While I have hundreds of photos of this trip, they are slides, and I don’t really have the time to scan all the slides at this point in my life. Maybe another time. But there are plenty of videos out there, made by other people who have visited the area—in this case, professionally. In this video, you’ll see jump ups, eagles, Burke’s grave, Cooper Creek, pelican, egret, corellas (small white cockatoos), both singly and in large flock, river red gums, rocks. The lake fed by the creek is full in this video. It was a bit lower when I was there. But this will still give a good feeling for how wonderful this was.
Category Archives: Video
Trip 4:August 6, Part 2
Walked all over downtown, through areas partially familiar, with new buildings or new names on old buildings, but much still recognizable. Each time I return, more has changed. Definitely bigger, but still vibrant. I found a post office and mailed off cards to friends back home—sending them early in the trip, to make sure the cards arrive before I get back home. Rain picked up, and while I had an umbrella (thanks to Brian), I figured this might be a good time for lunch: lamb kebab in a bustling food court. Then off again.
Next stop was the Powerhouse Museum. Like the city, this has grown immensely since I first visited it, on my first trip to Australia. It has absorbed or linked with other collections and museums I saw on previous trips, and now has a number of outlying locations, but I was set to explore the Ultimo location, the main campus of this sprawling Museum of Applies Arts and Sciences. It’s called the Powerhouse museum because this building once housed the electric dynamos that powered the city’s electric tram system.
Spent several happy hours at the museum. Fun and fascinating exhibits on computers, robots, the senses, history of experiments, cooperage, cars, medicine, domestic skills, porcelain, and the astonishing Strasburg astronomical clock. That’s barely a hint at what I saw, but here’s a video I found that shows a bit more.
On my way back to the train station, where I was meeting Brian, I stopped to pick up a comic book for a friend back home and some flowers for Mardi. Then Brian and I headed back to the suburbs, where Mardi awaited us. A bit of conversation and the evening news, and then we headed out to their favorite curry restaurant. Jolly evening.
Trip 4:August 6, Part 1
Up early again and into town with Brian. The day was a bit gray and threatening rain, so I left my camera at the house. A repeat of yesterday’s train ride brought me again to the Wynyard station, from which I set off on foot. I made my way up George Street, turning in at The Strand, a favorite from previous trips. Built in 1891, this splendid Victorian arcade is home to high-end clothiers, impressive jewelry stores, fun gift shops, and charming coffee shops. To clarify, this is an arcade not in the American sense of a place with games to play but rather in the British sense of a narrow “side street” that takes advantage of the space between larger buildings and offers opportunities to smaller businesses. It’s elegant and bustling, and because arcades have roofs, one can window shop on damp days and stay dry.
Then onward to Market Street and the State Theatre. Didn’t have plans to see anything, but based on its reputation, I wanted to at least take a peek at this opulent venue. Timing wasn’t good for a tour, so I just admired the foyer and then continued on.
Next stop was the QVB—local shorthand for Queen Victoria Building. With that name, one could reasonably guess Victorian era, and one would be right. A full block long, the magnificent building offers not only lovely shops, but also with stained glass and grand staircases. The clocks are mechanical wonders—chimes and “action figures” portraying events in English history. I was fortunate to be standing right next to one of the clocks at 10:00, when it struck the hour, and so enjoyed the “show.” Most of the shops I passed were upscale, and on the upper level, most focused on Australian goods. There were also exhibits, from ones on Queen Victoria to ones on Chinese culture. But the building itself was the chief delight, with wood trim, high domes, carpeted floors, with a piano playing in the background. Just lovely.
On the lower level, it was a bit less posh, but offered a lot of little places to eat. I grabbed some chicken satay and a cappuccino for breakfast. And then I was off again.
But before I share the afternoon’s adventures, here’s a video to give you a bit more info and insight on the QVB. I think it does a pretty good job of capturing the experience.
Trip 4:August 5, Part 2
Leaving the Observatory museum, I headed down the hill and through the Argyle Cut to the Rocks. There, I did a bit of wandering. The Argyle Stores are much more posh and upscale than when I was there before (and, to me, seemed less fun). But a bit farther along, I found plenty of more fun, less posh shops. Hmmm. I may have to buy another t-shirt. But as I shopped, I suddenly became acutely aware of hunger. Time to look for lunch.
I turned in at the charming, old (1844) Orient Hotel. The grill was advertising a special of Australian beef, which sounded like a great option. I entered a bright, spacious room of tall windows, white table clothes, crystal, silver, and great service. A pianist was playing. Perfect. The menu offered many appealing dishes that utilized Australian ingredients: king prawns with macadamia nuts, wild barramundi with quenelles of bush tomatoes, and red curry of Balmain bugs. Wow. However, after a bit of an internal debate, I went with my first choice—the beef. Good choice. A lovely steak arrived piled high with sautéed onions, with tomatoes, zucchini, and au gratin potatoes. Lovely. And a final nice touch was the chocolate that came with my coffee
Then I was off again, hiking through the Rocks, around Circular Quay, to the Opera House, and then up into the Botanic Gardens. The birds were abundant today, and they always delight me. The gardens are extensive and glorious, and so consumed a fair bit of time. Noteworthy (other than the general beauty) was the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. This 148-year monument is a copy of one built in Athens in 334 b.c., and the splendid Greek confection looked quite comfortable surrounded by palm trees. Another delight was coming across a “bird man” feeding his large fan club—dozens of white cockatoos, Australian mynahs, and ibises, plus, of course, pigeons and sea gulls.
About 5:00, I started to make my way across town (it has gotten more built up and more crowded) to Chinatown (which has expanded considerably), to meet Brian by 6:00 p.m. We strolled around looking for a likely spot, finally settling on a Chinese restaurant Brian had heard about. Kung pao lamb and stir-fried prawns with garlic sauce were a good choice.
Chinatown was selected both for the reliably good food and for its proximity to the Central Station, so it was only a short walk to where we could catch the train back out to the suburbs. One final fun adventure (or at least the sort of thing I always enjoy): we headed for Wooly’s for grocery shopping. (Wooly’s is short for Woolworth’s, which in Australia is a grocery store chain unrelated to F. W. Woolworth in the U.S.). I always enjoy a good grocery store, and here, the fun was in both seeing things I remembered from previous trips and checking out the unfamiliar. Couldn’t help but notice that the lamb section was much larger than it would be in any mainline grocery store I know back home.
Then back to the house and to the waiting Mardi. Tea and conversation filled the rest of the evening. Lovely day.
And because it’s always fun to learn a bit more about a specific location, here’s a video of the Orient Hotel, where I enjoyed lunch and a bit of history today.
The Observatory
Just to help you imagine the visit described in the previous post, here is a short video that shows the observatory, a few of the displays, and the ball that was dropped to tell the time. Enjoy.
Cockatoos
There are many things to love about Australia, not least of which are the birds. And it’s not just that there are a lot of birds—though there are—it’s also that the birds are remarkable. I’ve posted several times about specific birds: lyrebirds, kookaburras, magpies, brolgas, jabirus, and more. But among the feathered denizens of the land Down Under, it is the parrots and the cockatoos that are the attention getters. Because I’ve covered so much of Australia, I’ve seen many varieties of both. Fortunately, there are experts who spend months researching Aussie bird life. I’ve just come across a new YouTube channel where one of these experts shares both images and insights about his favorites among Australia’s birds. In this video, he focuses on Cockatoos—but if you visit his channel, you’ll find others.
A Treat from 1930s Australia
As a food historian, I always enjoy learning about old recipes. I’ve tasted and tested recipes from a wide range of nations and time periods. Today, I saw a video of a recipe from Australia’s past, and while I haven’t tested this one myself, as is often true of people who cook a lot, I can “taste” it based on what I know of the ingredients. So I’ll add it to my “try soon” folder—but today, as it is from 1930s Australia, I thought I’d share it here. This is a channel created by a Canadian gentleman (which the pronunciation of words such as “about” will make clear) who specializes in dishes from old cookbooks. He also shares a bit of background on the dishes and how foods evolve, which is also fun.
A perfect little something for an afternoon tea. Enjoy.
The Need to Diversify
This video underscores the need to diversify. While we may already understand that from the standpoint of a private investment portfolio, clearly, it also applies to nations. Hope Australia can combat these issues.
Here Comes the Easter Bilby
Certainly all Australians and probably many who are simply interested in Australia will have heard of the horrific problems created by the introduction of rabbits. With no predators to keep populations under control, rabbits became a genuine plague in Australia, destroying crops and native plants and out-competing indigenous wildlife. So, a few decades ago, an Aussie chocolatier decidesd it was time to step away from chocolate bunnies at Easter and honor a local animal that had suffered because of the rabbit invasion — the bilby. So now, if you’re Down Under for Easter, you can search out a confection that is not just a sweet treat but that also helps preserve indigenous fauna.
Here’s a video to show a bit more of that history — and so you know what a bilby looks like, if you get a chance to find one, either real or confectionary.
Waltzing Australia 