The 2008 Xmas Letter of Brett and Karen
Merry Xmas from Brett and Karen,
2008 was yet another interesting year for Karen and me, with four main highlights. For those of you who may have forgotten, click here for a review of our 2006, and here for 2007.
The first highlight of the year was a kayaking trip in early March to eastern Victoria organised by a fellow Shoalhaven Bushwalker. A group of about ten paddled seven waterways in seven days - lakes, rivers, estuaries and ocean. Early in the trip an unusual event occurred after we pulled up for morning tea on the side of a river - a curious emu checked out the kayaks and us, and swam alongside us as we paddled off afterwards (see below)!
(Click the thumbnails below to view larger images)
On one of the days later in the week we paddled down Wingan Inlet to the ocean. Off-shore was a group of small, rocky islands known as the Skerries. They are home to a large colony of fur seals, so we paddled out for a look. The fur seals then dived into the water and approached us for a look! At one stage we had at least 200 seals around the kayak, and it was magic! I had left my camera behind as the inlet looked pretty mundane, but luckily some other club members were not as stupid as me, and managed to get a few shots (see one of them below).
(Click the thumbnails below to view larger images)
Shortly after returning from the kayaking trip, Karen and I were off to a bird survey at Newhaven Station in the Northern Territory. The property is huge - 262,600 hectares (approximately 80km x 35 km) or 650,000 acres in size, and lies 363km or four and a half hours drive north-west of Alice Springs. Birds Australia purchased Newhaven in 2000 with the intention of managing the property for biodiversity conservation. In 2006 the Australian Wildlife Conservancy became the leading partner in co-management of Newhaven with Birds Australia.
The area is extensive, complex and intact. It is home to at least 15 nationally threatened species of animals and plants. It boasts ten vegetation communities and a wide array of landforms, none of which are well represented in existing reserves.
Karen and I were part of a group of eight birders involved in a survey of the property. In four teams of two (Karen and I were in different teams), we visited a variety of pre-set two hectare squares, to count and identify the number of birds present. From dawn until lunchtime and sometimes beyond, each team visited four or five different locations. The survey took two weeks. In the late afternoons and evenings we had plenty of free time, which we mostly spent birdwatching (of course!). After dark we often went spotlighting as well!
(Click the thumbnails below to view larger images)
The property, people, birds and animals were fantastic. Karen and I recorded eight birds that neither of us had seen before, and we even managed to find a few birds that had not been seen on the property in previous surveys. Birding-wise, in its own way, it was just about as good as it gets!
(Click the thumbnails below to view larger images)
Karen's trig quest (to visit and photograph every trig station in the Shoalhaven shire - which she began in 2006 and finished in 2007) has continued to be an interesting part of our lives. Last year the NSW Institute of Surveyors (Southern Group) heard about the quest and asked us to be guest speakers at their annual conference. We had to decline as it conflicted with our Switzerland trip. A year later they contacted us again - they were still interested!
The conference was in Canberra, on a Friday in June. I prepared a slide show, but we decided to ad-lib the verbal part of the presentation, hopefully prompted by the slides to provide interesting and relevant information. Karen fears public speaking, and insisted I accompany her on stage. In front of over 100 hardened professionals, all men, Karen and I told the story of the trig quest, taking turns to relate certain incidents, and prompting each other if memory failed.
Apparently we were really good! Karen said afterwards that her knees were shaking inside her jeans at the beginning of the presentation, but after a while she noticed that the shaking had stopped, and that she was actually enjoying herself. Luckily, the presentation prior to ours only occupied about 15 minutes of the allotted 30 minute time-slot, which was rather fortunate as our presentation soon passed the 30 minute mark and stretched to 45 minutes. Everyone looked interested, they laughed in all the right places (phew!) and when we asked for questions there were lots of hands in the air. One of our friends, a surveyor, was in the audience and he spoke to us afterwards, saying that we were the best thing that happened all day!
In return for the presentation we received free accommodation at the Rydges Lakeside Hotel, free drinks in the bar at the end of the day (we were the last presentation) and a free dinner (with bottomless glasses of wine) with all the surveyors. People approached us all night to say how much they had enjoyed our presentation, and even the next morning as well, on the way down to the lobby in the elevator!
One of the surveyors was so impressed, he rang us recently to ask if we could do the same presentation for the Victorian Institute of Surveyors! Even with the offer of free flights and car hire, we had to decline, as spending two days of travel for a 45 minute presentation did not make a lot of sense to us.
We stayed in Canberra for the entire weekend, bunking down with a kind friend of Karen's. Never one to waste an opportunity, Karen insisted we go out walking - to six trigs atop various hills around the city. We even spent an afternoon at Manuka Oval watching the Swans beat Melbourne in an AFL game - what a lucky coincidence that they were playing that weekend!
(Click the thumbnails below to view larger images)
Our last highlight of the year was another trip to Victoria, this time in October to experience the Great Ocean Walk - a 90km multi-day trek around Cape Otway from Apollo Bay to the 12 Apostles at the start of the Port Campbell National Park. Together with eight other Shoalhaven Bushwalkers, we stayed at a central location (Bimbi Park near Cape Otway) and tackled the walk as 5 separate day-walks. Five of us would drive to one end of the day's walk, the other five to the other end, and we would meet in the middle each day and swap car keys, before meeting up again at the end of the day back at Bimbi Park.
The walking was pretty good, but it could be better. For example, the first few kilometres of the walk in on a path beside the Great Ocean Road, and when it veers off the road, it diverts through a caravan park! Some sections of the walk were along roads bounded by rural properties. But overall, the scenery and wildlife more than made up for these distractions.
Cape Otway has to be the koala capital of Australia! The blurb for Bimbi Parks reads "Camping under Koalas" - and they are not telling fibs. We counted four koalas in the nearest tree to our tent site shortly after arriving. We subsequently saw (and heard) koalas fighting, grunting, doing chin-ups on a branch and after dark doing God knows what! A constant danger as we car-shuffled back and forth was avoiding the cars of tourists - who would stop in the middle of the road, grab their cameras and go traipsing about all over the place every time they spotted a koala in a tree. Amusing signs reminded the tourists that in Australia, we drive on the left side of the road ...
(Click the thumbnails below to view larger images)
Workwise, Karen still does four days a week with Bosco Accounting, and my website design business continues to grow. We are both still very active members of the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers. Karen is still the weekend walks coordinator and serves on the committee, and I am still president of the club, as well as webmaster.
The house and gardens are all going fine, with the exception of the retaining wall around our entertainment area which needs replacing - a job for the Xmas / New Year break! 120 sleepers are due to be delivered today (Dec 23) ...
Healthwise, Karen and I are both well, and Karen is fit. Me, not quite so fit. My GP diagnosed me with Coeliac disease (a disease of the small bowel caused by an allergic reaction to gluten products) early in the year, but an endoscopy showed that the diagnosis was wrong. If I had to go on the Coeliac diet, I would probably lose weight and become a lot fitter ...
We hope that everyone who reads this has had as good a 2008 as we have had, and that their good fortune continues.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year,
Brett and Karen