OZtralia.tv Blog

A Tribute to the 20th Century

By: Phoenix Arrien

The gateway to far east Gippsland on Australia’s southern coast is a watery one. Lakes Entrance is a small town at the entrance to the sea where water flows into three large lakes, the largest inland water system in the Southern Hemisphere.

If there is something puzzling to young children, it is a lifelike statue. Along the foreshore of the busy holiday township of Lakes Entrance are a series of wooden carved statues marking Australia’s involvement in the wars of the 20^th Century.

This includes a statue of a soldier called Simpson who carried wounded off the battlefield on his donkey. Young child patted Simpson, then poked his donkey and watched for a response. None happened so, with the blessed short attention span of a young child, he turned his excited attention to the boats coming in along the wharves.

The Lakes fishing fleet is one of the largest in this part of the world and well worth a look. It became the reason we lived on fish, of the freshest kind, during the three days we spent there.

More tomorrow….

The Town On The Edge: Part Two

By: Phoenix Arrien

We explore Mallacoota by land today, taking an extended walk along a deserted beach where the waves swirls around rocks and slaps the shore in a rush of foam before running gently up the shell-pocked sand.

In late September whales appear along the coast as they make their way south to Antarctica but no such giants are present today. There is still plenty to see. The coast is wild and rugged and a strong attraction is to visit the historic old lighthouses, many of whom still shine a light for ships. The walk continues along colourful heathland and then through stunted forests, the trees all windswept and twisted, but the ground soft underfoot.

Our farewell in town occurs at the grooviest live music event I have been to for a long time. Locals all gather at Café 54 once a week for resident musicians to rock the place with blues covers and a few locally inspired tunes. Plenty of food, noise and local gossip creates a great send off from a jewel in a beautiful coastal wilderness, oozing with classic low-key Australian friendliness.

The Town On The Edge: Part One

By: Phoenix Arrien

If you travel along the east coast of Australia between Melbourne and Sydney you will come across secret little towns that are hidden gems. Mallacoota is such a one.

The farthest town in eastern Victoria, the population of several thousand people welcome visitors warmly, but don’t look for them. The ‘coota view is that they live here for the peace and tranquillity, the beauty and natural attractions and the artistic flavour of the community. Being such a stunningly wild place, it is a magnet for artists and writers…and holiday makers.

We are here…puttering along in a small boat along the wild shores of Mallacoota River for half an hour before we found…. there it is! The furry teddy sitting up in the fork of a spindly green gum tree.

Koala bears look gingerbread cute with little round furry ears and big black triangular noses, but such sweetness can be deceptive. These bears have long sharp claws and are known to use them. Therefore they are perfect to look at from a distance, which is exactly where Simon Buckley and his little boat, the equally cutely named boat, the ‘Porkie Bess,’ had places us; close enough to look but not too close for mauling.

Wildlife along the rugged coast and wild forests of Far East Gippsland in south-eastern Australia is abundant. Sparsely populated, with large forests and blessed by a mildly cool climate, this large area making up the easternmost part of the southern mainland state of Victoria, has a diverse range of eco-systems; enough for a wide number of animals and birds to flourish.

We make true and lasting friendships with two retired potters who now run the Karbeethong Lodge where we prop our feet on a chair on the Lodge’s long back porch and spend much time gazing at the view. The shimmering blue waters of the Mallacoota Inlet are only metres away from the porch down a green lawn and around a few trees. Blue misty mountains carpeted with green forests line the horizon above the inlet.

Bruce Heggie and Julie Ford came here from a dry and dusty inland town to absorb the lush nature and peaceful lifestyle. The beauty of the region has even inspired them to take up painting. They bring a warmth that infuses the lodge and helps us relax.

Last night, around the open fire with the sun setting over a golden water vista through the large bay window, friends, visitors, Bruce and Julie and owners Rosemary Luker and Russell Freeman gathered for an evening of swapping life stories, local gossip, historic retellings and jokes. It was a cosy few hours of the sort that can’t be planned, but gracefully appeared to fall lovingly together out of the warm dark woods of the Edwardian décor, the open hearts of the people at the lodge and the tranquillity and beauty of the environment.

OZ Blog Writer Phoenix Arrien

Our street is quiet now. The family across the road have moved away. They were the noisiest bunch that ever hit our suburban street. Single mum with four kids and several visiting step-children plus girlfriends of sons often hanging out in the house or outside on the front porch, yard and street.

Those ‘modified’ cars that throbbed with techno music and screeched down the streets. Many nights of thumping rock music, loud swearing, drunken yelling, fights and ‘altercations’ would bring police for visits. With sirens screaming, lights flashing, we neighbours would  have something to see through our windows.

Now they are gone, it’s quiet.  Like many middle-class Australian suburbs. But wouldn’t you know it, there is something missing….strangely. The place is too quiet. Now they are gone I remember the chats the mum and I had about kids and life. How her youngest child and my eldest played together. How she let my kids play on her blow-up playground until it was destroyed like everything else.

The workmen are in there right now, clearing the place of rubbish and fixing the house up, ready for a new family.

I hope they are noisy.

Flying High

By: Phoenix Arrien

I am flung into the air like a pebble from a slingshot. My head slams back into the seat as we shoot into the sky. Eyeballs rotating, teeth vibrating, I almost throw my breakfast down onto the town passing below us, until a calm and slightly amused voice next to my ear tells me to relax. Aaaah that’s better.

As the little tin can soars into the great expanse of sky above Mt Beauty, then levels out and glides, I look around and realise why Mt Beauty is called such a name. Beneath me, a long valley stretches out, bordered by rearing mountains (One of these mountains is the state of Victoria’s highest, Mount Bogong) that plunge enormous green feet into the valley’s soft meadows and pastures - a stark contrast between a promise of comfort on the flatlands and wild adventure on the rugged slopes and ridges.

When the SEC (former power company) created the township of Mt Beauty in the 1940’s to cater to the workers building the Kiewa Hydro-electricity Scheme, I wonder if they realised what a beautiful place this area was.

Of course they must have. They named it Mt Beauty after all!

Range upon range of startling blue mountains, slashed with brilliant white snow, herringbones the horizons. My volunteer gliding pilot, one of several who take visitors flying, flys our plane above it all, catching thermals and floating in that big blue expanse.

It’s a mind-blowing experience; with no engine noise or vibrations and a mere patch of Perspex between you and the wind, its like riding a huge eagle. I realise why people who fly without engines are addicted…and they are. After touch down I tried not to hop from one foot to another with excited impatience, ready for my next go at gliding.

Tomorrow…more freedom in the mountains.

Come Swim With The Fishes

By: Phoenix Arrien

Ane…Anem…Animo…Anemon..Those Cute Little Wavy Things in Australia’s reefs.

Remember when Nemo tried to say the word ‘anemones’? Never watched the movie ‘Finding Nemo’, eh? Well, try and say anemones twenty times and you will get the picture.

Unfortunately such creatures are having a hard time due to removal of anemones from reefs. This causes problems for both the anemones and their anemone fish, which cannot survive in the wild without their homes.

The Sydney Aquarium has launched a special display on sea anemones as part of a new campaign to save the home of Nemo and his family.

As the number of anemones harvested from ocean waters continues to grow, the Sydney Aquarium Conservation Fund is supporting Australian scientist Dr Anna Scott, from Southern Cross University, in her quest to develop ways to breed anemones in captivity.

The Aquarium has created a special display on Dr Scott’s research and has given a home to more than 30 of her captive bred baby leathery sea anemones in order to raise public awareness about the pressures these species are facing.

While there are more than 1000 types of sea anemones, only 10 are known to provide a home for anemone fish such as Nemo and his family, making them highly prized for the aquarium trade.

Dr Scott is using her findings to develop ways to breed anemones in captivity to provide an alternate source for private aquariums and potentially to restock damaged reefs.

Sydney Aquarium Chief Executive Kevin Bush said the Aquarium was committed to supporting Anna’s research and helping people realise the implications of harvesting anemones.

“After the movie ‘Finding Nemo’, the world fell in love with our beautiful little anemone fish. But it’s important to make people aware that Nemo and his family are under threat from the harvesting of anemones so we need to support the scientific community in their work to find a solution,” Mr Bush said.

There are also other cool critters at the aquarium and it makes a great day out next time you are in Sydney, Australia

Charlie and Livingstone

By: Phoenix Arrien

It’s lovely stumbling upon Outback gems. The people and places type of gems - not the rock type though they are fun too.

In the top end of Australia a few hours southeast of Darwin is a station called Annaburro. I visited it and sat down with ‘Rex’ the owner:

“One of the reasons I brought Annaburroo,” he explains, “was to preserve a part of the old Outback. No development here! All the old buildings of the former station have been preserved.”

Nearby, ‘Yellow Charlie’s shed’ still stands, testimony to a local character who acted in the well known Australian outback film ‘Jedda’. Charlie may have been rough and involved in more than one fight, but Rex thinks he was a loving man. “Why he kept his wife’s bones in a suitcase rather than have her out there in a cold grave,” he explains with a twinkle in his eye.

Whilst maintaining the character of the place, Rex cleaned it up and gently transformed Annaburroo into an oasis, where visitors can kick back, swim and take time out. It has one of the only crocodile-free swimming holes in the area so it is well worth the stop.

However it’s not only the fascinating people you meet but also animals. Livingstone the Brahman Steer thinks he is a horse and is a fixture in a small horsey band that wanders around the campsite. A Water Monitor ambles around the trees, looking like a mini-dinosaur. Eagles spread their great wings surfing the wind currents above. Black kites dip and wheel in a day long aerial dance, cockatoos screech and finches dart among the bushes.

Aaah, yes another pleasant day in the Outback.

Richard Branson’s Australian Retreat

By: Phoenix Arrien

On a visit to Noosa on the east coast of Australia, I took a cruise through that region’s waterways and we passed a lovely-looking island with house on it. ‘Richard Branson’s island,’ said the guide.

The billionaire Virgin chief is building a luxury retreat for his staff on this island - called Makepeace Island - it is going be a two million pound, nine-hectare estate. Plans for a country club and helipad have been scrapped after environmental concerns.

The locals are still grumbling about the removal of trees and the 85-year-old timber house built in the classic ‘Queenslander’ style including wraparound porches.

Richard brought it for one million pounds in 2003. Nice to know those cheerful Virgin employees will have a swanky holiday hideout. Mind you, Noosa has plenty of swankiness.

More on that hip little town soon.

A Weekend With Friends In Australia

By: Phoenix Arrien

We just spent the weekend with friends who live by the sea. Lakes Entrance is a lovely town on the south coast of Australia that offers both lakes and seaside tranquillity.

We arrived by train from Melbourne - took just under four hours - and headed to the beach where a long line of fisher folk cast their lines into the wild surf. Apparently it was a fishing competition.

Next day thirty vintage cars moved into the main street and parked in long rows so people could peer into their leathery insides, check out the motors and admire the ‘flaming’ paintwork.

The local market was on and people were swinging their clubs on the golf course. I joined the throngs browsing the bookstores, found an interesting book and settled into a cafe overlooking the waterfront called the ‘Six Sisters and a Pigeon’ (no sign of any pigeons but the sisters serve a bonza hot chocolate).

Yup, a weekend, in a small Australian town. Travelling Australia? Settle into a small town for the weekend.

June Events in Australia

By: Phoenix Arrien

June in Australia offers big events and small ones. Here are a few of the more interesting goings-on you may want to check out:

Milton Scarecrow Festival

Name says it all…

The Rocks Market

Sydney’s leading lifestyle market, featuring a delectable range of arts, crafts, homewares and collectables.

SYDNEY NSW, Sat 7 Jun - Sun 8 Jun 2008

National Celtic Festival

PORTARLINGTON VIC, Fri 6 Jun - Mon 9 Jun 2008

Monto Show Society Drover’s Cattle Drive

Experience the life of a drover and take part in a cattle drive along the stock routes in the Monto Shire.

MONTO QLD, Mon 9 Jun - Tue 10 Jun 2008