The Urban Jungle

Taronga Zoo has been delighting the citizens of Sydney for many decades and it was to this place that my brother and I journeyed to next. The day began very well and it was easy to see that it would be a scorcher. Even before the sun reached its zenith, the air was hot, but the sky was cloudless meaning a beautiful day ahead. I had always meant to go but never really found the right time. My parents had been there and said it was quite nice so I figured now was as good a time as any to see it.

The best way, or at least the most interesting, to reach Taronga Zoo is by ferry. My brother and I arrived at Circular Quay station and then boarded a ferry. The ferry to Taronga Zoo takes you behind the Opera House and offers some spectacular views of the city. We disembarked about 15 minutes later at the wharf and made our way to the lower entrance. Taronga Zoo sits on a hill and there is an upper entrance with a parking lot at the top.

The zoo is divided into several broad areas, roughly corresponding to the world's geography. There are Australian, Asian, Antarctic and African sections, plus a few areas dedicated to specific types of animals, such as insects, spiders and birds. My brother and I, spending pretty much the whole day there, wandered through every section. Some animals you are allowed to be photographed with if you are willing to pay an extra AUS$20, but that's expensive in my opinion. We saw lions, and tigers and bears, oh my! We also saw koalas, monkeys. seals, penguins, a red panda, elephants, giraffes, kangaroos, wallabies, goats, zebras, emus, birds, bats, wombats and spiders.

On that last item, spiders, I actually went to the spider sanctuary for a demonstration about Australia's spiders. Australia's spiders are the most venomous in the world but they are not aggressive and will only bite if provoked. However, since the development of various anti-venins, about 30 years ago, there haven't been any deaths from the 2 most poisonous spiders: the redback and the Sydney funnelweb. Both of these were shown in the demonstration.

The redback is a lot like the black widow in that most species have a red hourglass mark on the abdomen. They are quite common though they tend to hide in places that humans don't normally disturb, such as the back of the fridge or in an old shed. If you are bitten, it'll hurt for a while but serious symptoms won't develop for some time; you should still get checked out, though.

The Sydney funnelweb is the most venomous spider in the world, though ironically the venom only affects primates. This is a bizarre evolutionary coincidence since there are no native primates in Australia. It's just bad luck that humans are so greatly affected. Unlike the redback, a bite from a funnelweb will cause immediate pain and other symptoms like shortness of breath. If left untreated it can be fatal, but like I said, no one has died for 30 years. The funnelweb, the male of the species being the most venomous, lives exclusively in the Sydney area and for 150 km around, putting some 5 000 000 people within the territory of this spider. It's almost too funny that humans have settled predominantly in the territory of the spider most likely to kill them. The demonstration lasted about 30 minutes and I spent the whole time sitting under the blazing sun.

By this time it was late afternoon so my brother and I decided to quickly finish off the portions of the zoo we hadn't seen. We left at about 17:00 and caught the ferry back to Circular Quay. My brother continued on to Dulwich while I stayed and caught up with a friend from camp, Tayissa Barone; that's bah-ROHW-nee not bah-ROHWN like the clan in Everybody Love's Raymond. After a quick drink in a pub in The Rocks, an old area of Sydney just adjacent to Circular Quay, I returned to Dulwich Hill to the sounds of Elves slaying Orcs.

Australia's First City: the First Day

The first port of a call for my brother and I on our adventures around Australia was Sydney, Australia's largest and most visited city. We met up in the international arrivals terminal of Sydney's Kingsford-Smith International Airport around 09:30 on the 12th of January. I had caught an express Greyhound bus from Canberra and was dropped off at the airport. We then proceeded to the airport's train station and travelled to the suburb of Dulwich Hill, where we would be staying.

For the next few days we stayed at the Jewsons, people I had met my first time in Australia. Alex and I had belonged to the same club at Macquarie University and I had stayed at his place in my last days in Australia in 2005. The 3 brothers, Alex, Roderic (Eric) and Harrison (Harry) are all avid gamers so my brother got along swimmingly with them. They often talked about the latest computer games and systems on the market. The Jewsons are really nice people, kindly accepting tired travellers into their home and I was pleased my brother got along with them. Actually, they all spent a lot of time playing Mirror's Edge, a new game where the object is to leap from tall buildings in as few bounds as possible. The graphics are excellent and the story intriguing.

Anyway, my brother and I didn't do too much on our first day together, contenting ourselves with exploring our immediate environs. The next day, however, we travelled to the beating heart of Sydney --- Circular Quay. Circular Quay is the oldest part of Sydney and it was where the First Fleet landed, founding a new country. Originally, it was called Semi-Circular Quay because of its shape, but that was too long for Australians, who like shortening things anyway, so over time, it received its present name.

The first place I took my brother was the Sydney Opera House, the most recognizable of Sydney's landmarks. We wandered around, admiring the architecture and an outdoor art exhibit featuring trumpets. We then proceeded along the waterfront to Mrs. Macquarie's Point, named after the wife of an early governor, and I though to myself that I had stood in almost this same spot nearly 4 years previous, on my first trip into Sydney. Just as that day had been, this was a warm, sunny day.

We then walked through the nearby Royal Botanical Gardens and I was slightly startled to see how many bats were sleeping in the trees. Australians call these particular bats, flying foxes because their heads bear a resemblance to that animal. My friend Alex is an amateur bat expert and had told me to watch out for these critters and I was glad to finally see them in the wild, or as near as a city can get to the wild.

After the Royal Botanical Gardens, I managed to drag my brother to the Parliament of New South Wales. Since, prior to federation, each of the Australian states were semi-independent colonies, their legislatures retain the name of "Parliament". Also, each state's parliament is bicameral, except for one, and they each have the same name for their lower houses (Legislative Assembly) and their upper houses (Legislative Council). Both houses are elected with the lower houses representing individual constituencies and the upper houses' seats being allocated proportionally to a party's votes gained percentage.

We entered the Parliament and it was quite empty with everyone away for the summer holidays. There didn't seem to be any tours on offer so my brother and I decided to wander around for a bit. We couldn't see the Legislative Assembly chamber because it was closed for some reason, but we did manage to see the Legislative Council chamber. It was decorated in red, based on the House of Lords I imagine. We also happened upon a quite large library room whose entrance was hidden down a hallway. I wish I could say more but without a tour, I can relate neither the history nor any interesting facts about the New South Wales Parliament.

My brother decided to go back to Dulwich Hill but I stayed on in Circular Quay to meet up with another acquaintance of mine; another Alex as it happens. I met her through another friend of mine, Andre, when he was studying medicine at McGill. Alex was on an exchange and we happened to meet. I met up with her the last time I was in Australia but the last time was a chance encounter after a Sydney Swans-Essendon Bombers game at Telstra, now ANZ, Stadium in Homebush. This time around, Alex and I walked to her neighbour's engagement party which has happening under the Sydney Opera House. I met some very interesting people there as well. When I finally got back to Dulwich Hill, I was feeling a little tired but I knew that what I had planned for the next day would be quite exciting.

New Age's Tidings

It has been 2 weeks since my last post and quite a great deal has happened since. The most important event, or events really, have been the adventures of myself and my brother around the Australian east coast. My brother, who you may recall is studying in New Zealand to be a teacher, reciprocated my earlier visit to his country with one to my own. We had a full agenda and I shall do my best to report on them in subsequent posts. However, I will leave the details of our escapades for a day or two and give a quick snippet of life in Australia.

Firstly, despite nature's best efforts the country remains standing. There have been several days of high temperatures (it was 40C in Sydney today) with many capital cities baking. This has brought Australians to their homes away from home --- the beaches. The vast majority, I would guess about 80%, of Australians live within coo-ee of a beach. Every capital city, except for Canberra, is on a coast and to put that into perspective, Canberra, with a population of about 350 000, is Australia's largest inland city. The warm sun and sheer multitude of sand has created a vibrant beach culture in Australia. Surfing is like biking, just something to do on a summer's day. However, too much of something can be very detrimental, and this is certainly the case with sunlight. Australians are now being told that "There's nothing healthy about a tan", which is the exact opposite of what baby boomers were told when they were growing up. Australia has high rates of skin cancer and is now trying to combat this consequence of too much sun, along with the drought. And in case anyone was wondering, the domestication of the dog has continued unabated.

There was also an important personal milestone reached on recently while I was vacationing with my brother. On January 20th, I turned 26 years old, which means I'm that much closer to 30, he said with a shudder. A summer birthday where usually there is a winter birthday has proved an experience, though not as stark as one might imagine. I did wonder though when was my birthday, though, really? According to my mother, I was born at 16:20 EST 20/01/1983 in Ottawa and I'll have to trust her on that as I have no recollection of the day me-sen; I was pretty young. That being the case, that would have been 08:20 AEDT 21/01/1983 in Canberra so does that mean my birthday in Australia is January 21st? Should you celebrate your birthday adjusted to time zones? Come to think of it, a year is 365.2422 days long so every year your birthday is later by about 6 hours, until a leap year more or less corrects the problem. I doubt anyone has ever really given thought to this problem and I figure I'll just keep celebrating my birthday on January 20th; it's less confusing, or is it?

Another important birthday is coming up on January 26th, and that is the birth of Australia itself, though I must qualify that. On January 26th, 1788, the First Fleet commanded by Arthur Phillip arrived in Port Jackson Harbour and founded a city called Sydney. This was a collection of 11 vessels carrying mostly convicts who were forcibly resettled as punishment. For the first few years things were very inauspicious but after some time, the British managed to establish a thriving settlement, and later on an independent country. Australia Day (January 26th) is Australia's version of Canada Day, though the 2 celebrate slightly different events. Australia became a country on January 1st, 1901, though that event is not really celebrated, while Canada Day (July 1st), of course, celebrates the creation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867.

The qualification of Australia Day I must give though, is that it heralded a very different life for this continent's aboriginal inhabitants. Although no one can say for certain, it seems that the Aborigines first arrived some 60 000 years ago, though the date of first arrival has been pushed back before and this is only the most recent date. Australia Day, by some, has come to be seen as a celebration of the start of the oppression of this Australia's indigenous inhabitants or an invasion by foreign conquerors. Aborigines, like Canada's aboriginals, face significant health, social and economic problems today. Perhaps, with the apology issued on Sorry Day last February, this can be the first real Australia Day. Knowing how Ottawa celebrates Australia Day, I look forward to seeing how Canberra measures up but I suspect it will be a comparatively subdued affair. Most Canberrans have gone down to the coast and although there was a free concert today, my brother and I couldn't make it down. I hope there are fireworks tomorrow, though.

That's all I'll write for now. I'll begin posting the adventures my brother and I had in Sydney, Brisbane, Surfers Paradise and Canberra in a few days. Keep your eyes open for the new posts and accompanying photographs.

So This is Christmas

Before I conclude the recounting of my days at camp following New Year's, I'll just mention the events of this last week. I worked at the racecourse on Friday in the members' area and I had an enjoyable time. The best part is the fact that we can actually watch the races, as opposed to just listen to them. I had a great time putting on verbal bets and it got quite busy at times. Although I didn't have a bet, I managed to pick 3 winners that day, including one at 1:15.80 odds! If only, right?

Also, this last week marked the passing of Christmas, or Orthodox Christmas if you prefer. Ukrainians, for the most part celebrate Rizdvo (Christmas) on January 7th, which is December 25th by the old Julian calendar. Julius Caesar made a year of 365 days with an extra day every 4 years, but the actual year is about 364.2422 days long and after about 1 500 years, it was out of sync again. Therefore, in 1582, Pope Gregory IX played with it a bit and gave us the modern Gregorian calendar. For one reason or another, orthodox Christians maintained the Julian calendar for religious purposes, hence the differences in dates. In addition to Ukrainians, Russians, Serbs, Romanians, Georgians, Armenians, Copts (Egyptian Christians), Ethiopians and a few others, all celebrate Christmas on January 7th; not bad company.

The Ukrainian tradition is to have 12 meatless dishes for dinner on January 6th, called Svyat Vechir (Holy Evening). At home, our dinner would consist of bread with honey with my dad wishing us all a good year, borshch (beet soup) with mushroom stuffed dumplings called vushky (ears), shrimp with sauce, varenyky (like perogies) and something for dessert. We never got to 12 dishes, but it was delicious anyway. We would usually stand around the table for a minute and listen to a Ukrainian carol (kolyada) on CD. I suppose every family adapts traditions to an extent and it worked for us. By the way, if you've ever heard the Carol of the Bells, it's actually a Ukrainian shchedrivka, a song sung after the Christmas season and is, ironically, not a Christmas carol.

Anyway, here in Australia, Ukrainians and I had to adapt. The hearty meals are traditionally meant for the raging winter and are somewhat unsuited to the hot antipodean summer. One thing that has been adapted is the start of the meal time, traditionally at the appearance of the the evening's first star. In Ukraine and Canada, that's around 17:00 but in Australia, that can be as late as 21:00, so families usually gather around 19:00. As well, meals may be modified somewhat so that the dishes aren't as hearty. I adapted by going to a local restaurant and getting some calamari and barramundi, an Australian fish. I suppose in my own way, I honour some of my favourite traditions.

And now back to camp. I stayed up until 05:00 New Year's Day, though not entirely by choice as I had to deal with one thing after another. I was allowed to sleep later in the day. Actually, I found that I slept better as camp wore on. My first night, I didn't sleep well at all and I kept waking up and I don't know why. I'd never had that happen before, even when I was a camper. I couldn't sleep too long as there was a 1-day hike planned around Mt. Canobolas.

In the afternoon, after the kids had had a time to rest up after the festivities, we were driven to the summit of Mt. Canobolas and then hiked to a place called Federal Falls. Along the way, I was quizzed by Pyro regarding various flora he found. I made up names on the spot, but plausible ones, and he believed me. I even suggested that he try some "canobolas sweetgrass" and he tasted it and got others to try it too! We instructors had a great laugh. Later that day, as well, Pyro got me across the shins again while we were playing 3-team soccer. He just stuck his leg out and got me from my right thigh to my left shin. It hurt, but we got him back later.

The next day, January 2nd, saw the Great Challenge for the 3 teams, in the vein of The Amazing Race. The teams had to complete various challenges that day in order to win a chest full of goodies. The challenges involved semaphore, swimming, canoeing and a little brain work. The blue team, owing to their phenomenal ability with semaphore jumped out to an early lead and seemed poised to win it and would have, if not for some bad luck. Although the finished 2nd coming out of the final challenge, a team member spotted the X for the treasure, stood on it and tried to call out to her team members. Before she could, the X was spotted by the yellow team and they won. Because of their teamwork, though, the blue team was awarded with a "Best Team" award later on.

There was also a marching competition where each team selected a piece of music and came up with some creative marches to it. In the end, the red team won with ABBA's Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! They really did deserve it, though many thought that the blue team's 3rd place finish according to the judges was a little harsh.

Later that day there was supposed to be a go-cart race but the red team's left rear wheel came off and it was decided that the go-carts, which the teams had built themselves, would only be run on their own --- no race. Stacks was the driver of the red go-cart and managed to stack himself again. It wasn't the wheel coming off that directly led to his injury, though. After the wheel fell of, he tried to chase after it, but tripped on the go-cart's reins; it's almost too funny to be true. We also got Pyro back during a game of dogdeball by targetting him and giving him some marks to remember us by; all in good fun. At night, there was a trivia competition involving the whole camp which I helped administer, so I couldn't play. The questions were challenging, though not too difficult. The kids even surprised us with some of their knowledge.

The last day was very quick in that after breakfast, the camp was brought to an end. It was quite an experience for me and a pleasant one at that. My co-instructors were a great bunch and I look forward to working with them later. Ukrainian scouts in Australia is different to Canada, but it works for them and that's all that needs to be said. I can't wait till next year.

That's it for the camp stories but there will be more to come, though not for some time. My brother is arriving in Australia on Monday and I'll be meeting him in Sydney. We'll be there for a few days before going on to Brisbane and then back to Canberra. I've seen New Zealand and now it's his turn to be the guest and mine to him parts of this country. Long story short, I won't be able to update until about January 24th. Make sure to check back through these most recent posts to be certain you haven't missed anything. Until next time, take care.

The Last Days

With the 2-day hike over, we began the more sedentary portion of the camp. This is not to say that we stayed put or inactive, there were many strenuous physical activities planned for the next few days. Rest assured the kids were very well exercised by the end of camp.

I should mention that I too was given a nickname. Australians have a propensity to give everything nicknames, those these are usually contractions of the longer names. For example, an "ambo" is an ambulance, "Baz" is Barry, "footy" is football, among many others. Unlike Pyro, Stacks or Princess, I was given the more poetic, though slightly longer nickname of "Encyclopedia Romanica", apparently because I seem to know a lot about Australia, and a few other things. I told the kids there are only 2 things you need to do to learn: pay attention when needed, and take the trouble to find out. It was great having this reputation because even when I was making something up, it came across as fact; it proved great fun later.

The day after we returned from the hike, the campers were divided into 3 teams (Red, Yellow and Blue) in preparation for a competition. There was some balloon popping tag where I managed to get kicked in the shins by Pyro, which ended up being a recurring theme at camp. Over the next 2 days there were also activities involving canoeing, such as capsizing and mid-water position changes. The weather was perfect, with 30C temperatures and sunny skies.

Every few nights there is a communal bonfire called a "vatra" (VAH-tra). The first one of these I had the privilege of leading with 2 minutes notice and a quick program guide. I think I pulled it off alright in the end, though. As is customary, there were skits and songs and I just had to do a bit of filling in between them.

In Australia, most Ukrainian scout camps are run across New Year's so that there can be a party at camp New Year's Eve. This December 31st, there was a vatra followed by a dance party. That morning, though, for exercise, 2 of the instructors dressed up in spandex and took on the roles of Hans and Sven, 2 Swedish aerobics instructors. It was a very entertaining beginning to the last day of the year. The party itself wasn't large and was held in the patio of the dining hall. We rung in the New Year with cheer and stayed up until about 01:00. The theme of New Year's was "orange", since we were near the town of Orange, I guess. I wore my "TAK!" Orange Revolution t-shirt and my AFL umpire cap; a good mix of Ukrainian and Australian to my mind. Coming from a place where New Year's is a winter event, celebrating it in summer, outside and at camp was quite the experience. I can understand why Australians are such a happy bunch of people.

Taking a Hike

No sooner had we settled in than we were uprooted again for an overnight hike in the bush. This was a quick walk through some of the mountainous country not far from Orange. The plan was to hike to our destination, set up camp, spend the night, then hike back.

We started early Saturday morning, being driven to our departure site. After a few quick photos and collection of gear, we set off through the bush of the park. As I was later reminded, Australians don't have "forests", they have "the bush". Very soon, we were out of civilization and were marching through some very dense growth. Luckily, the sun was obscured by clouds so it wasn't too hot. There was a thunderstorm warning, however, and we could see many dark clouds slowly moving about the sky. We hoped only that the weather would hold until we had set up camp.

We stopped for lunch at a place we called Sunscreen Rice Cracker Spot. This was because on a previous reconnaissance excursion, 2 of the instructors had stopped at this place, eaten rice crackers and applied sunscreen. I rather like the ring of that name.

We had some problems which held us up a bit, notably an inability to find the trail we were supposed to use. In the bush, many parts in the shrubbery can look like trails. It took a while but we eventually found the trail. After some more hiking, we made it to our campsite. As I stood in the middle of the field, I felt, very slightly, water from above.

The kids and we instructors managed to get camp set up just before the rain came down. We had set up camp at a designated site not too far from Wollengambe (woo-len-GAHM-bee) Creek. The rain then began to really come down and there were terrific claps of thunder, almost directly overhead. But the rain quickly passed and we weren't that much rained upon, all things considered. After some quick dinner, we managed to get a fire going in the pit area which made the evening much more enjoyable, not to say warmer. One of the kids, who had a lighter with him, received the nickname Pyro because he played with it quite a lot.

The next morning we set out to the nearby Wollengambe Crater, which isn't a true meteoric crater. It's actually a box canyon, which is to say an erosionary feature with only one exit; the valley is surrounded on 3 sides by high walls. Actually it was somewhat anticlimactic and it wasn't very interesting or exciting, though it is the source of Wollengambe Creek.

Walking back to camp, we had a bit of fun. One of the boys, while crossing a log, decided he would break off a branch. Holding on to another branch he started jumping on his target and I think you know where this is going. The target branch didn't break but the one he was holding onto did and he fell right into the creek. From then on, his nickname was Stacks, because to "stack" oneself in Australian slang means to get into an accident or hurt yourself. Although soaked, luckily the sun was out and his clothes were nearly completely dry by the time we got out. I'm told that this is sort of a tradition in that on every hike, Stacks always does himself a mischief. I'm also told that being rained on is another tradition --- 5 out of the last 5 hikes. One more person ended up on the injury list, a girl about 183cm (6') tall. She banged her knee on a rock and spent the rest of camp hobbling around with a bandage on her knee. Her nickname was Princess to which I added "Peggy", for peg leg.

Soon after Stacks' little incident, we packed up and headed back to our pick-up point. On the way down, one of the instructors had placed red tape at regular intervals so getting back was easier. With the sun shining we made it back to our pick-up spot without much trouble. Tired and dirty, we were driven back to our main camp for some rest and showers.

The Dying Days

We have now entered a new year, 2009. A short while ago, while at camp, I reflected on that fact and came up with some scary thoughts. For all those who remember the Y2K scare, who said "Party like it's 1999" and the impending millennium, that was all 10 years ago. The last year of the 20th Century was 10 years ago. I know that centuries, decades and millennia begin on year "1", but it's not every year that the 4th digit changes. In fact it's only once every 1 000 years. Still, for people like me who remember the millennium hype, it's hard to believe that nearly a whole decade has passed.

Most of this post and the next few posts will be devoted to my camping experience that I have just returned from. There are still some matters I wish to report on however that did not involve traipsing about the Australian bush.

The first is a not entirely pleasant event in that I had to escort a patron out of ACTTAB's Dickson facility. He has been verbally abusive to staff in the past and I have had 1 run-in with him. I let him say hi to some of his friends before walking him out the front door. He'd been around many times and at first was quite nice, if a little quirky, but lately, his behaviour has deteriorated into banging on furniture and swearing at staff. I was also tasked with giving him a letter which explained that we were worried that he might have a gambling problem and that we want to help, but he refused to accept it. We have been told not to serve him until he contacts ACTTAB to explain the situation. If he does have a problem, we can help, but if it's just a bad temper, he has to learn to control it. Whatever the case, I hope he gets some help.

On Christmas Day, Fenner Hall provided a wonderful buffet lunch of lamb, chicken, assorted vegetables and desserts. The day was perfect, 30C and sunny. I ate well and then played a game called lawn balls, similar to lawn bowling, except that you throw heavy steel balls instead of rolling them. I ended up winning the little tournament we got going and received a plastic stocking filled with chocolate. Because I left for Sydney later that day, I didn't eat any and it's still on my desk, untouched --- tragic.

And now to begin the story of the camp. I left on the evening of the 25th by bus to Sydney, but just as we left the station, bus broke down. It didn't actually stop, just that 6th and 7th gear weren't working meaning we couldn't go at highway speeds. We were delayed by about an hour as we got a replacement bus and then sped on to Sydney. Luckily the bus was half-empty (or half-full as I joked with the driver) and we made it to Sydney without further incident. We watched The Terminal, a very enjoyable movie. I arrived around 23:00 at the Burak's house in Coogee, getting off the city bus with my packed backpack and walking past all the beach revellers. I fell asleep as soon as I could, eager t rest for the next day's journey.

We set out the next day, bound for Lake Canobolas (kah-NAW-boh-lyss) near the town of Orange west of Sydney. Alex Burak drove me-sen and his 2 sons who were attending the camp as well. We passed through the Blue Mountains and made it to the camp site by early afternoon. I made my way down to the scout camp and set me-sen up in the cabin provided for the instructors. I met my "work mates" and we quickly got ourselves organized. The following day, we would be hiking through the bush and we needed to be prepared.