The epic road trip (3): Kangaroo Island

Day 8: Adelaide - Kangaroo Island 

It was freezing and raining as we got up super early for the 1.5hr drive to the ferry at Cape Jervis. The road was completely dark and it was incredibly hard to see in the rain. My dad soldiered on driving at speeds I would never have been able to achieve. The light began to lift as we got closer, but the rain continued. We just made the ferry with barely a moment to spare! Had I been driving, we would have definitely missed it.

The trip across was short and very choppy. It continued to rain for much of that first morning. We stayed at Baudin Beach apartments which was very nice, a cosy little hut in a small village.

I've never seen this strange grape like plant anywhere!

Sweet little ant that came up to visit while I was reading on the porch. 

The lady next door raises orphaned kangaroos and had a few that hung around her place that were practically tame. I dropped into the art gallery too, and had a chat with the woodwork artist who was stationed there that day.

 

We headed out to American River for some oysters, and saw heaps of black swans along the way. 

Along the estuary, we saw some discarded stingray carcasses being picked over by seagulls. A friendly local walking his dog told us that unknown fishermen had picked these up and dumped them on the shore. It made us quite sad.

In the afternoon we headed to Emu bay, where the white sand was beautifully soft.

We had planned to attend the pelican feeding at Kingscote, but this had stopped for the season. The pelicans waited patiently on the platform, allowing themselves to be photographed by the big crowd there.


Day 9: Kangaroo Island

We took a day trip to Flinders chase NP which was just one of the most spectacular places I've ever visited.

It was a wonderful day of stunning blue skies and an incredible sea wherever we turned.

We went to Admiral's arch where the sea washed up violently onto the rocks. 
 

There were seals everywhere!

At the end of the walkway is the actual arch, the limestone worn away by the sea. Here we saw lots of seals frolicking in the water and lazing about. The baby seals were really playful, dashing around and trying to annoy the adult seals. 

Then we went to the Remarkable rocks, which were really remarkable. 

We stopped for snacks here, setting up under one of the dramatic rock formations. Nature is so incredible in transforming rocks to all these different things.

On the way back we stopped at the visitors centre to spot koalas. Literally 2 minutes after we left the visitors centre area, we saw 2 koalas! They are the picture of sweet tranquility, sleeping the day away in a tree.

We stopped for a late lunch at Vivonne Bay, setting up next to the beautiful Harriet river washing into the sea. 

Feeling a bit tired, we headed home to rest. At sunset we headed down to Baudin beach and saw this solitary pelican.

The epic road trip (2): Down the middle to Adelaide

Day 5: Alice Springs - Coober Pedy 

We crossed the border with the dual signs of Welcome to South Australia / Northern Territory and a surprising number of people were there taking photos.

We arrived in Coober Pedy in the afternoon, an outback town known for producing the majority of Australia's opals. We tried to do a mine tour but it was all booked out, and having arrived so late in the day, there were few other options.

So instead we went to the underground Catacomb church, where a friendly volunteer gave us a pretty thorough history of the place. The main part of the church was dug by hand / dynamite in the 70s, and the extension done fairly recently with machines. The winch under the main altar is a tribute to the town's history, and the cross is made from local wood.

We also headed to the kangaroo orphanage where we fed the kangaroos and saw one of the joeys being fed.

Who knew that kangaroos loved wasabi peas! Apparently the spiciness of the wasabi mimics the flavours of native bush plants.

This little joey was 4 months old and happily suckled on a bottle like a baby.


Day 6: Coober Pedy - Adelaide

This was a quite a long day's drive. The landscape outside Coober Pedy is very much like the moon, full of little rocky hills and pockmarked craters. Soon we passed into salt lake territory, with many shimmering pools of white on the horizon.

We stopped at Lake Hart and headed down the hill for the short 10min walk to the edge of the lake. Seeing sand adjacent to salt is really quite strange, and reminds us that so much of what we stand on used to be under water.

Incredible expanses of white makes people want to do silly things!

We stopped at Woomera for lunch in the missile park, an interesting collection of relics from a time when the military conducted experiments in the desert.

We stopped by the side of the road to buy fresh prawns, from the Spencer gulf just a skip across the highway.

We drove and drove, and finally got into Adelaide after dark. After almost being T-boned by a car somewhere in suburban Adelaide we arrived at a really nice Airbnb where we could finally warm our bones from the drizzling cold rain.


Day 7: Adelaide

This was pretty much the only day we had on the whole road trip that rained incessantly. It was grey, misty and cold - so far removed from the warmth of the north. Despite the rain, we went with my dad's friends to Hahndorf which was very busy on the weekend.

We went strawberry picking, stuffing our faces with these fat juicy sweet strawberries.

Stopped off for a massive German platter with all the goodies.

The epic road trip (1): Leaving the Northern Territory

In January 2011, my dad and I drove from Sydney to Darwin. It was to mark the beginning of a remarkable year that set Darwin in my heart. We talked about the road trip for years afterwards, and so it was only natural that we should set out on another one, this time via "the long way".

The grand route:
Darwin -- Katherine -- Tennant Creek -- Alice Springs -- Coober Pedy -- Adelaide -- Kangaroo Island -- Great Ocean Road -- Melbourne -- Sydney

Day 1: Darwin - Katherine
On a wonderful sunny day, we said goodbye to 288 Casuarina Drive where I lived for a year, and headed out of town. The real estate agent was in Howard Springs so after we dropped off the keys, we headed to the actual spring for lunch.

This place had been a R&R spot for the soldiers in World War II, and it's easy to see why.

This part of the trip was really the greatest hits of the NT. Edith falls is one of my very favourite places dating back to when I visited in 2011 and camped there.

In the wet season, the falls are closed for swimming due to high water levels and risk of salties. The last croc had been seen in February though, so we sat pretty close to the edge and soaked up the incredible scenery.

We were pretty much the only people there, and the reflections on this particular day were just spectacular.

We stopped in Katherine on our first night and went out to Tindal air force base to play piano duets with my friend Maggy. The piano was in the deserted chapel.

We met many years ago when I lived in Darwin last time and by chance we were both living in the NT again! We played the Spanish dances and Polish dances by Moszkowski, some really wonderful repertoire for the piano duet.

There were so many stars that night, it was really like being in the outback again.


Day 2: Katherine - Tennant Creek
On the second day, we drove from Katherine to Tennant Creek. About an hour out of Katherine, we spent a few enjoyable hours at Bitter springs, my favourite spring in Mataranka.

Again it was pretty much deserted, and we chatted with a Canadian couple from near Windsor, Ontario. The water was incredibly clear like the other times I've been, the underwater grass bright and lively.

It was also water lily season, and we saw these lilies everywhere in the Top End.

Even managed to drop Pengy into bitter spring whilst trying to take a photo..

We stopped off in Daly Waters for lunch next to the wrecked plane, then powered through all the way to Tennant Creek. I had forgotten how much of a hole Tennant is - we basically moved our things inside and stayed inside. Outside felt pretty scary, with lots of youths wandering the streets and shouting at each other. It didn't help that our motel was right behind a bottle shop.


Day 3:  Tennant Creek - Alice Springs

On the third day, we drove from Tennant to Alice. This was quite a leisurely day, and we stopped off at the Devil's marbles for a while.

We passed by this place last time but didn't stop for much more than a photo. It has since been revamped as a tourist attraction with a proper parking lot and walking trails. We were also lucky that a big tour bus had just left as we were pulling in, so we again had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. These rocks were formed by the erosion of weather, and are a great reminder of just how harsh the desert is. Huge round boulders of every shape and size are dotted across the landscape, a pretty mysterious sight.

Some of the rocks were cracked and growing grass!

One of the best things about going on a long road trip is seeing the transition of landscapes. As we drove south, the tropics receded away and the desert crept upon us. Before we knew it, that lush vibrant green of the wet season had gone and we were amongst the dry sparse desert of central Australia. Devil’s marbles were really the beginning of that type of desert colours coming through, and we also adored the desert wildflowers around there.

 

In Alice, it felt like the real desert. The air was so dry here, and the landscapes felt broader than ever.

Day 4:  Alice Springs 

On the fourth day, we took a day trip out to the West Macdonnell ranges. 

Simpson’s gap is a spectacular break in a never-ending mountain range.

 It made one wonder – why is there a gap right there and not anywhere else? And how can water be so powerful and destructive? 

Later we visited Ellery big hole, where I had hoped to swim, but the water was far too cold.

I adore the red rock of the desert. It feels to me like the real Australia.

Day 5:  Alice Springs - Coober Pedy 

Erldunda roadhouse is quite a sight – heaps of tour buses congregate here and as a result the shop at the servo is crowded with the middle aged khaki cut-off crowd. There is even an emu farm for extra brownie points. I don’t remember it being so well-done-up the last time we were in the area, but I guess it brings in plenty of cash when it charges close to $2/L for unleaded petrol. 

Heading further south, the drive is through fairly barren land. The trees get shorter and shorter until they are shrubs, and finally very little grass at all. Rocks dot the horizon for as long as one can see. We spied a dingo, a wild camel, and finally a wild emu. The wild emu is lean with impossibly long legs, it has a spirit so totally different to the fat lazy emus at Erldunda roadhouse. It sees us coming and starts to run, the strides increasing in length as it bounds away from us at an incredible speed. We were really struck by the sight of this beautiful creature.

Dream: lost in Japan

(Many of my dreams seem to be set in Japan... I'm not really sure why!)
This was a very perplexing dream that I had on the first night back in Sydney.

It starts off with me in a taxi. It's hard to tell where you are - most taxis around the world look the same. I'm sitting in the backseat and I cannot see the driver's face. I look back through the window and see P trying to catch up with the taxi, running as fast as he can and pausing to catch his breath sometimes. I tell the driver to slow down and he intermittently slows enough for P to catch up, close enough that I can see his face. But then we turn the corner and we go too fast, turn another corner and he is gone. I tell the driver to slow down again, but we have properly lost him.

Then, P is driving my Mazda and I am running behind him. There is a rope which is attached to the car, which is one of those soft expandable ropes. I pull myself up as I run, getting closer to the car sometimes and further at other times when it strains my hands terribly to hold onto the rope. I try to run faster so that I can get closer to the car, but it is harder and harder to catch up. The rope burns and my hands sting sharply with the abrasive pain. With an acceleration, the rope is pulled out from my hands and I am lost.

Then, I am in a large intersection, like the ones in Japan where there are 5 or 6 roads converging in the one place. I am convinced that the place is actually in Japan, though there are no obvious visual cues. I look around and there are hundreds of people in the intersection. My eyes scan the crowd, though it's not clear what I'm looking for.

I see a tall man who looks like P and when I look closer.. it is not him, but a much rounder larger man. Some time later I see another tall man who looks like P from the back, but when he turns around.. it is not him, but a similar guy with a big full beard (something that he never has!). Then after some time, I see another man who looks like him. I run across the road and it really is him. We start talking and after some time I reach out to touch his face, and it is absolutely stone cold and covered in sweat. I start to think about whether he could be sick - how could his face be so cold?

I don't really remember what we are discussing now, but it is all about the relationship. At some point I say to him emphatically I just don't know how you could lose faith in us. My voice is raised and he looks at me pointedly. Then he says keep it down, we are in a train station. And I wake up. 

In My Kitchen: April 2018

In my kitchen, this month even more than usual, it's all about my beloved Barney. When people at work hear about Barney, they usually think it's my child.. and when they realise it's not, they think it's my pet dog or rabbit... and when they realise it's not, they are usually very confused. Needless to say, all my friends and colleagues know who Barney is now! My beloved sourdough starter, born 11 June 2017 on my benchtop in Rapid Creek .

He makes quite a handsome loaf now, coming a long way since his early days. Flavour wise, he has improved immensely since the fridge died while I was away. He ate himself and I think all the non-strong yeast cultures must have died.

Barney was truly delicious with a cheese fondue.

I made these Barney cheesymite scrolls before we went to Timor Leste - it was hard to resist eating the whole pan fresh out of the oven.

It was also my first time making hot cross buns, which of course had to be B buns.

We did some non traditional things with Barney, like barmplings - surprisingly good! The skins were chewy but light. 

My farewell party also featured Barney in the form of woodfire pizza - 150g of Barney made 4kg of dough!

Getting the heat just right was hard with all the wood off to one side of the oven, but everyone loved Barney anyway.

We also enjoyed this amazing bountiful produce from my dad's garden in Sydney when I went back briefly - so many bitter melons, tomatoes and random leaves.

And finally, a strange stringy vegetable I saw at Rapid Creek markets, which was delicious in soup. 

 This is my first time contributing to In my kitchen hosted by Sherry's Pickings