Climbing Mt. Coot-tha

Well, not exactly climbing. Most mountains in Australia would be considered hills elsewhere, and we didn't actually climb......

It was another lovely, sunny day in Brisbane today. It wasn't hot, though, at least in part due to the breezes. And there are no bugs around yet, neither mozzies nor midges. An ideal time to visit southern Queensland.

Jane and I did errands this morning, along with an affable baby Jonathan, but decided to have a bit of fun this afternoon, and drove a short distance to Mt. Coot-tha, site of the new botanical gardens. The original botanical gardens in Brisbane were located near the central business district, on a peninsula which juts into the Brisbane river. It is a lovely site, and there is a nice park there, but, after numerous floods (with subsequent loss of valuable plant specimens), it was decided to move the actual botanical gardens to higher ground. And so a patch of bush near the base of Mt. Coot-tha became a botanical wonderland.

We had visited the foreign gardens earlier this week, on Friday, only to be confronted by lots of tourists and schoolchildren. (Schoolchildren in Australia apparently never actually attend school, but go from outing to outing. How else to explain the huge numbers of them constantly underfoot?) Today we meant to visit the (newer) Australian sections.

Jane and Jonathan

We stopped first at the Freedom Wall. On 15 August 1995, Australia celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, and the wall was built to celebrate the 50 years of freedom. It was a quiet, pleasant place, and walkway with plaques on the walls among native trees and bushes. The names were not those of the fallen, but of those who had fought to defend freedom; well, those who fought freedom and had paid for a plaque.


We had a lovely time in the gardens. There were lots of grevilleas to greet us,

and then we had a nice, quiet walk around a lake through a forest of palms, eucalypts, acacias, and other native trees.

We ended up admiring a variety of kangaroo paws.

On the way home we stopped briefly in the bougainvillea garden to glimpse at Brisbane at the overlook. It was a marvelous sight.

We went to overlook at the top of the mountain, where I found lots more postcards for Kalyna, but the views weren't as picturesque, although they were more expansive. I could see Moreton Bay, trace the course of the Brisbane River, and glimpse the far-off the dividing range.


(As always, click on th ephotos for a larger view.)

Itchy and Scratchy

.....is not just the name of a fairly weird cartoon. It is also the state I find myself in.

The kangaroo tick bites are getting quite unpleasant. Initially I thought I had dodged the bullet, as I had no symptoms at all while in West Australia. Now I find lots of very itchy bumps all over.

I kept finding new ticks for days after our trip to Gingin, and even found a few new ones after arriving in Brisbane. They were a bit engorged, and had probably jumped on just before I left WA.

This does not portend well. I've been told that the itching goes on for weeks. I could use a good scritching.....

Ticked Off

I've been picking kangaroo ticks off of my body for the last 24 hours. Before leaving Gingin for home yesterday afternoon, we checked ourselves and removed numerous kangaroo ticks. I found only four or so, while Christobel was up into the teens.

The ticks were duly removed and destroyed - crushing them is difficult, and, I am told, if you drop them to the ground, they just crawl back up onto you. So drowning was deemed the best option, or live burial.

At home, after showering, a few more were discovered. That should have been the end of it, as we had left the bush behind us. But I found another this morning, and several more this afternoon, all in quite conspicous spots that they hadn't been in earlier.

The Kangaroo Tick, Amblyomma triguttatum, from Western Australia

Where were these ticks coming from? The originals had been picked up out in the bush. We'd seen numerous kangaroo tracks, seen a pair of kangaaroos trying to jump through a new fence, and heard them around the camp at night. Where there are kangaroos, there are kangaroo ticks. But where might they be coming from in Freo?

We had two theories. One was that they might have gotten into our clothes and other belongings, and crawled out later to find victims. This theory is supported by the fact that a live tick was discovered in the laundry after washing (in Max's knickers, poor thing). And it suggests that death by drowning might not be the best option after all.

The other theory is that the ticks have gotten into our vehicles and keep infesting us every time we drive somewhere. I think this may be true, because it fits the time frame of the discoveries. If it is indeed true, I pity the person that gets my rental car next.

More info on kangaroo ticks follows, because I went to all the trouble to find it, and the only useful items were on page 4 or 5 of my Google search.

From the 1998 National Environmental Health Forum:

In Australia there are approximately 70 species of tick and they are often encountered in theAustralian bush. Ticks can be divided into two families, the soft ticks (family, Argasidae) and the hard ticks (family, Ixodidae). The soft ticks have a wrinkled appearance and only a few species arefound in Australia. Most of the ticks found in Australia are hard ticks. These have a hard dorsal plate and elongated mouth parts that have rows of backward pointing teeth.

.....Another prevalent tick species, is the kangaroo tick (Amblyomma triguttatum), which is found in many areas across drier inland parts of Australia where there is uncleared scrub and high populations of bush kangaroos. Kangaroo ticks will grip onto the skin of kangaroos and can also infest dogs, sheep and other animals, including humans. The bite of the kangaroo tick will cause less severe symptoms than the paralysis tick, although it can cause localized skin lesions.

Prevention & control measures

The best method of controlling and avoiding ticks, is to stay away from tick infested areas. Ticks remain outdoors and do not normally infest houses. People in fringe metropolitan suburbs and the country are most likely to be affected by ticks. To minimize the transmission of ticks, native animals (such as bush kangaroos and bandicoots) should be discouraged and the undergrowth should be reduced in these areas.

If visiting outdoor areas (i.e., bushwalking, camping or picnicking), light coloured clothing should be worn to detect ticks more easily. An insect repellent containing diethyl meta-toluamide (DEET) or dibutylphthalate (DBP) should also be applied or smeared onto clothing and skin before bush walking. In the event of severe tick infestations it may be necessary to apply a pesticide treatment in some areas adjacent to the bush. Registered pesticides which can be used against ticks include fenthion, malathion and pyrethrins.

Children and pets should be examined for ticks after visiting a tick-infested area (e.g. bushland). All clothing should be removed and the body searched for ticks especially behind the ears and on the back of the head.

The tick should be removed as close to the skin’s surface as possible with the aid of a fine pair of forceps using a firm grip. Caution should be taken not to grasp and pull the body of the tick as this can cause the tick to inject more toxin into the host. To minimize this from occurring, a small amount of petroleum jelly or repellent containing DEET can be applied onto the body of the tick to kill it prior to its removal from the skin. Any mouth parts which still remain embedded will eventually slough off. If there are any residual symptoms from the tick bite, it is recommended that a medical practitioner be consulted.

Luckily, my only symtom from the tick bites (so far) has been disgust. No itching, no redness, no lumps or bumps. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Although I do get a bit itchy just thinking about a bloodsucking bug attached to my skin with its long, sharp teeth......

Lost Luggage

Having the airline lose one's luggage is always inconvenient, and usually dealing with it is a hassle. The worst experience I've had was when LOT not only charged me an overweight baggage charge when none should have applied (blackmail, really; I mean, what are you going to do, leave your bags behind in a foreign country?), but then they failed to load my bags onto the airplane. I spent five days in Mallorca wearing resale shop reject clothing, and then had to make a special trip into Palma to reclaim my bags before I flew home the next day.

It's always a bit disconcerting to be the last one standing at the carousel, hoping that your bags will still somehow miraculously appear. When the carousel stops, reality sets in. The bags are not there.


You don't know where they are. Did they get left behind? Did they get misdirected? Did someone claim yours as theirs accidentally? (This actually happened to me once. I figured it out when a bag identical to mine remained on the carousel, unclaimed, while mine failed to appear. I tried to explain this to the lost luggage clerks, who were not interested. Luckily, there was a phone number on the luggage tags, and I called and found my bag.) Were they off somewhere in luggage limbo, never to be seen again?


Qantas, after several calls, told me my bags had been located and would be delivered tonight. There was a problem, though - one of the bags had been "seriously damaged." Visions of the American Tourister apes flashed through my mind, and of ripped and shredded luggage. Both of my suitcases were Hartman, supposedly sturdy, and with good guarantees, but still.......what about the contents? About half of the contents were gifts for friends.


I was asleep (jet lagged) by the time the bags came. The next morning I examined them. The larger bag, with gifts, seemed completely intact. The smaller one, with my clothes and toiletries, was ensconced in a large plastic bag, with lots of loose stuff. It was all a bit messy and greasy inside. I was afraid to open the bag.

I did, and found inside lots of loose toiletries and toiletries cases, as well as my bag, intact but with a popped zipper (I had overstuffed it). Oddly, none of the loose toiletries were mine; it seemed as though someone had swept up all the loose stuff from the carousel and put it in with my bag. And nothing was actually missing from my bag; the clothing straps had kept everything in place.

So I unpacked, put my things away, and sorted the gifts. As for the extras - there was no ID on anything, it was all used and dirty, and we decided just to throw it all out.

Acclimatization

I'm still adjusting to the time (12 hours) and climate (very warm) change, and trying to get by without luggage. Christobel, my ever resourceful hostess, found me a few old Mambo T-shirts - not my usual style, but they fit.

I got to spend time with Tom, who's grown quite a bit in the two years since I last saw him. He's as bright and sweet as ever. Precious, his cockatiel, is still around, and he's acquired a new dog, Honey.

Tom planting seeds from Precious' food to see what grows

Christobel refers to Honey as the "$10,000 dollar" dog; although she was a sweet mutt saved from the pound (and part dingo, we think), she's run up at least that much in medical bills in her short life. Something to do with an immune system collapse and marrow suppression.

Christobel and Honey (with her sad puppy dog face)

We had a bunch of visitors come by today. First was Christobel's friend Ramesh and his son Jonathan. The latter had a nice time playing with Tom; here he is shown with Sunny, another new member of the household. Sunny is a small, non-venomous viper; in keeping with the naming theme (think Ab Fab), (s)he should have been named Sweetie.


I also had a chance to briefly see an old friend, Siobean, who moved to Australia last year. She now has two lovely daughters, here shown with the aforementioned Jonathan on the mailbox post.

Jonathan, Flora and Sadie

The Romance of Air Travel

Legend has it that, in the early days of commercial air travel, this mode of transportation was considered glamorous and exciting. In 1939 the first transatlantic service, the Yankee Clipper was launched, flying up to 30 passengers from New York to London. There were sleeping quarters and a honeymoon suite. Travelers passed the time playing bridge or writing letters at comfortable tables while waiting for the stewards to serve a six-course meal. And they dressed well.

How things have changed. I flew from Detroit to LA on NWA. The airplane left more than two hours late, due to mechanical difficulties. There was no meal service, but the stewardesses sold snacks to those with ready cash. At least the ticket was free, as I'd cashed in frequent flier mile to acquire it.


I was certain that I'd miss my Qantas connection, but I didn't, as it left an hour and a half late. I spent that time waiting in a large hall with few seats but much confusion, as there were no signs at the gates delineating which flights left from which gate. People milled around, hoping their flight would be called, but uncertain when or where to board.

At some point my flight was called, and I had to fight my way through the crowd to get into line to get onto a bus. The bus was packed full, and then taken out onto the field, not to a waiting airplane, but to a barn with a large zig-zagging cattle ramp. There we were left to stand for another half hour, as more and more busloads of people were disgorged into the rapidly-filling space. Then, suddenly, there was movement, and we slowly boarded.


Qantas makes the sardine-packing industry look like rank amateurs. Our airplane was a 747 configured to maximize profit while minimizing leg room. I had gotten stuck with a middle seat, and my knees were pushed solidly and painfully against the seat in front of me. And there I was stuck for thirteen hours. The video on demand made the trip more tolerable, but it was late, and I was sleepy, and it was hard to sleep.


When I finally arrived in Brisbane, I suspected I might miss that connection. There was only an hour left now between flights, and I had immigration to clear, suitcases to collect, and a train to catch to the domestic terminal. The immigration folks were unmoved by my plight; they told those of us with connections that we would just have to wait in the long line - no special favors. Once I got through, I went to get my suitcases, but they didn't come.

When the apparatus stopped disgorging luggage, I was directed to the luggage services desk; there I was told to try and make the flight, and file a lost luggage reports in Perth.

So I tried. In retrospect, I realize there was no way I could have made that 9:30 a.m. flight, and suspect the luggage folks were just trying to decrease their workload. Still, I found the train, got my ticket, boarded it, and arrived at the domestic terminal much too late. Luckilly, I'd already been rebooked on a direct flight in four hours (others weren't as lucky, and had to take flights through Sydney or Melbourne, arriving late at night.....); so I sat, read, dozed and filed a missing luggage report.

And then, before I knew it, I was on my way to Perth. The flight left on time (I'd begun to wonder if that ever happened any more) and arrived on time. I didn't get my window seat, and was jostled by every single beverage cart and flight attendant passing by. But Tom was there to great me at the airport, and Rene drove us home to Freo. That night I shared a lovely meal and fine Aussie wine with Christobel.

It was good to be in the real world again.

Australia Bound

I am leaving for Australia later today. I'll be visiting friends in Queensland (Brisbane area) and Western Australia (Perth and the southwest mostly). I have a month to travel around; of course it won't be nearly enough time, but I have to get home in time for the fall mid-term elections

It's spring down under, and the wildflowers are in bloom.

I plan to photograph a lot of them, and perhaps post some to this Aussie blog, and eventually to my web site here. (You can see older photos here as well.)

Christobel and I love going out into the outback; Tom is on spring break, so we should be able to get away for a bit.


I don't mind driving there, except for dawn and dusk, when the kamikaze kangaroos come out to play.


I love the open road of Australia - you can sometimes drive for hours, and not see another living soul.


Brisbane has more of a subtropical climate, and Jane's garden should be looking lovely. The highlight there, of course, will be seeing her new baby, little Jonathon, all of 3 months old.

I may post on my regular blog if truly inspired by political events, so check back. But check this Aussie blog to see what I'm up to down under.