Last posting for 2014 from Downunder

It's December 31 in Mooroolbark, Victoria--New Year's Eve. As good a day as any for a Downunder blogpost, so it's the last in 2014. The Christmas frenzy is over, so we've resumed our regular activities as guests and tourists in Mooroolbark, suburb of Melbourne.

As I write this note, from the house on a high hill, I have a view of the surrounding area, including a myna bird feeding on the mulberry tree berries in the front of the house. Mynas are of the starling family, brought in from India in the 1860s to help control insects. As is the case with many introduced species, they didn't work out as planned, and instead became a nuisance, invasive species. The mynas have displaced native species like the rosella as they displace rosella nesting niches, and raid the nests and eggs of other birds.

Myna bird...feeding on mulberry tree berries

Rosella...a type of parrot native to Australia

A few days ago we toured Yarra Valley vineyards; the area is reminiscent of Napa and Sonoma Valleys in California with rolling hills and mountains up to about 500 meters. So some areas of the Yarra Valley are cool...cool enough to make some crisp white wines and Pinot Noirs, some of which are quite Burgundy like. That is, lighter than many of the Pinots produced in hotter climes. During our visit to Coldstream Hills, we met one of the wine tasters on a wine tour who was from Bethesda. I thought, what a small world! Then, about 5 minutes later, one of the women on that wine tour, Diane, realized that she recognized Virginia! She was a former colleague at the World Bank! Truly a small world.

We had also met up with a fiend from Washington, D. C., Deion, who had given us some tips on vineyards to visit. He recommended the Giant Steps private tasting room in the Innocent Bystander restaurant in Healesville. It was a good tip; we tried the top-of-the-line Giant Steps wines, including the Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir...a well balanced wine. But some of these good Australian wines are on the pricey side...around AU$60 to AU$80 a bottle which works out to about US$50 to US$65.

Virginia and Diane Hopkins at the Coldstream Hills Tasting Cellar...and the The Giant Steps Tasting Cellar

After the wine tasting, we were guests for lunch at the RACV Country Club in Healesville. Sid, Yi'd nephew, is a member, and along with Sid's parents, Wasan & Joan, and Sid's fiancée's parents, we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch. The RACV (Royal Auto Club of Victoria) Club has a spacious dining room with great views of the hills in the Yarra Valley.

At the RACV Club--Sin Yi, Sin Joan, Siddartha, Candice, Julie & Denzil (Candice's parents), Wadan, David 

On Tuesday afternoon we visited the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV...Aussies are fond of abbreviations). We saw a few exhibits, but the most interesting was a contemporary British artist, David Shrigley. His sculptures and drawings & videos are thought provoking and enigmatic. One piece is entitled "eggs", and another is a a kind of abstract expressionism work; expressed by a Roomba iRobot with two colored pens attached to trace the random pattern on paper.

David & Yi at the David Shrigley exhibit, NGV

On the way to the train station for our trip back to home base, we walked past the Noodle Kingdom noodle shop. One of the cooks was pulling noodles in the front windows...here's the photo.

Christmas Day in Mooroolbark

Since we've been spending most Christmas celebrations in So. California during the past several years, we're used to warm Decembers, with snow within view, but limited to the surrounding Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountains. It was a very pleasant 75 degrees in Mooroolbark (suburb of Melbourne) on Christmas Day. As family members gathered, the buffet table was filled to capacity with food too copious to begin to enumerate. 

The official meal began with traditional Fijian kava, drawn from a massive kava bowl, but with a Chinese twist (N.B. the Yee family, first migrated from China to Fiji, then to Australia and my favorite, Sin Yi, to the USA). Instead of drinking from a coconut shell as is the Fijian tradition, Chines tea cups were used since coconut cups are in short supply here. Wadan (Sin Joan's spouse) was the master of ceremonies for the kava drinking. And drinking kava is a ritual; the first to drink are the honored hosts and senior members of the group. Drinking is preceded by hand clapping (hands are cupped to make a softer clap); after the recipient drinks, he/she claps 3-4 times as do the gathered participants.

Wadan and Sin Ling--Kava ceremony; Wadan and Ma during kava drinking. Note the large wooden kava bowl, called a tanoa.

With over 20 family members and added fiancées, the Christmas tree was surrounded by dozens of presents, and the ubiquitous envelopes with monetary gifts. The family has some great musicians who can sing and play everything from Beatles & Dylan to Indian, Chinese, and Fijian songs. Wadan does a great guitar & harmonica gig.

Amit (Wadan and Joan's 3rd son) and Wadan performing and leading in the songs; Joan recording the session on her iPad

...and for a glimpse of the Christmas celebration...more photos...

Sid and Candice--recently engaged to be married. Sid is Wadan & Joan's eldest son

Sugat and Sarah--also recently engaged to be married in April. Sugat is Wadan & Joan's 2nd son.

David...somehow photographed opening a present (pressy in Australian)

Ma and Hine 

Albert and Raymond--Raymond begins Uni in a few months. Talented in math and science.

Virginia (aka Sin Yi) made this Buche de Noël 

Wadan and Yi

Ron and Sin Ling, our hosts in Mooroolbark. Sin Ling is the eldest sister

After the Christmas celebrations, many family members went to the Yee Chong How's grave (Virginia's father) to pay their respects.

Lilium longiflorum

It's Christmas Eve in Mooroolbark, and I'm admiring what I would call "Easter Lilies" in the garden. But Downunder they are known as "Christmas Lilies". Either way, they mark significant holidays.

Since this is the last shopping day before Christmas, the downtown Melbourne shops were all busy. The shop windows display beach wear here since it's summer here; not quite what we're used to in the Northern hemisphere.

Bourke Street in Melbourne--Meyer's Department store with the Old Post Office tower

Christmas window display, Aussie style

The family (Yi's sister and brother-in-law) Christmas Day dinner venue...the fun begins in about 16 hours from now. There will be about 25 relatives and fiancées here tomorrow. 

38 degrees 11' 42" South and 147 degrees 25' 23" East

If you ever wondered where Paradise is, search no more. We found it today at the above global coordinates. Today's travels took us to--guess where? Yup. Another beach...called Paradise. And Paradise it was. Paradise may be where you find it, and we found it at the southern tip of the 90 mile beach. We had a plan: buy the makings of a gourmet lunch at Coles before leaving Bairnsdale, and stop in Paradise for lunch on the beach. Yi had her ever-present sulu (a Fijian sarong that you can wear or use as a table cloth), and we had our cheese, salami, bread, hummus, and cherries for dessert lunch. It was difficult to leave Paradise, but we know how to find our way back, and you can too with the coordinates we've given you.

Paradise Beach: 38 degrees 11' 42" South, 147 degrees 25' 23" East

I guess I had Paradise on the mind, and almost forgot to mention the first few hours of the day as we drove across what could have been the West in the USA. Flat terrain for long distances with cattle ranches and fields of grain. The Australian twist is the sheep stations.

On the drive from Bairnsdale, to Melbourne, Victoria

...and we safely arrived at Yi's sister's (Sin Ling) house in Mooroolbark. Was Yi's mother ever happy to see her after two years!

Keep me cockatoo cool, Curl, or what does Eden, the fox and chickens, and black swans have in common?

A quick and easy drive from Narooma to Tilba this morning where we found a lovely bakery to have a breakfast of scones, fruit tarts, and coffee. Tilba Central is a small historic village (next to Tilba Tilba) just off the Princes Road. While checking out the General Store, some locals were mulling over the local news about a fox that killed 10 chickens last night. Well, perhaps only nine, as one was still alive, but not in very good shape.

The Tilba Teapot Café and General Store/Post Office

South of Tilba is Eden, our next stop for lunch in a park overlooking the sea where, in the right season (through November), you can do some whale watching. There's actually a place called the Garden of Eden in Eden. At the local sandwich shop, I asked the girl behind the counter if she had any friends named Eve, and sure enough, she had a cousin and a friend named Eve. I didn't ask about Adam. Oh, and if you order a standard hamburger, it comes with the usual lettuce and tomatoes, AND beets.

Again, we drove through miles and miles of eucalyptus forests, but much of our route took us on small roads closer to the ocean...we stopped a few times to admire the long sandy beaches, like the one at Tathra and the 90 mile beach. The water is cooler than normal; only 16 degrees C, but normal is around 20 C. Our approach to the 90 mile beach was at the northern end at Lake's Entrance, where dozens of Black Swans were feeding.

Wei and Yi, David and Yi on 90 mile beach; a black swan

A short drive on the Princes Road took us to tonight's destination: Bairnsdale. There are some interesting 1890s brick buildings like the Courthouse and the Church. And our hotel, the Riversleigh, is an historic inn with a wrought iron veranda and a beautiful jacaranda tree in full bloom adorning the front of the inn. The veranda is just in front of our room, affording a view of a valley, eucalyptus trees, and mountains in the distance. 

As we were dining on Chinese noodle take-away and a bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) tHe first act of the evening's performance began. The first birds we saw were chimney swifts, and I assumed they were out for meals of mosquitoes. There were no mossies on our balcony, so we didn't pay them much attention. Then we saw several cockatoos in the distance...flying from tree to tree. Then one came to the fountain just below our balcony. They are beautiful birds. The next wave of flying animals were bats...hundreds of them! Holy Batman! We soon found out why they were flying just above us...in the hundreds. The mosquitoes were out by the thousands.

The Riversleigh Inn and a special visitor...a cockatoo

We'll be in Melbourne by tomorrow evening. So one more day visiting Victoria, then Christmas activities begin. Ciao, David

Beach time in Australia

 Our 3 day drive from Sydney to Melbourne began this morning. Soon after leaving the Sydney suburbs headed south on the Princes Road we drove across mountains which afforded grand vistas of the eucalyptus forests. We'll be driving about 350 km/ day. When we arrived at our destination, Narooma, we were treated to a nice surprise: a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets!

A colorful Rainbow Lorikeet in Narooma

Our hotel manager gave us a good tip on a restaurant; a country club clubhouse that overlooks the Pacific coast. After a well prepared grilled dory and grilled barramundi dinner, we walked about half of a kilometer to a beautiful sandy beach replete with an offshore island, cliffs, and rocks jutting out into the sea. See for yourself how nice it is.

David & Yi at Surf Beach, Narooma, NSW

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Eucalyptus forest on the Princes Road, NSW

Today's Endeavours were well rewarded

Our Darling Bay hotel is so centrally located that it only took us 5 minutes to our first tourist destination of the day--the Australian Maritime Museum. The museum has interesting exhibits covering two main themes: navigation and maritime war. Plenty of astrolabes, quadrants, octants, and sextants to peruse, and more on the Aussie naval battles from Papua New Guinea to the campaign at Gallipoli. There's also a fun, interactive room with stations to explore hovercraft technology, sailing, and photovoltaics to power mini-aircraft. 

The museum has several naval vessels that one can tour: a replica of the HMB Endeavour (no worries, I didn't know what the "B" in HMB stood for either, so I asked--it's His Majesty's Barque); the Vampire destroyer, and the HMAS Onslow submarine. The original Endeavour's captain was James Cook, the British explorer, navigator, and cartographer, who commanded Endeavour on his first voyage of discovery to Australia between 1769 to 1771. Cook first mapped the east coast of Australia in 1770. The replica Endeavour, a tall ship, was commissioned to be built in 1988 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Australia under British rule in 1788. It's the most authentic replica of a  tall ship in existence, and has circumnavigated the earth twice. There are 81 miles of rope on this sailing ship; everywhere you go on the ship, there are heaps of ropes.

Yi and David visiting the HMB Endeavour, Darling Bay, Sydney

The submarine we visited, the HMAS Onslow, was built in Sydney in the 1960s. Australia has no nuclear subs, nor does it have any aircraft carriers. Although Australia is a high-income economy, it's population is only about 23 million, so it's naval fleet is not huge. Moreover, the ANZUS treaty binds Australia and New Zealand in a defense pact, and separately, the USA and Australia.

Wei in the HMAS Onslow engine room. Warp speed, Scotty!

Next stop: the Sydney Fish Market. This is a ginormous fish market, with dozens of fishmongers who are all happy to show you their live crabs which they will turn into a nice meal for you in minutes. We chose a mud crab, weighing in at 750g; we had it prepared with black bean soy bean). It was delicious! The fish market is a major tourist destination, so it was wall-to-wall diners there for lunch.

Fresh Oysters and crabs on offer at the fish market

The day's tourism was a mere prelude to the evening dinner plans of visiting relatives in a Sydney suburb. First and second cousins were full force, and the celebration also included a birthday cake for Grace, one of the cousins. There were some authentic traditional Fijian delicacies such as dalo, palusami, tavioka (cassava), and vakalolo. Try Googling these foods and see what you come up with. But trust me, it was tasty (perhaps the coconut milk is not the most healthy, though).

Wei, YI, Adrienne, and Cynthia

It's now Saturday morning, so we'll be leaving soon on the first day of our 3 day drive to Melbourne on the Prince's coastal highway.

Watch me wallabies feed *

As it turns out, Kylie Kwong's restaurant in Sydney is actually called Billy Kwong, after her father. This is not your usual Chinese restaurant; chopsticks on the table were the only visible clue as to it's origins. No dragons, Buddhas, terra cotta warriors, or fierce lions are to be seen. Some menu items were on the unusual side; the chicken feet proffered at the Chinatown restaurant the previous night would have seemed downright do-able compared to Wallaby tails or meal worms listed on the Kwong menu. In the end, the fish cheeks (the most delicate part of the fish) with the fish "collar" fins was about as off- the -beaten trail as we got last night. The steamed fish had delicate flavors, and the green beans nice and crispy/crunchy. Although the portions are tapas sized, if you order enough dishes, it can add up to a whole meal. The open kitchen invited me to take a few photos.

It seemed like old home week as we met one of Yi's schoolmate friends from Fiji today. Vanessa met us at the New South Wales Art Museum where we took in a few galleries of European style painting and Aboriginal art. Many Australian painters studied in France and Italy and had exhibitions in the Paris Salon in the 1850s through the early 1900s. But the subject was invariably Australian: mining/panning for gold, sheep shearing, rugged mountains, and other agriculture scenes were common. The variety of abstract shapes and colors  in aboriginal work is astounding. Well, at least it seems abstract to me, but the shapes and symbols often refer to some Aboriginal "dreamtime". Dreamtime images can be about how the earth was created and how everything came out of the earth from a once dark, flat land. Some paintings are maps of places and objects as imagined from an aerial view, and depict important (especially in deserts) places such as well holes, rivers, paths, and the like.

Vanessa and Yi in the Sydney Botanical Gardens

It was a warm sunny day, so after lunch in the botanical gardens we continued walking around a vast park area of the Domain and around Wooloomooloo Bay, eventually ending up, guess where? On the shopping streets, where, surprise, surprise, a UNIQLO store appeared; the shopping genes kicked in, and an hour later we were on our way back to our Darling Bay hotel. We probably walked more than 5 miles in this eminently walkable city.

One is transported to the lush tropics in the Botanical Gardens 

Our hotel is well equipped--it has a kitchenette and laundry facilities. So we did some shopping at David Jones...a department store...and more. The food section is similar to a Dean & DeLuca, so we found everything we needed: a Chianti wine to go with our pasta dinner, Gran Padano cheese, grilled artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes for the pasta, rocket salad, and more. While traveling, I always recommend traveling with a chef who can do miracles with a few choice ingredients. Yi's dinner was "eccellente"!