Exercise

I have never been big on exercise since I have never really found any sport I was finding pleasure practicing. That said since I arrived in Darwin I have taken up on swimming big time. I isually go to the pool at least 5 times a week swimming anything between 1 and 1.5 km. I additionally have this machine on which I occasionally step on in front of the TV. But this is much less fun! This morning I woke up a bit earlier to try and burn off the extra calories from yesterday's dinner.

Gourmet Traveller

My favourite food magazine has to be the ever excellent Australian Gourmet Traveller. I have picked up so many recipes from this monthly publication. If you live out of Australia you usually can find it through any good English magazine provider. It reflects the amazing diversity of Australia cuisine that borrows from the best from any other country in the world really.

Circular Quay

After a morning lazying around we decided to head to Circular Quay for a late breakfast. Above is the view from the breakfast table. But a small digital camera definitely does not allow for a 360 degrees view. So you will have to use your imagination if you want to see the ever breathtaking Sydney Harbour Bridge or the iconic Sydney Opera House!

Sydney Skyline

I moved back from Papua to Sydney. The view over Sydney's skyline from my room is quite a contrast compared to the virgin Highland forests of PNG. That said, due to the fact I am pretty much a 21st century urban westerner I somehow realise I feel more confortable in that environment.

Mermaid Beach

How does it sound to you? The name is pretty exotic, isn't it? And if I tell you it is located at Surfers Paradise, it is even better! I landed at Brisbane this afternoon and headed straight south driving for around an hour before reaching the place where some friends are currently staying. I wish I could have more time to explore the area and to relax on the beach. Unfortunately, tomorrow will be a long day spent attending a business workshop.

In the park

The sight of a wallaby in the wild is something that always amazes me. Actually, the sight of any animal in the wild brings its own share of pleasure. But on top of the list come the wallabies, as well as the wombats and the koalas (only seen once in the wild). In this part of Australia I strangely do not get to see many of the three above mentioned creatures. But I had my good share of frogs, spiders, crocodiles, spiders and on a kinder note, birds....

Food of the Day - Part Two

And now for something completely different: Jelly. I absolutely love Jelly! It is so easy to prepare, so easy to eat, so tasty and yet probably so bad for health. But as any of my favourite foods, as long as you do not eat it excessively (as I did tonight) you should be fine. Since I am in Australia I was made to purchase the Aeroplane brand. Orange is my favourite. Yummy! The time when TV ads were lasting for two minutes is well over but you should have a look at this TV classic!

Food of the Day

The food of day is: Oyster. I never used to like them. Or I used to only like them fried or cooked. But wether it is in America or here in Australia I usually enjoy oysters as they are much tastier and fleshy. Thay have actually grown so much on me that if they are on the menu I am now most likely to order them as my first choice. That's insane how tastes can radically change over the years.

Mary and Max

I suppose you all have seen Wallace and Gromit. Let's cut a long story short... even if Mary and Max is an animation movie with characters made out of clay, it has nothing to do with Wallace and Gromit. This production is purely Australian, out of Melbourne, and is as dark as the film poster or the preview suggest. Very bleak indeed. I cannot say that there is much to laugh about. After viewing this movie, that I was expecting to be quite funny, I came out with a strange impression. I am still not sure if I liked it or not though.

ANZAC

Today is a National Public Holiday in Australia and in New Zealand. And it is also a Saturday so it does not make a big difference for lots of people. But Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The main and notable event for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was the famous fight at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I and this day is also a commemoration for the soldiers who fought in France and Belgium.

More more more

One million heads were planned so it is obvious that the cattle season is not over. Imagine the quantity of cows being sent to the Middle East! One million heads! So when I went to the Port today I overtook dozens of cattle road trains. On this picture you can see a few specimen with their load waiting to be delivered. Poor cows. It is actually a sad image to see them stuck there inside those trucks, standing and looking at the sea.

Good Frog

If I have an ugly beast at my front door I have a lovely one in my backyard. You may remember the colourful green frog I posted some time back. Lately, the nature has been quite present (it actually always is in this part of the world) since I had to evacuate my office a couple of weeks ago because of a bat, I recently had to deal with a Carpet Python (which appears to be a friendly snake) and I had the surprise to witness this lovely guest in the office toilets. Not the best place for her.

Bad Toad

One of Australia's biggest ecological catastrophy was the introduction of the cane toad as a measure to try and combat the cane beetles. As this animal was introduced from South America, it went on to spread (and continues to do so) and is a real pest in itself since it has poison glands and its tadpoles are highly toxic to most animals if ingested. It kills fish, lizards and any kind of wildlife really because of its poison and is spreading at an alarming rate. On the road to Katherine I always try to kill my good share while driving on these ugly pests. Unfortunately, I occasionally have one on my front entrance and I would be glad if the neighbour's cat could help me to get rid of it since he seems highly interested!

Fisho

What do people do on Sunday? They fish? What do people do in the morning? They fish? What do people do in the evening? They fish? What do people do whenever they have 5 minutes? They fish? Well, that is true for the Northern Territory. Everywhere you see a paddle of water you can see fishermen (called 'fisho' in here). It is the number one passtime for guys, girls and kids alike.

Yeehaaa!

Today is the International Record Store Day but well... there are not many in the area. Instead I went for a very Australian experience tonight. The rodeo. The event that took place at the Litchfield Pub, an hour drive away from Darwin, is the first meet in an eight-round competition which will continue throughout the year. It was an interesting experience as seen from a tourist point of view but it was a bit like being in a parrallel world for me. All those cowboys and cowgirls, hat and beer culture are a thing that do not have so much connection with my interests but once more it made for an entertaining evening. I particularly enjoyed the bareback and bronco showdowns. And in case you wonder, the action was way too fast for my little camera so I propose a crowd photo instead.

Build Down

Probably one of the last evening clouds of the season. Now that we are reaching the end of that cross season locally called the 'build down' (as opposed to the build up) the clouds are going to be a rare sight. We are in for a long 'dry'. The green of the nature will turn a bit yellow, the smoke will start to be a common sight in the evening sky and some of the birds will migrate to wetter pastures. In the meantime I continue to enjoy the view from my balcony...

M/V Stella Deneb

215 meters long, 38000 Square meters. Those are the dimensions of the biggest Cattle Vessel in the world. It was here at the Port today to load another shipment of cows from the Northern Territory. Destination? The Middle East. When I was working in Dubai I used to see them coming full of sheep from New Zealand just before the Ramadan and cows from Australia all year long. Now I see them at the point of origin. I am just a bit more compassionate for the poor beasts and also wondering what the methane carbon footprint surrounding this vessel is.

Hoons on Utes

Two very Australian words in one title. The hoons are mostly white, suburban, teenagers. Not much of a brain. They are those kids whose main activities include speeding, street racing, burnouts or screeching tyres in their utes. So what's a ute I hear you ask? Just see the picture above. A ute is short for 'utility vehicle'. They have been very much in fashion for some years now but lately they have been mainly coming in funny colours and it is not uncommon to see gangs of them aligned at some reststop parkings. Each country has its own plague really.

Ubirr

Today we decided to take a private guide to try and learn more about the Art, culture and geology of the Bininj. And we indeed learnt a lot. Our guide was so entertaining, friendly and knowledgeable. We learnt a lot about the Mimi spirits visiting the mysterious Art Sites on the way to the top of a rocky lookout offering amazing views over the Nadab floodplains at sunset. A powerful experience.

Casuarina Square

As probably mentioned a few times over this blog, people are not that interested in shopping in the Northern Territory. Their main occupation is fishing and after work people do not have many goals: fishing, fishing and fishing. And having a beer. Or several. Casuarina is the largest shopping centre. It can be fairly busy on Saturdays but as the fishing rule also applies to the Ladies here, you never see many of them browsing through the handbag section in the fashion stores.