The Parents are Coming! The Parents are Coming!

It seems as though I will have guests in my city shortly. In a few hours time, my parents will have arrived in Canberra following a route taking them from Ottawa to Vancouver to Sydney and finally to Canberra. There are no stops in between in that they will not be spending more than a few hours in any airport before heading off. I can only imagine how tired they will be. The plan is to show them around the city and then we're all off to Sydney for the weekend. I wish Canberra's weather would be a little more hospitable, but it looks like it will be 15C with rain. I guess cold temperature follow Canadians.

The ACT, and most of Australia, switched to daylight savings on Saturday the 11th, unlike North America which does it on a Sunday in November, for the time being. I can see how it may be useful but I don't see how you can save any energy from it. We also find ourselves in the unusual position of having more daylight savings days than normal days. It seems like a colossal waste of time.

It was also Labour Day a few Mondays ago. Here, Labour Day is the first Monday in October but it doesn't really signify anything like the beginning of the school year, like in Ontario. I think it's just another day off, sort of like Colonel By Day (Civic Holiday) in Ottawa. Still, it's good to have a day off.

Politically, there's just been an election in the ACT with the Green Party holding the balance of power. The ACT is divided up into 3 constituencies each electing multiple members based on the proportion of votes each candidate receives. Currently, there are 17 seats in the ACT Territorial Legislature with the Labor Party taking 7, the Liberal Party taking 7 and the Green Party taking 3. It will be interesting to see what kind of horse-trading will go on to see who forms the government.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd elucidate the differences between the Australian and Canadian voting systems. First of all, in Australia there is compulsory voting and registration, meaning fines can be, and are, imposed on those citizens who do not vote. Secondly, in some jurisdictions, there is a system of proportional representation unlike Canada's first-past-the-post system. And thirdly, most Australian jurisdictions practice something called a preferential voting system. That means that when you vote, you rank candidates from 1-whatever (1 being most preferred) and then the votes are tallied until someone gets a majority of preferences. For example, if after counting all of the 1st preference votes no one candidate has 50%+1 votes, then begins a tally of the 2nd preference votes, and so on until someone has achieved a majority. It's an intriguing system that as far as I know, is uniquely Australian or if not, at least Australian originally.

That's really all there is to say other than be sure to read all of my New Zealand posts. I've got some great pictures up and maybe it'll give you some ideas of where to go.

The Flight Home

I got up around 04:00 that morning and woke my brother to thank him for his hospitality and companionship. We'd both had a great time travelling south and maybe we'll do something similar in the future. He's not in New Zealand for too much longer so maybe I should start planning our next trip.

Our flight took off on time just after dawn. Although I had missed the Southern Alps on the way over, I was in for a special treat as the peaks were illuminated red by the rising sun. I managed to get some pictures as we flew over them.

I arrived in Australia on time and without incident. As I had nothing to declare, I was whisked through the express customs line, much to my relief. At the airport I caught the bus back to Canberra and arrived around 13:00.

I'm very happy with my trip. I managed to get out of Canberra for a much needed vacation before the pressures of the exam season really begin to set in. I saw a country which I find fascinating and a part of it which I had never seen before. I guess I'd broadened my horizons just a little bit. If you can say that about a trip, it can't have been bad.

The Long Journey North

My brother and I left Dunedin on the bus bound for Christchurch at 12:50, meaning that we had spent nearly exactly 24 hours in Dunedin. Like the last trip along this route, this was going to be a long one, nearly 7 hours although we did stop in an interesting town along the way. This trip was part of the Invercargill-Christchurch run so while the road was the same, the breaks were at different places.

We headed back out onto the coastal road to Christchurch having made it over the hills of southern Otago. It wasn't particularly exciting except that it was here that I finally saw the snow-covered Southern Alps. On the trip down, they had been conspicuously absent and I can only imagine for reasons of optics. I have a feeling that blowing snow in the Alps caused the sun to reflect in such a way to create a haze, obscuring the mountains. I was now very glad to see the Southern Alps again and even though they are not the highest mountains in the world, there's something about them that makes them awesome.

Onward the bus went, passing through a myriad small towns until we reached the larger settlement of Oamaru (pronouned AW-mah-roo). This was once a major center during the Gold Rush years and its former prosperity is reflected in some of the local architecture. It is also known for the Oamaru bluestone, a type of rock used extensively on the South Island for construction. Since we had half an hour at this stop, I took the time to walk around the town and I took some photos of interesting buildings. Very quickly, though, we were back on the road.

One of the problems with taking a bus trip like this is that there are so few stops until you reach the major centers, so there really isn't much to report. Most of the photos I took were of the mountains as we drove along the coast. Except for a quick stop at Timaru, there wasn't much to see until we finally got off in Christchurch.

When my brother and I finally got home, we were quite exhausted. In our trip, we had seen much of the South Island and I was happy to have finally seen the portion that I had missed the last time around. While not as captivating as the highlands of central Otago and Canterbury, my time along the south shore was very rewarding. I think I'd like to go back as soon as I could.

I couldn't stay up too late since my flight was at 06:45 the next day. I fell asleep sorry to be leaving but also dreaming of the high mountains and the pounding surf of the Great Southern Ocean.

The Southern Sea

With the bus back to Dunedin leaving so early, my brother and I had the good fortune of being able to spend a good portion of the day there. The bus arrived just before 13:00 and we once again made out way back to Hogwartz. This time we were put up in what must have once been the master bedroom and still at only $27/night each. What a fantastic deal.

However, before we god back to Dunedin we had to cross the southern lands we had crossed only a few days previous. I was surprised to see that it had snowed a bit since we had been through and some hills had a light dusting of the white powder. The snow wasn't even that far from the road so it must have been chilly those last few nights. We also drove passed row upon row of sheep grazing. Since this is spring, there were many lambs about. We also made our way back across the raging Clutha River, which seemed even more full.

After unpacking our things at Hogwartz, I decided to take a walk to the southern portion of Dunedin, where the city meets the sea. Along the way, I stopped into the Dunedin Railway Station again and was pleased to find the Taieri (tahy-EH-ree) Gorge train waiting on the platform. This is a tourist train which runs north from Dunedin to Middlemarch, through part of the Taieri Gorge, which is supposedly very scenic. Many years ago, as train travel fell out of favour most of the Taieri Railway, which ran to Alexandra, was uprooted and only a last ditch effort by Dunedin saved this one portion. Where the track once was is now a hiking trail and some people do get off the train in Middlemarch and continue the journey further north on foot.

I continued walking until I found St. Kilda Beach, a beach to the south of Dunedin. It was quite spectacular to look at the ocean and know that if you were to keep going, it would be many thousands of kilometers before you would sight land again. At that point, you would be in Antarctica. I managed to get a few picture before, much to my chagrin, my camera's battery died. I can only leave you to imagine the picture I wanted to take. Think of black rain clouds slowly moving across a vast expanse of churning blue-green water. Then imagine that the sun comes out, only for a moment, illuminating the sea and creating a marvelous contrast with the black clouds behind; that's what I wanted to capture but couldn't.

I walked along the beach for a while before heading back into the city. There wasn't much to do after that, and nothing else that I wanted to see so my brother and I finished off the day with dinner at another fine establishment on the Octagon.

Dunedin is a place I think I could spend a few days getting to know. It's a very intriguing city both for its architecture and its geography. Not too far, on the Otago Peninsula, is Larnach Castle, New Zealand's only. There is also a colonies of albatrosses and yellow-eyed penguins. Try as it might, though, Dunedin will never take the place of the high country for me, but I wouldn't mind losing a few days in this southern haven.

The 24-Hour City

In a way, I'm glad I only spent one day in Invercargill. As much as I like the city, I think I got to see everything there is to see in just one day. I think Invercargill would be a more interesting city if it had been built right on the sea but it's set several kilometers inland and so there is no oceanfront upon which to walk. I had to be satisfied with a lagoon just south of the city. I also didn't have a car which meant that I couldn't travel to Bluff, Invercargill's port town a little further south.

The morning began inauspiciously with a cold wind blowing quite strongly and gray clouds in the sky. The temperature was not expected to go higher than 10C which was cold for this time of year. Hope as I might, the weather didn't improve and eventually rain did come, but not merely drizzle. Combined with the high winds, the rain became driving, almost to the point of horizontality and cold water on skin, amplified by a cold wind, really takes the heat out of you. Luckily, that didn't happen for most of the day and I managed to get some good viewing in before the rains.

Invercargill is not a big place and so I spent the day walking around the city. Invercargill is based on grid pattern and many of the streets are named after rivers in Scotland. The two main streets, Tee and Day, meet in the southwest of the city center at a traffic circle which has a monument to those who served in the Boer War. I noticed that many New Zealand cities have separate monuments for the Boer War and then all other wars are commemorated by a single monument.

One of the most interesting things I saw was a sundial built in the shape of an umbrella. This was to reflect that Invercargill's streets are aligned to the cardinal points. The sundial is one of Invercargill's most well-known artistic works.

Around noon, seeing rain clouds approaching, I decided that it was best I get indoors so I went to see a movie, Wall-E. This animated feature, made by the same people who made Finding Nemo, is the story of a robot, the last inhabitant of Earth, who ends up helping save humanity. What I found most interesting was that through minimal dialogue, the writers were still able to convey emotions, ideas and the general plot with ease. The movie was highly entertaining as well as thought-provoking. Better still, once I left the movie theater I saw that the rain had stopped and I could continue my discoveries.

After the movie theater, I paid a visit to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery (SMAG). Although only a small institution, it did have some fascinating exhibits. The art gallery had works from many periods and the museum portion had exhibits on local history from the first settlement by the Maori to the present. There were also an exhibit dedicated to New Zealand's subantarctic islands, 5 groups of islands spread about the south Pacific and protected because of their ecological importance. There was also an exhibit about The World's Fastest Indian and another one on space exploration.

Perhaps the most fascinating exhibit was that of the tuataras (too-ah-TAH-rah), members of a nearly extinct reptilian species. Although they look like lizards, the tuataras branched off from the lizard family before the dinosaurs evolved. They are all extinct now except for 2 species native only to New Zealand. This tuatara exhibit is part of an effort to protect them as they are endangered. Perhaps the most interesting feature about them is their life span --- 300 years. There is one tuatara there who is now about 110 years old.

I left the SMAG and headed back south out of the city. It was here that the wind and rain finally caught up with me. Unable to walk to Bluff and the ocean proper, some 25 kilometers further south, I walked along a boardwalk built on what is now a protected lagoon. I couldn't stay very long as the driving cold wind and rain were quite a lot to deal with. I walked back to the youth hostel my brother an I were staying at and we then went out for dinner at the Lone Star.

I'm sure Invercargill has its moments and that it looks better in the sunshine, but I really wouldn't want to stay there for any length of time. 24 hours was enough time to see everything this southern city has to offer. I read that Invercargill has never ranked particularly high on travellers' lists and severs primarily as an overnight stop. Nonetheless, I'm glad I stopped by. My brother and I went to sleep early that night as the bus back to Dunedin left at 08:45. All in all, I'm glad I visited Invercargill but don't spend more than a day there.

A Short Trip South

The next stop on the tour was the southern city of Invercargill, New Zealand's southernmost and westernmost city. With a population of roughly 50 000, about half that of Dunedin, Invercargill is not particularly big or even well-visited. It is used as a stopping point for trips along the Southern Scenic Highway and to Stewart Island, a largish landmass off the coast of the South Island. However, Invercargill has recently gained some fame from the movie The World's Fastest Indian starring Sir Anthony Hopkins. It's the story of a man from Invercargill who went to the United States on his modified Indian motorcycle and set a world land speed record. Invercargill has made the most of its recent exposure and there is a display about the man in the local museum.

The trip down south, about 3 hours was much shorter than the trip from Christchurch to Dunedin. While the scenery wasn't as spectacular there were still some points of interest. In case anyone was unaware of the area's European residents' roots, the towns had names like Dunedin, Invercargill, Milton, Balclutha, Stirling, Glenham, Glenavy and Gore. Some of the sights along the way were the Clutha River, named after the Gaelic name of the Clyde River in Scotland. This is one of New Zealand's major rivers and it was running quite full as we passed over it. Also, there is a stretch of road known as the Presidential Highway since it passes between the settlements of Clinton and Gore, both only 44 kilometers from each other. When Bill Clinton and Al Gore visited New Zealand, they passed along this route and even presented the citizens of Waipahi with an American flag. That American flag along with that on New Zealand still fly at a marker along the highway. Just as a side note, Gore is considerably larger than Clinton and I'm still waiting for them to build the Lewinsky By-pass.

My brother and I arrived in Invercargill in the early evening and did some quick exploring before going to our hostel. We walked by Queen's Park and made our way to the water tower, a building built in the 1880s and now a city landmark; it also still serves its original purpose. The one thing I noticed about Invercargill was the wind. Despite the sun, any warmth was taken away by the fresh gusts from the south. Invercargill sits right within the Roaring Forties and not too far from the Furious Fifties, bands of latitude known for their fierce winds. Nonetheless, by day's end both my brother and I were anxious to see what this antipodean city had to offer.

Edinburgh of the South Seas

October 6th was the first full day that I would spend in Dunedin, the New Edinburgh of New Zealand. Dunedin was founded by Scottish immigrants, as was most of the South Island, apart from the Maori of course. These Scots wanted to recreate a bit of home in this distant land and so they designed many of the buildings in the Scottish architectural style. As well, the name "Dunedin" is the Gaelic name of Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. You can certainly feel the Scottish influence through the architecture, the statue of Robert Burns (Scotland's national poet) and even in the accent of the residents.

New Zealand has an accent distinct from Australia characterized by the short i becoming a short u sound and a bit of a rolled r. This way the word "chip" is pronounced "chup". This is a feature of some Scottish accents as is the rolling r. It is more apparent in places like Dunedin and clearly betrays the regions Scottish heritage.

My first stop of the day was the Octagon, an area at the center of Dunedin. The area is, quite appropriately, in the shape of an octagon with George Street running down the middle and other streets forming the outside. I had seen pictures of it but it seemed smaller in person. However, on the Octagon are some of Dunedin's most famous landmarks: the Municipal Chambers with its high clock tower, the impressive St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral and the statue of Robert Burns. I did not linger over long and quickly made my way to the Dunedin Railway Station.

The Railway Station, constructed in the Franco-Flemish style is one of Dunedin's most recognizable edifices. It is also close to the equally artistic Law Courts, which still function as such. The station was built at a time when Dunedin was New Zealand's major port thanks to the Otago Gold Rush. Although it looks impressive, it is not actually all that big as most of the space is for offices. The foyer, while having an interesting look, is also quite small. I did take the chance to go to the Sports Hall of Fame in the building to take a look at some of New Zealand's athletic heroes. Most I'd never heard of except of Sir Edmund Hilary who in 1953, with Tenzing Norgay became the first person confirmed to have scaled Chomolungma (Mt. Everest). I also took a ride on a stationary bicycle which challenged people to see how fast they could go and if I remember correctly, I topped out somewhere around 81 km/h.

After leaving the station, I spent some time looking around the port of Dunedin before heading off to Baldwin Street. This would be like any other street in the city if it wasn't for 1 thing, it is the steepest recorded street in the world. At its steepest, Baldwin Street has an incline of 1:2.71 (1 meter rise for every 2.71 meters distance or about 20.25 degrees) which doesn't sound particularly steep until you try to climb it. I climbed it and then climbed back down. The area around Baldwin Street capitalizes on the street's fame and there are even shops which hand out certificates to say you had been there.

Needless to say, Baldwin Street proved to be an exhausting undertaking so I decided to venture back to Hogwartz for some rest. I'd also meet back up with my brother to see how his day had been. Along the way I stopped to take a picture of the Registry of Otago University, New Zealand's oldest post-secondary institution. Apparently, some 25 000 students inhabit Dunedin, locally known as "scarfies", and add to the vibrant mix of the city. I made it back to Hogwartz without incident and rested as my brother and I discussed where to go for dinner. We chose another pub on the Octagon and had a very pleasant time.

On the whole, Dunedin is a fascinating city and I wouldn't mind returning there on some future trip. I'll always think that the highlands of Central Otago and Canterbury are my favourite places in New Zealand, but Dunedin does have its charms too. I didn't have too much time to enjoy it, though as next on the list was Invercargill, where the south meets the ocean.

The Road South

My brother and I woke up the next day eager to begin our adventure into the southernmost reaches of the South Island. Neither myself nor he had ever been down that way before and I was anxious to see this part of the country. On my previous trip to New Zealand, the bus tour had taken us into the central highlands of the country but not into the deepest south. It was primarily for the reason that I had never seen the far south before that I chose this itinerary for the trip. Our destination today was the port city of Dunedin on the South Island's southeastern coast. Dunedin is the largest city in the province of Otago (oh-TAH-goh) and is a major port of the country.

However anxious my brother and I were to get to Dunedin, we had to endure a fairly lengthy ride on the InterCity bus. New Zealand has a fairly extensive and inexpensive bus network the criss-crosses the country. The distances between the major cities are not far enough to make air travel very economical, though airfares aren't particularly expensive, and rail travel is quite costly and not very popular. The journey south took longer than would otherwise be necessary as the bus had to stop at several little towns to pick up and drop off people. As well, since the buses in New Zealand do not have toilets, there were occasional toilet breaks. I think InterCity Buses should institute an express service between the major centers which I think would be profitable in the long run.

Even though the bus ride was long, about 7 hours, it did go through fascinating country. Leaving Christchurch we passed through the towns of the flat and fertile Canterbury Plain where farms abound. About 3 hours later, our first break was in Timaru (tyh-mah-ROO), a port town at the southern end of the Canterbury Plain. I wandered the town a bit, seeing not much of terrible interest, before hopping back on the bus and continuing south. South of Timaru, the hillier country meets the sea and there were plenty more sheep paddocks than produce farms. The scenery was fantastic though as the clouds obscured the Alps to the northwest but the sun shone through illuminating the region around us. Finally, after many hours, we arrived in Dunedin not long after sunset.

The first thing my brother and I did was to try and find our hostel, he booked all of the accommodation, called Hogwartz. Despite the name, it was not Harry Potter-themed when we got there. Along the way, I snapped a picture of the very architecturally interesting Dunedin Railway Station. The hike to our hostel was quite trying as it was all uphill. Dunedin is built in a valley that slopes toward the sea. Central Dunedin, though,is not actually built by the sea but by Otago Harbour, a long inlet, although the southern portions of Dunedin do abut against the ocean. After a long hike up several steep hills, my brother and I found ourselves at Hogwartz.

Hogwartz is a very pleasant youth hostel run by a husband and wife team. It's located just off the road and was once the residence of the bishop. They owners bought it off the church and converted it into a youth hostel. The place was quiet, comfortable and not too far from the central part of the city. My brother and I dropped our gear in our room and went into town for some dinner. After sampling the fine dining at a local pub, we returned to our hostel ready to explore Dunedin the next day.

A Day in Christchurch

My first full day in New Zealand I decided to spend looking around Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island. Often called the most English city in New Zealand due to its many gardens, Christchurch is actually a very pleasant place. The weather was sunny, though a little cooler than what I left in Canberra. Christchurch also has another British tradition which is "punting" on the Avon River, punting being the act of steering a boat using a long pole to touch the river's bottom and propel the boat along. This, I read, is traditionally the domain of university students.

Christchurch, I find is sort of a mix between Halifax and Calgary. Even with a population of only about 300 000, Christchurch is still the major port of the South Island. Like Halifax, goods from all over the world come to the port and local goods are shiped out. Chrischruch is also built upon the Canterbury Plain, a vast flat land created by millions of years of rivers carrying silt from the Southern Alps. The result is a broad fertile plain which is responsible for much of New Zealand's agricultural output. However, like Calgary, Christchurch is within spitting distance of the mountains and every so often, a warm wind comes off them. In Calgary, this type of dry warm wind in the winter is called a Chinook while Cantabrians (people from Canterbury) call it a Nor'wester.

The day was uneventful really and I spent it getting reacquainted with Christchruch. The last time I was here was in 2005 on a tour through the North and South Islands. I walked into the city centre and immediately made my way to Cathedral Sqaure, the beating heart of Christchurch. That day there was some kind of festival and there were all sorts of activities ranging from clothes on racks to a trampoline. I'm told that there is also a man who dresses up as a wizard who makes regular appearances but he didn't show up today. After Cathedral Square, I wandered over to the InterCity Bus office and bought the tickets that my brother and I would require for the next few days.

I met up with my brother later that day and we went for dinner at a restaurant called the Holy Grail. It is a converted movie theater which now has a massive television screen and it serves as the headquarters for supporters of the local rugby team, the Canterbury Crusaders. After dinner, my brother and I made our way back to his apartment for a good night's sleep as we would be leaving on our great southern adventure the next day.

Return to the Land of the Long White Cloud

These next few posts have been a while in coming, but I decided to let my brother complete his recollections of our trip to southern New Zealand before I commenced my own. I was actually quite surprised at the number of surprisingly similar photos we took. Although we did not spend the whole time together, it seems we did end up going to many of the same places, just at different times. I highly encourage you to visit his posts on our trip at: http://bloggingmiddleearth.blogspot.com/

I left Canberra on a bus bound for Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) International Airport on the morning of October 3rd. My flight was in the evening and it meant that I would arrive in Christchurch sometime around 22:15 local time. The bus trip was uneventful as was the wait for my flight, but that took longer than expected. My flight was delayed and it was nearly an hour behind schedule by the time we got off the ground. It was unfortunate that the flight was at night as it would mean that I would not see the great Southern Alps as I reached the South Island. It also turns out that New Zealand had just started daylight savings, one week before Australia, so it was 3 hours ahead of Sydney time, rather than the usual 2.

I arrived in New Zealand at around 23:00 local time and since I had no checked luggage, I went right to customs, thinking that I could make a speedy exit. Ironically, I was selected for a random search which meant a further delay; I think it's because I'm white. After a 15-20 minute inspection, the customs officer was finally satisfied that I wasn't carrying anything illegal and I was allowed to proceed. I caught a cab and finally arrived at my brother's residence around 00:00. My brother met me at the village office and led me to his apartment. I was happy to finally arrive at a place where I could rest up before the next day's adventures. I also met some of my brother's flatmates who were very friendly, in the best traditions of the New Zealand people.

The Early Heterochromic Edition

Tomorrow I set off for the forgotten lands of the South Seas, the islands of New Zealand. I wrote in a previous blog (http://downunderjournal.blogspot.com/) that I found many similarities between Canada and New Zealand, not the least of which was how little both are thought of. This is not for any reason of lack of resources or unimportance in the world stage, but that both are eclipsed by larger neighbours. New Zealand captured my imagination once, the last time I set foot there, and now I look forward to visiting the Land of the Long White Cloud again. This time, I will be taking a brief self-guided tour with my brother to 2 southern cities I didn't get a chance to visit last time Dunedin (duhn-EE-dyhn) and Invercargill (in-ver-CAHR-gill). Really, I'll visit these cities for no other reason than that I've never been there, and isn't really that the best reason to go anywhere? Aotearoa, I return to you.

I did some calculating over the last few days to try and take stock of how far I actually was from home. The answer, according to Google Earth is 16 092.05 km from room to room. It's actually not as far as I thought. Still that's about 80% to the other side of the world. Far indeed, but modern technology keeps it close. There are times that I have to remind myself that I'm not in Canada but that doesn't mean I feel homesick, lost or overwhelmed. In all my travels, home has not been where the heart is, but where I am. Unless, that is, I keep taking my heart with me wherever I go.

16 092.05 km is still not so far that I cannot exercise my democratic right and civic duty. Unlike Australia though, Canada does not have compulsory voter registration and voting, but I thinks it's fun nonetheless. The last time I was in Australia, Paul Martin narrowly averted an election and I was dismayed that I didn't get a chance to vote abroad. Luckily, Stephen Harper is a more divisive figure and he received a dissolution of Parliament from Michaelle Jean. I applied to Elections Canada as soon as the special ballot forms were available and received a kit by courier. For those who have never voted by special ballot, you get a couple of envelopes and a ballot paper where you mark the name of the candidate for whom you wish to cast a vote. It is your responsibility to find out who the candidates in your riding are and your riding is determined by what address you gave as your permanent address in Canada; I'm in Ottawa-South. Anyway, I filled out what was required, went down to the Canadian High Commission, stepped into the Consular Section and handed my special ballot. I'm kind of thrilled to have voted abroad and no, I'm not going to say for whom. The ACT elections are coming up soon and I'll detail the differences between Canadian and Australian voting procedures at that time; some are quite remarkable.

I mentioned previously of the Floriade festival of Canberra; think Ottawa Tulipfest. This year, the theme is Australian movies so each of the floral displays are arranged as representations of famous Australian films. Some are world famous, like Crocodile Dundee and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and others are well-known only here like Muriel's Wedding and The Dish. I went down on a beautiful sunny day to the park and got some great shots. The whole festival lasts 3 weeks, with some movie nights thrown in and it was great to have seen it.

Although it's only October, not even summer, the mercury has been hitting the mid 20s in the last few days and it will be 27 tomorrow. However, it's supposed to cool down to about 17 in the next few days when I'm in New Zealand. Hopefully, it'll be pleasant enough for all the students staying in Canberra for the break. I have a feeling I'll be seeing 30 degree heat by November and that's not even a summer month. I'm going to have to find a way to survive. Maybe I should live underground.

And finally for us tonight, you may be wondering at the title of my post. After doing some looking on the internet, I found that I have central heterochromia, a condition whereby the part of the eye around my pupil is a different colour than that of the iris; "heterchromia" is from the Greek meaning "different colour". Over that last few years, I've been wondering about my eye colour because even though I had always been told they were blue and have always listed them as blue on documents, they didn't seem particularly blue. My dad has blue eyes and I've seen other people with blue eyes and mine didn't seem to match up. Whenever I looked closely, they seemed to be a mix of blue, green and gray, and not really much of any of them. After doing some searching, I found out that my eyes are actually gray and that one of the features of gray eyes is that they change colour between gray, blue and green depending on light being reflected from clothing, ambient light and a myriad other factors. I have a feeling that my eyes used to be much more blue but that at some point they changed and I didn't notice. It turns out that gray eyes are a genetic marker from Eastern Europe so I guess I am Slavic.

As for the heterochromia, towards the pupil, the colour of the iris changes to a yellow-brown. I had always assumed that this was the case with most people but it turns out that it is a genetic quirk. It doesn't affect my eyesight in any way and was a point of conversation among schoolyard friends when I was younger. Nevertheless, I wish I had deep blue eyes, something like cobalt blue or ultramarine. I guess I'm stuck with gray and it's kind of nice to have uncommon eyes, even if the colour is a little dull.

I'll leave you with some photos I took at Floriade. For the floral displays, see if you can guess the movie.