February 23-39: On Surfari!

When my sailing trip got cancelled do to monsoons, I shifted my plans for that week to surfing. Purely because their departures matched up nicely with my trip schedule, I decided to take a week-long surf lesson from Surfaris.com. < http://surfaris.com/ :> The Surfaris shuttle bus picks you up in Byron Bay, takes you to their surfinglodge on the coast, and teach you surfing for a week at great beginners' breaks. You get all meals, lodging, transport, gear and lessons for under $100 a day. And you meet a lot of cool fellow travelers. Here's a little music representative of my week:



Surfaris' lodge is located in Crescent Head, a small town 6 hours north of Sydney a with a campsite right beside the surf break! If you don't want to bring camping gear, you can rent cabins here too.

Most of my photos were taken at nearby Point Plomer. This beach is renowned for its consistently good surf, but has pretty good wildlife too: you see goanas wandering around (they look like big iguanas or small monitor lizards), kangaroos hopping, and the odd dingo nosing around for babies to steal. (OK, no one has ever proven that dingos eat human babies. But it is a popular rumor in Australia.) Dolphins like to play in the local surf, though we only saw them while hiking on the cliffs above the point. The combination of a good right-hand point break and a beach break makes this spot surfable a high S-SE swell is ideal for surfing here, and that tends to be best in fall and winter.

Tuesday, Feb 19: Byron Bay: Australia's famous hippie beach town

I lost my laptop AGAIN today. I left it sitting on the counter at the internet shop. Hours later I went back for it, and it was safely tucked behind the counter by the staff. Gotta love the Aussies!

I'm staying at the Arts Factory, a former hippie colony turned mega-hostel. It's built on a swamp, which was convenient when this area was known for its piggeries. And while the vegetation is lush, the fauna includes wild turkeys and huge goana lizards (good), but also marsupial rats called bilbies and worst of all, legions of mosquitos (less good). Still, it is one of the most fun hostels I've ever stayed in. Amazingly open crowd, easy to meet people, gather groups for surfing, and even borrow surf boards. Facilites-wise, they have a swimming pool and jacuzzi, volleyball court, and a great pub. Recommended.



I stayed in an "island hut," a form of tent cabin with integral shade structure, built over the swamp itself. Quite cool, reminded me of the tent cabins we stayed in at Yosemite when I was a child.

For my birthday, Katie gave me cash towards a surfboard rental. Here in Byron, I was able to stretch it to cover three full days of board use. Nice! The beach is right in town, an easy walk from the Arts Factory. Check the pix:

Sunday, Feb 17: The Age of Aquarius Lives! Two Days in Nimbin:

Nimbin is a famous hippie town in the mountains outside Byron Bay, Australia. It was the home of The Aquarius Festival of 1973, which was the Woodstock of the southern hemisphere. The Aquarius Festival was a celebration of the dawning of the `Consciousness' and `Protest' movements in the heady days of the Vietnam war, free love and marijuana - a festival of discovery .... It lasted 10 days and marked a watershed in Australian popular culture. Many of the hippies never left. Instead, they settled in this small town, which currently has less than 2000 residents.

Background from the Sydney Morning Herald: "The Australian Union of Students (AUS) chose the Nimbin Valley as the venue for an experimental Aquarius Festival. The festival was to be 'a total, cultural experience through the lifestyle of participation' and attracted students, alternative lifestylers and hippies from all over Australia. It was an extraordinary period when people put up tents and camped and talked and dreamed. Most of the weekend visitors returned to the cities and their regular jobs but a small number of idealists and visionaries stayed on and formed the basis of a lifestyle experiment."

Nimbin's culture is left of Berkeley or Bolinas. There is a marijuana bar in town, across the street from the marijuana museum. Dread locks and hippie skirts are everywhere. It is best to ask about cannabis content when you buy baked goods here. The surrounding area is rainforest, and perhaps pot plantations. Lots of artists and musicians live here too. For instance, I met a modern-day Janis Joplin at the monthly market day, belting out soulful, heart-rending tunes with Alanis Morrissette's anger but Ani DiFranco's confidence. Music agents, her name is Essie Thompson; get her now, she's still unsigned.

I got a tour from the uber-hospitable Marcus Endicott, founding father of the green travel movement. I've been a member of his Green Travel email list for more than a decade. When he heard I was headed to Oz, he suggested I meet him in Nimbin. Kindly, he also connected me with the Rainbow Retreat, my temporary home here.

The Rainbow Retreat's owner, Doug McKenzie, is a veteran of both Burning Man and the Rainbow Gatherings, so he knows what a good vibe is. Doug's a small-government, do-it-yourself, no-nonsense type, what they call an "Aussie battler" around these parts. Or a "rugged individualist" back in the USA. He's good people.

The Rainbow's staff appears to be exclusively made up of travelers who stopped here, and decided not to leave. I'll be back. The first weekend of May each year brings the Nimbin Mardi Grass (not mis-spelled). The town population is normally about 500, but this one weekend per year, it tops 10,000. Bring a tent, or reserve lodging very early.

As you know by now, at McColl Communications, we are always working to help our clients grow their businesses. From my Nimbin office,



...today I did some work for both my safari and polar expedition clients. With my laptop and WiFi, I can work anywhere. Life is good! A few more pix from the Rainbow Retreat and the Aquarius Festival in Nimbin:

Feb 15: "Roo: the other red meat" (Or, Kangaroos -- cute AND delicious):

Awe, wasn't that kangaroo from yesterday cute! In today's entry, we eat it, and it is as tasty fresh off the grill as it is cute when bopping around in Australia's bush.

Before I go any further, a note for my bleeding-heart liberal friends: kangaroos are not endangered. In some areas, they are intentionally culled, to prevent over-population. They do not eat commercial corn nor soy, and are harvested locally, so have no appreciable carbon cost. Free-range, organic, shade-grown kangaroo meat is about as ethical as it comes. And that's the only kind there is to buy. Now, onward....

The first thing you notice when prepping kangaroo BBQ* is the REALLY bright, red blood.





The meat is very lean, with the texture of a nice, tender BBQ'd tri-tip roast. The meat is 98 percent fat-free, so it is even healthy! The flavor is subtle, not at all gamey like venison or pheasant. We had it for dinner,



...grilled and served with garlic-sauteed vegetables and focaccia. The next day, I tucked into the leftovers, making an open-faced kangaroo-melt, with cheese and pesto.


Mmmm!

* I love that the phrase "kangaroo BBQ" rhymes. If I ever get a chance to name an album or a band, I may have to call it Kangaroo BBQ. (Yes, I am amused by simple things....)

Finally, here are a few photos of the city of Brisbane itself, to give you a feel for the place:

Feb 14: The Lost Schoolgirls of Hanging Rock, plus Kangaroos!

Today, Terry, Carmel and I went on a drive into the "hinterlands" west of Melbourne. We ended up at a craggy rock formation known as Hanging Rock:



This spot is best known as the setting for a famous novel and film titled "Picnic At Hanging Rock" about the mysterious disappearance of a group of local school girls during a picnic / field trip at the Rock in 1900. Spoiler: sweet, innocent Miranda was NEVER FOUND....

The short hike and the views from the top were very pleasant, and it was great to spend time with Terry and Carmel, whom I met during a sailing cruise in Turkey a few years ago.



As we hiked down from the peak, Carmel mentioned that there might be kangaroos out grazing at dusk. I'd never seen one in the wild. Seconds later, I spotted a whole group of them.

At first I couldn't get anywhere near to the kangaroos. But eventually I learned to stalk them (low to the ground, lion-style), and got a few meters away. Lots of fun! Aussie farmers think of them the way our gardeners think of deer, or the way New Yorkers think of rats and pigeons: pure pests. But damn, they are cute. Particularly when they bounce around.



(Note: while male kangaroos apparently do box with each other, as part of establishing dominance, they are NOT actually known to box against humans while wearing boxing gloves, as you see in the cartoons. Wanted to be sure we are all clear on that....)

More pix from my time in Melbourne here:

Monday, February 11: my 41st birthday, on Australia's "Great Ocean Road"

Here's a map of Oz, showing most of the cities I plan to visit: Melbourne, Brisbane, Byron Bay, and then Sydney. Today, I head southwest of Melbourne by road, to check out one of Australia's great drives: the Great Ocean Road.

This stretch of coastal highway was built in the 1930s, as a memorial to Australia's fallen soldiers from WW1.

This bit of coast is also home to some great surf breaks. The Rip Curl Pro, the world's oldest surfing contest, takes place at Bell's beach, one of Australia's classic surf spots.

The Great Ocean Road is a long drive, so sadly we had to turn back before reaching the famous rock formations known as the 12 Apostles. But thanks to Tourism Australia, here's a photo, so you can see what I missed:



One day I will come back and stay at the Pole House, do a little surfing, and get out to see the Apostles, if any remain. (At this blog's "press time" in 2008, there seem to be only seven left.)

A few more photos from the Great Ocean Road:



Evening Report: Monsoons hit eastern Australia:

Optimism is usually a good thing. This time, there is more nuance. My optimism led me to book a cabin for a few days of sailing in the Whitsundays Islands. Bad plan in monsoon season! As you can see from these photos, at least one passenger yacht washed onto the rocks and was destroyed.



I'll need to save the Great Barrier reef and the Whitsundays for another trip. On the positive side, that leaves more time for surfing. I'm now looking into doing a week-long surf camp somewhere near Byron Bay.

Sunday, February 10: Success! Arrival in Australia, 14 hours before end of my 40th year

I made it, but JUST by the skin of my teeth! I'mhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif in , having reached my continent #7, and feeling damn glad to be here.

I must have been pretty excited to be in Australia:



Now, the rest of my trip can be about relaxation. My mission is complete, and relaxation is my new goal.

My friend Terry picked me up at the airport, which was quite nice. I hadn't seen him since we met on a sailboat cruise in Turkey in 2005. We had a pretty instant rapport then, and it repeated today. He took the requisite phot of me in front of Australian customs, and then we headed for another friend's place, where I stayed my first couple of nights. Terry has a guest at his place now, so I won't shift to his guest room till later in the week.

Clearly, upon arrival I wasn't thinking straight. While looking in the mailbox for the key to my friend's apartment, I left my laptop on top of the mailboxes:



Within the hour, I realized it was gone. By then, the laptop was turned into the police station, a note had been left at the mailboxes,



...more so, an email had been sent by the local police to friends in Brisbane, letting them know my laptop was safe. There aren't many places in the world where a lost laptop gets turned in. Kudos, Melbourne! And thanks for the pleasant first-day surprise.

February 5 -- Dancing in Buenos Aires:

Part 1: I went to a hippy-ish music school's performance the other night, which turned out to be 2000 people dancing to some amazing drumming and electronica together, for 4 hours straight. One of the best parties of my life! Top 10, easy. Some of you may recall that I used to throw underground parties, so my party vibe standards are pretty high. If you find yourself in Buenos Aires, check this out:

La bomba de tiempo ("Time Bomb")
Ciudad Cultural Konex
From the event program: "A group of drums and percussion instruments leaded by Santiago Vázquez, each Monday they improvise and make audience dance. "


Part 2: Tango!
On a tip from the owner of Palermo House, I checked out a tango hall, rather than a tango show. The tango hall is a dance hall, where both couples and singles go to dance, not to watch professionals dance. The quality of dancing was excellent, and I liked the authenticity of seeing real couples dance for themselves, not for others.

The physical space at the tango hall was stunning.



Called La Catedral Club Social y Cultural, it is a place for "amigos del corazon del tango."

La Catedral looks like a warehouse from the late 1800s. It is fairly under cover; you enter through the ground floor reception, which appears to be an abandoned office building. Then you walk upstairs to see a wide open, dark and sultry space, with 30-foot ceilings and a huge, simple red chandelier over the dance floor.

Some couples always danced together, and some seemed to change partners often. The tango is very expressive, making it fun to watch how differently each couple dances it. One tiny 70-year-old gentleman (in full 1920s suit and fedora) seemed to be the alpha male here. Virtually all of the ladies danced with him at least one dance, even those with partners. He had a twinkle in his eye, and danced like he was 40 years younger. I hope I am having half as much fun as he is now when I reach that age.



Overall, something cool is indeed happening in Buenos Aires right now. I wasn't in Prague in the 1980s, so I can't make that comparison myself. But others are saying that today's BA has a level of "opportunity" that reminds them of Prague. The other day, I met Nate and Tom, a couple of US-expat DJs trying to make their mark here in Buenos Aires. They were kind enough to hook me up with a very cool Superbowl party. They also later got quoted in a NY Times travel article on the boom in BA.

Here's a photo of Tom (right) and his boss, the owner of Kim y Novak (left).