Kuku Yalanji Land & Hydraulics Conference

Last weekend I flew up to Cairns, to check out the tropics. I found the town to be very touristy, I cannot see how so many retail outlets are sustained! Crazy.

My first day up there I was keen to check out a the Kuranda music festival, particularly because one of my fave bands called Zennith are from Karanda. I caught the scenic train up into the mountains on a pretty amazing railway! After some issues with transport, I gave up and went home. No such thing as local time up here apparently.

Cairns is backpacker central. I stayed in a hotel above a pub that did $12 meals including a beer. Was a good meal too! Met heaps of cool people. Was interesting to meet some people from Latin america. I would say we will see more of it, :). My recent encounters with Brazilians make me think they are the Germans of Latin America, except very ethnically diverse. They are straight forward, easy to get along with and fun in a good way, not a dirty chain smoking/binge memory loss backpacker kind of way.

I spent my second day on a cultural tour further north in the Daintree area, http://www.bamaway.com.au/DaintreeDreaming.aspx. Was great to hear from locals, and get to learn how to throw a spear. A small group of us headed out onto the mudflats and caught a bucket full of crabs! These were then cooked up, and they tasted phenomenal. We also went to an art gallery (http://www.janbalgallery.com.au/), showcasing aboriginal works, 99% by a man named Binna. Funny dude, :). Taught us how to paint with a stick and we got to create our own little artwork. After the gallery we went into the Gorge, where I got to swim in the beautiful rainforest creek. I also went on a cultural tour, where a local Kuku Yalanji man showed us all about the uses of the bush, and pointed out tools and signposts (yes signposts) that had been used for hundreds and hundreds of years. http://www.mossmangorge.com.au/Experience/Dreamtime-Walks

My Xmas Present

If a cannibal comes near me, whale is on the menu...

So here a couple of the foods that helped me to waddle home...

The best prawns I have ever had, from north east coast. So fresh I could eat the tails AND legs too, with a little bit of coconut milk nom nom nom

Savoury crepe of some delicious description.

Goat cheese, apple and walnut crepe

Apple and salty caramel, Flambage=drenched in sweet spirit and lit on fire.

Almond, coconut and chocolate crepe.

Just your average slice of paradise

Matt and I visited Ile des Pins (Island of Pines). We rode around the island on dodgy push bikes. We clocked up 40km, which doesn't sound like much, but felt like a lot more in the tropical heat.

Matt feeling the sun.

It was well worth it to get to the beautiful 'Piscene de Naturelle d'Oro' a natural enclosed area full of tropical fish.

A garden growing some of the local root veges, :).

We also got to ride on one of the traditional sailing boats. Pretty cool!

Kind of sad that I did not learn anything about the boats or the people sailing them. :(. I will need to learn some French.

Tropical Boy Finally Takes Me Home

So after 8 months of hearing how great New Caledonia is, I  have finally got an opportunity to see the place Mat loves so much.

We have been treated to some amazing food from Mat's family including grandparents. Mudcrab, Tahitian fish salad and homemade spring rolls are soooo good! I am also amazed by the amount of food grown on the island. Everywhere has mango trees, lychee trees and coconut palms.

We have been on a road trip around the island. The wind has been very strong allowing Mat and his dad to spend many hours kitesurfing, and me to relax on the beach reading and sleeping. I have made a map of our roadtrip here: http://goo.gl/maps/Kr47m.

CLIMBING

At the most northern part of the island a new climbing area has been established in the middle of a rainforest. There are approximately 100 climbs within 10 mins walk from one side to the other. It is magnificent with each crag having its own character, style and a range of climbing difficulties.                         Unlike some of the Australian climbing, the only way you are going to die at this crag is from stupidity or some loose rock falling onto your belayer from the newly formed routes. Apparently the rock is granite, but on some of the crags large bands of sharp quartzite look like they would slice through the rope.

The bolting is very close together, so the chances of rope slicing feels less than if you had some more 'exciting' Aussie style bolting (aka. could only afford 1 bolt per 4 metre, harden up sport climbers). With a bit more foot traffic the rock will be as solid as Arapiles. Like Arapiles the walk in is very small, but the nearest known camping is a 20 minute drive nearby the sea. Here are some photos of the crags:

Beautiful rock!

 

 Left: Beginners boulder, perfect for teaching lead climbing. Right: 30 metre tall cave with 30 metre roots!

The Sanctuary Crag: A classic in the making! Overhung. Coquillage et crustaces (6a)

Left: How to feel like a hobbit! Right: Some stock standard challenging face climbing

Left: Lots of nooks and crannies to explore. Right: Secret passage to the coolest crag ever- the 'Hanging Gardens' crag.

  

  

 Photos cannot capture the beauty of  crag "The Hanging Garden". It is located within the mountain itself, where the rock has split into two! Discovered after someone climbed on the outside of the mountain (left) and peered into the crevice! Nice and shady, with the actual climbs free of greenery.

NATURE AND CULTURE

 When we travelled to the East coast, where it easily switched between bright blue one minute and rainy 'Jurassic park' the next. These photos where taken within one hour of one another.

 One of the highlights was the local prawns and the Melanesian dish 'Bougna'. The Bougna dish is prepared by cooking root vegetables (yam, sweet potato, taro) with a meat in banana leaves for hours. For ~$20 we got a self contained dish big enough to feed 4 people, including two whole huge crabs!

           

Left: Bougna comes with its own carry bag made of leaves! Middle: Rustic. Right: Get your hands into it!  Eaten from the back of 4WD at the beach, with fresh lychee and pineapple for dessert!

I loved the local villagers gardens! I hope I can grow some of the Bougna ingredients myself to have a go at making it at home!

Smells and sounds of home

So two main things I thought when I went overseas were how skinny the Europeans are and the lack of people visibly affected by drugs. Surprisingly I hadn't prepared myself for the reverse reaction when returning to Australia 6months later (overweight population and many people affected by drugs). This was my only really negative reaction with the appreciation of my hometown outweighing the negative. 

Things I love about my hometown:

# The smell of the bush. This smell was something that I missed when overseas. On the drive home from the airport I knew I was home just by the smell.

# Seeing the colours and the characters of wildlife on a day to day basis. From the rainbow lorikeets (shown above)  to the spiders you have to remove from your shoes in the morning. (Please exclude mosquitoes from this appreciation). Note that the above photograph was taken on my grandparents back deck/balcony.

# The sounds of 'the nature' (as the Germans might say). Kookaburras laughing, roosters crowing, crows crowing, lorikeets chirping, natives fighting introduced birds, magpies swooping, waves crashing, trees blowing and the roads. Photo of the Macadamia tree in my grandparent backyard with 3 kookaburras.

# The juxtaposition of the industrial town against such a beautiful backdrop. For example riding my bicycle through dangerous traffic 30mins into town to lie on this beach with practically nobody on it.

# Sunshine with friends. Have been out climbing the last couple of weekends in coastal locations. Very nice!

6months of wisdom

People I'd like to thank:
# My family for the encouragement and contributions that meant that I could always take opportunities when they presented themselves.
# Everyone I have met on my travels and studies for being very giving with their time and sharing their life with me. I hope that many of you will come visit me in Aus so I can show you around!
# Boris for an amazing introduction to Moscow!
# Johannes for a beautiful weekend in München.
# My high school geography teacher Ms. D. for encouraging us to learn to draw world maps. Definitely came in handy when communicating with my Russian bunk buddy as to where we were from and where we were going.
# Andrei Lyamin for spending a long long time with me sorting out my credit agreement, :), negating any need to prolong studies.
# Anybody who has ever voted for a government or institution to support young people financially
# The Australian government for making our passports full of cool pictures and hence a good source of 'conversation' when language is a barrier.

It's nice to be back home in the sunshine... 

The goal for the next 2years is to become a good engineer. Hopefully my dreams of new adventures will not interfere too much! But places I would love to see: the Middle East, Africa and America (Anywhere/everywhere South of and including Mexico)