘Summer Nights,’ from ‘Grease,’ at a bar in Melbourne with John Travolta. He looked cool singing the part of Danny – sitting in an armchair, smoking a cigar – while I got stuck playing Sandy.” Hugh Jackman

When you are making a right turn in Melbourne, you do it from the left lane. It is so confusing.

Australian Rules Football ( footy ) is a combination of rugby, soccer, wrestling and ballet. They had the grand final in Melbourne the week before I arrived. They are “mad for footy” in Melbourne.

The Collins and Swanston Streets intersection in Melbourne was the first intersection in Australia to get a traffic light.

Here is the Australian Center of Contemporary Art. (ACCA) It is closed today.

Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt died while swimming off the coast of Melbourne. I never heard about this in the US. They built a memorial to him. It was a municipal swimming pool. You can’t make this stuff up.

Melbourne was originally named Batmania after one of the founding colonists, John Batman.

The city government was going to get rid of the clocks at the Flinders St. station. The Melburnians (yup) protested. They were not ready to give up “Meet me under the clocks”. The clocks are still there. (Photo-Sean Dirks)

Laneways and arcades are as synonymous with Melbourne as street art and coffee. (one small laneway, urban art laneway)

The Block Arcade is one of the finest examples of a 19th Century shopping arcade. It is known for its impressive etched glass roof with decorative wrought iron and timber supports and has the largest mosaic floor area in Australia. (Block Arcade, Royal Arcade)

Melbourne is the third largest Greek city after Athens and Thessaloniki.

Here is the National Gallery Of Victoria. They are between exhibits.

During the gold rush of 1850 Melbourne became one of the wealthiest cities in the world.

There are fifty vinyl record stores in Melbourne. They have the most vinyl records left in the world.

Melbourne is the only city in the world to have five international standard sporting arenas. The city hosts some of the major sporting events of the world such as Australian Open, the Melbourne Cup and the Australian Grand Prix.

It also has art, film, music and fringe festivals throughout the year.

Two things you can always talk about in Melbourne are sports and art, and sometimes even with the same people.

Melbourne had the first gay and lesbian radio station in the world.

If black is your color, Melbourne is your city. People love to wear black.

The Tramway system in Melbourne is the fourth largest in the world. It stretches along 244 kilometers and has 450 trams. There is a free tram that circles the city.

Bicycling is a good way to get around the city. If you run into trouble, there are cycle vending machines.

The Melbourne Museum has just opened a permanent exhibition called First People. It is done really well and gives us some insight in the Aborigine life in Australia. It is worth seeing.

The Queen Victoria Market is a good place to grab breakfast, lunch and souvenirs on the weekend. In fact as well as food you can buy just about anything. A market is always a great way to soak up the culture of a city. Open Tuesday, Thursday -Sunday.

Lygon St. is Melbourne’s Littly Italy. Stroll down the street with block after block of Italian restaurants, cafes, bars and traditional shops.

There is no shortage of tattoo parlors and second-hand clothing stores in Melbourne.

I wish that I had the time to go in to the Immigration Museum on Flinders St. It looked really interesting.

They do not play in Melbourne. (photo-Sean Dirks)

Coliban Park (http://www.colibanpark.com.au) an Australian sheep farm outside of Melbourne, is a good place to see sheep shearing, sheepdogs, and wild kangaroos. Duncan, his wife Jess, his mother Rita and their daughter show us around the farm. (Photo – kangaroos – Sean Dirks

Melbourne has been named the world’s most livable city by the Economist magazine. I could live there.

Fly safe,

Jayne

Things I Have Learned In Sydney, Australia

Posted on November 17, 2013 by jaynezak

Things I Have Learned In Sydney, Australia

“But when the sun comes out in Sydney, it bats its eyelids, it’s glamorous, beautiful, attractive, smart, and it’s very hard to get away from its magnetic pull.” Baz Luhrmann

Sidney is located in the Australian state of New South Wales.

Sydney is the largest city in Australia with over 4,000,000 people. Canberra which is the capital city has 300,000.

I am a threat in the Sydney airport. I have been checked for explosives, found to be carrying unidentified metal in my plastic peak flow meter, patted down for weapons, pulled aside for a search and set off the walk through security with my bracelets – in the five times I was there.

The Sydney Opera House and the story of its magnificent design deserves its own blog.

Bondi beach has the cutest lifeguards.

Australians may not have invented surfing but when you see the long rolling waves on Bondi Beach, you know this is the place to surf. (This is coming from someone who lives in California )

The traveling rock-music festival, “Big Day Out”, originated in Sydney. Grouplove is playing Big Day Out in Sydney on January 26 and 27. Check dates for other cities in Australia and New Zealand.

The most famous legal art mural in Bondi Beach is one that is in memory of Chloe, a Bondi girl who was killed in the Bali bombings of 2002.

You have to take a breathalyzer test before climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge. (bridge climb – photo Sean Dirks)

It is touristy but definitely something I want to do. (some day) You have to be reasonably fit, have no issues with height and a few hundred dollars to pay for it. Facing your fear of heights does not come cheaply.

It is also the sixth longest spanning arch bridge in the world, and it is the tallest steel arch bridge. It was also the world’s widest long-span bridge, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver. (under the bridge -photo Sean Dirks)

The Rocks is the oldest area in Australia. It was the first European settlement – mostly military and convicts. It is filled with historical buildings museums and stories. Take a tour or get a map and explore by yourself. The Rocks Museum a good place to start. There are cool restaurants, bars and shops. It is a little touristy now but the history is everywhere. They have a great weekend market also.

Taronga Zoo is on some prime coastal real estate. You take one of those vintage ferries from Circular Quay ( check the schedule) and then ride a lift up to the entrance. Remember to get your ticket for all of that and your zoo entrance before you embark. You can also go by car or bus. So what if it was a hot afternoon and the animals were sleeping. Sleeping kangaroos are better than no kangaroos.

Jordy gives a great Koala feeding demonstration if you happen to get there during feeding time. (Probably a good idea since that is the only time they move.) Koalas live on Eucalyptus leaves (called and spelled Eucalyp In Australia) which doesn’t give them enough energy to stay awake more than four hours a day. (They tell the tourists they are drunk but that is not true.)

One of the best museums in Sydney is the Art Gallery Of New South Wales. It is located in the beautiful parklands (That is how Australians refer to parks. It makes it sound further away then ten minutes of walking). The museum is five levels down – a lot bigger than that neo classical building looks. There are huge modern gallery installations. The Modern Australian Art and Aboriginal Art galleries are worth seeing.

If you are walking to the gallery from Circular Quay, you will pass The State Library of New South Wales. It is located on Macquarie St. (One of the many main streets in Australia names Macquarie, after the colonial Governor of New South Wales.). It is the oldest library in Australia and was built in 1826. When I was there they had a great fashion photography exhibit, but if you are walking by, just pop in and see the grand splendor of the building.

The Museum of Contemporary Art is located on Circular Quay . The back entrance lets you out in The Rocks Area. It is a new beautiful building. There is a wonderful exhibit called String – modern interpretations of Aboriginal string games. It is a small museum, free and easy to find. Even if you aren’t a fan of contemporary art, walk in, while you are waiting for the ferry, exploring the rocks or having a drink on the Quay.

Rugby league is the most popular sport in Sydney. The NRL which began in Sydney in 1908 is the largest and most prestigious domestic rugby league competition in the Southern Hemisphere.

October is Food Month in Sydney and that means Noodle Market in Hyde Park. There are 47 stalls from Sydney’s Asian restaurants, art, music and entertainment.

A great place to stay in Sydney is the Hughenden Hotel (http://thehughenden.com.au). It was a family residence built in the 1870’s which renowned children’s author Susanne Gervay and family has turned into a boutique hotel. It feels more like a home away from home than a hotel. Each room is different and breakfast is included. The hotel is filled with art, memorabilia, and illustrations from famous authors. Their new restaurant, Vincent is already one of the trendy hard to get into places in Sydney for dinner. Make reservations.

The hotel is located in the affluent Paddington/Woolahra area which is ten minutes away from downtown Sydney. Paddington is filled with heritage Victorian houses, trendy stores, antique stores, pubs, cafes and has a wonderful market on Sundays.

It is across the street from the Centennial Parklands , a beautiful park filled with local residents horses swans and cockatoos.

One of the two statues of Charles Dickens in the world is found in Centennial Parklands in Sydney. The other is in Philadelphia. He wanted to be remembered by his words only.

Sydney has the deepest natural harbor in the world.

The view of Sydney Harbor with the bridge on one side, the opera house on the other and the ferries in between will become one of my great travel memories. I plan to come back but if not, it will last a lifetime. Good memories are like that. (sitting at the Opera House cafe overlooking the harbor – a last coffee before I go – long black with a side of milk)

Fly Safe,

JAZ

You Are Here – Street Art In Melbourne Australia

Posted on November 11, 2013 by jaynezak

You Are Here – Street Art In Melbourne, Australia

“Some people want to make the world a better place. I just wanna make the world a better-looking place. If you don’t like it, you can paint over it!” Banksy (In Melbourne)

I guess what I love about street art is that it is art of the moment. It isn’t meant to be there forever. You are here . You can find these words on this spot on this wall.

The laneways covered in Melbourne street art have become one of the tourist attractions of the city. I’m not the only person taking photos. The street artists here work in all mediums from brushes, spray paint, stencils, street sculptures, paste ups, stickers, and installations.

It’s the first time I have seen street sculpture. It is small and hard to find – like beach treasures. Maybe as street art becomes more accepted and mainstream, artists have to find more creative ways to tell their stories. (soccer ball, but is it art?, eternity)

One of the main mural streets was painted over in bright blue by a street artist. The anti establishment street art movement? or just someone who had a lot to say in blue? It is already painted over.

I loved all the street art quotes and poetry.

There are a lot of references to literature and history . (founding fathers painted with Aborigine faces, koalas)

I love the outdoor galleries.

Tagging seems less popular. I hated to see some cool piece tagged over by jealousy or stupidity. I don’t usually mind graffiti but I do when it is covering street art. Seems a bit like a street art oxymoron.

“Do art not tags” is the name of a graffiti education presentation being offered in schools within the city of Melbourne. Actors visit classroom and provide information about the differences between graffiti and street art and how different choices can lead to different consequences.

The best way to see Melbourne Street Art is with Melbourne Street Art Tours. http://www.melbournestreettours.com The tours are given by street artists . You can join a group or hire them privately.

My tour guide was Michael Fikaris. He is an excellent artist as well. His portrait of Charles Bukowski was one of my favorites. He brought stickers and left them where he felt they needed to be. He was very knowledgeable about the art, artists and their stories. (Charles and Michael, commissioned wall by Michael Fikaris, you know who with a twist)

The great thing about going with Melbourne Street Tours is that you see art that you wouldn’t normally see. Some of the best stuff was in places I wouldn’t have gone to alone. They know where to show you the good art and avoid the mediocre.

You walk by so much street art , when you are out exploring the city. It is all colorful and fun, and hard to know where to look.

Street artists use the walls to raise social and political awareness, Others just want to show their artwork. Some are talented and some are enthusiastic.

Michael immediately points out the interesting pieces. There are some good artists working out on these streets and it was great to have Michael show them to me. I was getting overwhelmed with so much street art on one wall. I definitely would have missed a lot doing it on my own.

Melbourne Street Tours works out of Blender Studios. You end with a tour of the studios and meet some of the artists. There are pieces for sale but no pressure to buy. Of course I got home and wished that I had bought more. They also run street art workshops and school programs.

This was the first thing I did in Australia. It turned out to be one of my favorite things. They also made me feel very comfortable on my first day in their country. It set the tone for a wonderful trip. Whether you are visiting or if you live in Melbourne, I recommend going to see the street art with Melbourne Street Tours. Even If you pass these streets everyday, I guarantee you will see new things with them.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Welcome To This Journey (The Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest, Australia)

Posted on November 8, 2013 by jaynezak

Welcome To This Journey (The Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest)

“We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home.” – Australian Aboriginal Saying

Nothing you have heard prepares you for the first time you see the Great Barrier Reef.

Situated 15 km northeast of Port Douglas, the Low Isles is a 4 acre coral cay surrounded by 55 acres of reef. The corals are very close to the island, which makes snorkelling an easier enjoyable experience.

It is just another day in paradise.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest organic construction on earth. It is the oldest and most famous coral reef in the world.

There are 150 different species of hard corals in the waters surrounding Low Isles. These are dominated by 15 species of soft coral.

You can’t take anything from the reef. Not a shell or stone or dead piece of coral –no souvenirs –this was very hard for me.

When snorkeling, watch out for coral, giant clams, zebrafish, turtles, sharks. jellyfish and multicolored fish of many sizes.

Don’t touch anything. Handling certain corals and organisms can kill them.

In 1928, this cay was the base for a year long scientific survey that examined the structure and ecology of the surrounding reef. This was the first scientific study of a coral reef anywhere in the world and many current theories of coral reef ecology are based on the findings of the expedition.

Make sure you go on a reef tour that has the eco tourism logo.

It is best to wear a lycra body suit when the jellyfish are stinging. Or if you are a lifeguard and out in the very strong sun all day. They are layered from head to toe.

They only cancel reef tours if there is a hurricane. Or cyclone as it is called in the southern hemisphere.

Steve Irwin died in the Great Barrier Reef. It was a freak accident where a stingray hit him straight in the heart. That almost never happens.

Sharks are immune to all known diseases.

President Clinton was on vacation in Port Douglas at the Sheraton Mirage (closest city to the Great Barrier Reef) when 9/11 happened.

Nothing in Port Douglas is allowed to be built over the size of a coconut tree. Mcdonalds is not allowed to be built either.

There is no smoking in any building or National Park (beaches and rainforests included) in Queensland. (State where GBR and Daintree rainforest are located.)

The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest in the world and somehow has bypassed-ecological change and has plant life that has long since dispersed everywhere else. It is a Unesco World Heritage site.

The Daintree Rainforest situated north of Cairns in tropical North Queensland. Approximately 1200 square kilometers in size, it supports over 3000 species of plant, over one third of Australia’s mammalian species including 13 of which are found nowhere else in the world. It is also home to a quarter of Australia’s frogs, a third of the country’s freshwater fish and nearly half of Australia’s birds.

Mossman Gorge ( where we were) is located in the southern part of the Daintree Rainforest. Our guide was from the Kuku Yulangi tribe. His ancestors lived in the rainforest.

During the rainy season, the rain is measured in meters. The rainy season is called the green season.

The rainforest has cassowaries and tree kangaroos – both endangered species. I didn’t see them.

The Aborigines of the rainforest are not overly tall hunter gatherers.

Dreaming stories pass on important knowledge, cultural values and belief systems to later generations of the Aborigines. Through song, dance, painting and storytelling which express the dreaming stories, Aborigines have maintained a link with the Dreaming from ancient times to today, creating a rich cultural heritage. The indigenous people in Australia were treated badly throughout history. It is clear that efforts are being made to tell their stories .

In Queensland there are over 600 dialects of Aboriginal languages but none of them have words for yesterday and tomorrow. They saw the world differently then the Europeans did.

It is important to learn from the elders in the rainforest. –which plants make the medicine for which illness, where to find food, how to make a shelter, how to send a message by hitting on certain hollow trees which echo through the forest ,which trees make the best musical instruments and much much more. (this type of tree is hollow and makes a loud echoing noise when hit – good for sending messages in a forest)

The rainforest is a supermarket, pharmacy , hardware store, etc to the Aborigines. Everything they need to exist is there. When you get your food from the bush, you understand the connection to the natural order of things.

Ants are used to treat the common cold and flu. The sacs on their back is loaded with vitamin C. Sarsasparilla leaves become soap when mixed with water. Yellow wattle is used in cancer treatment.

Mangos grow well in this area. It is almost mango season. They make mango preserves, mango chutney, mango syrup,mango wine and even mango toothpaste. Never pick a green mango because they are poisonous.

Cocatoos destroy banana plants.

Wallabies destroy the grass for the sheep and cows.

Cattlle is big business in Queensland. (This is cattle is in Tasmania – I just like this cow picture -I didn’t have to say anything. You would not have known.)

Crocodiles can live up to 200 years.

There are twenty three varieties of crocodile in Australia. The largest and most dangerous are called by the cute name of “Salties.” They can live in fresh and salt water but prefer the combination of waters found in the Daintree rainforest rivers.

Here we are in the Dainntree wetlands looking for one of the big crocodiles who lives here named “Wallet.”

Instead we found Brahmins from India. They are imported here because they are tic resistant cattle.

If you are going to be on this planet for millions of years, you better be very good at what you do. Crocodiles are the top of the food chain in Australia.

Do your part at home to protect the environment and fight against global warming. The current theory is that global climate change affects coral reefs and rainforests throughout the world.

Fly Safe,

JAZ

Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia

Posted on November 2, 2013 by jaynezak

Uluru (Ayers Rock) Australia

Our story is in the land … it is written in those sacred places … My children will look after those places, That’s the law” Bill Neidji, Kakadu elder.

The thing about Uluru (Ayers Rock with the respectful Aborigine name) is that it is nothing like you expected it to be and it is everything you expect it to be. It is not as red as it looks in the photos but the colors change constantly. You are advised to take photos every few minutes at sunrise and sunset. They say that we will see the difference on the computer. I was there at those times. It is never the same rock twice.

Uluru is 1150 feet high, a mile and a half long and five and a half miles around. It is one of the world’s largest monoliths and a symbol of Australia. The Rock is located in Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park , 440 km southwest from Alice Springs in the Northern Territories. Uluru is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

It is definitely biting fly season. I tried not wearing the net but finally gave in when they started flying in my mouth and nose. (you have no idea how many flies were just sitting on that net)

My first visit to the rock was the Sunset Tour with an Australian Tour Company. I shared this experience with people from the Southern Hemisphere . I pointed things out to them and they pointed them out to me . This shared undertaking was oddly spiritual.

Aborigine women were selling paintings. I had not brought any money with me but wanted to buy a painting. I kept saying that I had no money. She kept dropping the price. We were down to half of what she started with. The driver/guide who I had met five minutes ago, was talking to me about it. He said that he would have lent me the money but he only had twenty dollars. A few minutes later he came back with eighty dollars which he had borrowed from different drivers and tour guides. I was amazed. “How do you know that I will pay you back?”, I asked. ” Uluru is a spiritual place and I know people. You will pay me back.”, he answered. He dropped me off at my hotel in Yulara and said he would be back after he had dropped other people off . He drove off. “Nice meeting you,” I joked. I returned with money anxious to know more about a person who would do this. The painting will always remind me of Uluru and I will always remember that people can surprise you. Magical things happen at that big rock.

For the Aborigines, the rock is sacred and was used in religious ceremonies. In fact, there are parts of it that can’t be photographed.

The next morning we watched the sun rise.

We take a walk around the rock.

We see cave drawings and hear stories of the Dreamtime of the oldest people. They believed Uluru was created at the beginning of time by the ancestors of their people. (the yellow pear drawing is the print you make in the sand when you sit)

The cave drawings tell their stories.

The ancestors traveled the earth changing from animal to human form .When some important event happened the energy went into the ground and created a sacred place. It is believed that several ancestors passed through Uluru and some are still there.

Land is very important to the culture of the Aborigines. Many of their significant sites, like Uluru focus on their connection to land. (heart imprint in the rock)

There is a part of Uluru that you can climb on but the Aborigines do not like people climbing on their rock. They call them minga which means ants.

This is not me.

There are many tourists from many countries at Uluru. People came for different reasons but once you are there you know it is a place that you were supposed to see in your lifetime.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Australia

Posted on October 29, 2013 by jaynezak

Things I’ve Learned In Australia

“The bigger the hat, the smaller the property.” Australian Proverb

We drive on the “right side” (left) but they drive on “the correct side”. So, in a Mcdonalds drive through in Australia, is the order window on the right or the left? I don’t know because I did not eat at Mcdonalds in Australia.

They also apparently walk on the correct side. I wondered why I was always walking against the foot traffic. I ran into a marathon in the park. That was tricky.

Kangaroos cause more driving problems in Australia than bad drivers and alcohol combined. They jump out and cause many accidents. If you hit one, first check the pouch to see If there are babies and then pull it over to the side of the road. (Bonorong Sanctuary, Tasmania)

Australians order coffee by length and thickness . You can have a long black, short black or a flat white . None of those work for me. I solved the problem by ordering a long black and then asking for a little milk . Australians like their coffee strong. They have Starbucks, but they are quick to tell you that their coffee is much better, and in Australia it is.

A didgeridoo is a musical instrument called a didgeridoo.

One third of Australia is desert.

Australia has the lowest precipitation of the world’s inhabited continents.

Queen Elizabeth is the head of state of Australia. Prince Harry was in Sydney for the Hundredth Anniversary of the Navy. His family would like him to spend more time in Australia.

Voting is compulsory. If you do not vote you pay a fine.

You always lose a day when flying from America to Australia. You gain it coming back but not really because you are in a stupor just trying to stay up.

There are 69 varieties of kangaroo in Australia. (Bonorong Sanctuary, Tasmania)

Almost every animal in Australia has a pouch. (Bernadette and wombat, Bonorong Sanctuary, Tasmania)

” So if you are in the desert in Yulara, just check your bed for creepy crawly things and call the front desk”. (Uluru)

Australians always say sorry like the British even if it isn’t their fault.

Catcher In The Rye, Farewell To Arms and Brave New World were all banned in Australia in the 1950’s.

Australia has never had a serious civil disobedience.

Waltzing Matilda by Banjo Paterson, Is the unofficial song of Australia. He is the only nineteenth century Australian named after a stringed instrument.

In Queensland they say, “beautiful one day, perfect the next.” (Great Barrier Reef)\

A Billabong is a watering hole.

The bush is anything that is not the city. I spent the afternoon in the bush.The outback is everything else. As in, I have been to the outback of the United States.

Camels were used to build the railroad from Adelaide to Alice Springs and then set free. This is the only country in the world with wild one hump dromedaries running free in the central and northern deserts. Dubai imports racing camels from Australia.

It’s pronounced “Cans” and “Melbin” ( Cairns and Melbourne). It’s pronounced Sydney, Hobart, Alice Springs, Yulara and Port Douglas.

Australians always have a near death experience story often involving a crocodile or a snake. Today our driver in Port Douglas said his son found a fifteen foot python in the toilet.

Eighty per cent of all Australian deaths by crocodile are alcohol related. The crocodiles don’t drink.

Australian cities are safe and clean and you can not only brush your teeth but drink water from the tap.

There is the same rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne that there is between NY and LA. They have the same bad jokes about each other. (Melbourne)

Melbourne had the Olympics in 1956 Sydney had it in 2000. (Sydney Opera House)

The first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per person than any other community in the history of mankind.

More land in Australia is occupied by pubs than mines.

In 1954, Bob Hawke made it into the Guinness Book Of World Records for drinking 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Bob Hawke went on to become the Prime Minister of Australia.

There are 1500 species of spiders, 6000 species of flies, 4000 species of ants and 350 species of termites in Australia.

There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia, and only some 20 million people. (Tasmania)

Australia has more animals and insect that can kill you than anywhere else.

The ten most poisonous snakes in the world are Australian. (tiger snake – top five Bonorong Sanctuary, Tasmania)

Most of the plant and animal life found in Australia exist nowhere else in the world. (Tasmanian Devil, Bonorong Sanctuary, Tasmania)

Australia is the largest landmass in the world. It is the only continent that is one country.

This is the only country that was started as a prison. When we achieved our independence in 1776 England had to find a new place to send their criminals. (Penal Colony, Port Arthur, Tasmania)

Their minimum wage is much higher than ours. Tipping is not expected ” because they are paid well”. Everyone knows that tipping is part of our culture, so they do seem to expect Americans to tip. If you like the service, ten per cent is fine.

Australians are the biggest gamblers on the planet.

Australia has the world’s oldest rainforest, very old fossils and rocks and the and the world’s oldest people -the Aborigines. (Daintree Rainforest)

Canberra is the capital of Australia. I never remember this.

Crocodiles can live up to 200 years.

Water flows down the drain in the opposite direction in Australia because it is the Southern Hemisphere.

We have hurricanes and they have cyclones.

In 1805 British law gave the Europeans the right to punish Aborigines in any way they chose to. In 1838 the law was repealed. The killing went on for another century.

Central Australia has no surface water.

Ugg boots or as local call them ‘very ugly boots’ are an Australian design bought by an American company, where a sheepskin has been turned inside out and made into a boot.There is an Australian Company called Emu where the boots are made and owned by Australians.

The sports capital of the world has 70 percent of its total population participating at least once a week in a particular recreational activity or sport. Australia also ranks in the top five for obesity.

The Australian Coat Of Arms has a kangaroo and an emu on it. The reason being, kangaroos and emus can’t go backwards. They can only walk/hop forward. Australians eat the animals on their Coat of Arms – maybe because they can’t run backwards?

Australia’s first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved convicts.

The ‘dingo fence’ in Australia is the longest fence in the world (5,530km) – about twice as long as the Great Wall of China. (Dingos are wild dogs)

According to US Customs in Los Angeles, Tim Tams (Australian biscuits) are one of the main things that Americans bring back from Australia. It wasn’t just us. No wonder customs was so quick. They are not looking for cookies.

What I knew about vegemite before I came to Australia, was that it was something that a muscle-bound bread salesman from Brussels, offered in the form of a sandwich because he came from the land down under. (Lets see who gets this reference). What I know now is that it is a salty yeast spread that is way too strong for wimpy Americans like myself.

The Coastal Studies Unit at the University of Sydney has counted 10,685 mainland beaches in Australia. (Bondi Beach, Sydney)

Though Australians sound like the British, their easy-going, fun-loving, honest, kind personalities, make them among the most likable people I have met in the world.

Fly safe,
JAZ
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Travel Well, Fly Safe

Travel

Things I Have Learned In Tasmania

Mona Roma To MONA, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Metro Etiquette In Melbourne, Australia

People In the World

Things I’ve Learned In Melbourne, Australia

Things I Have Learned In Sydney, Australia

You Are Here – Street Art In Melbourne Australia

Welcome To This Journey (The Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest, Australia)

Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia

Things I Have Learned In Australia