Parkes NSW

Monday I traveled to Parkes on an assignment. I'm really fortunate to have a job that allows me to visit parts of Australia that I might not see otherwise. I mean, I'm sure we would get around to them at some point. But being able to scope them out on someone else dime is pretty sweet!

As I flew out of Sydney I thought I'd take a picture of the harbor. Great shot, if that darn propeller wouldn't have been in that way. The new airbus 380 has nothing on this baby (yes, that's sarcasm).

I had reserved a rental car with Avis. However, upon arriving at the Parkes Regional airport it didn't look promising.

I called the number listed. The reservation agent advised me that they had only pulled out two cars for the day (seriously), and none were for me. Some sort of glitch in the computer system hadn't forwarded my online reservation to the regional office. Fortunately the airport reservations agent / baggage handler (who also contracts for Budget) overheard my telephone conversation and hooked me up.

My assignment basically entailed me visiting a huge property and looking at a wellbore casing in a field. The property is technically a farm, but it was huge - thousands and thousands of acres huge. Fields of grain and grass crops as far as the eye could see, 3,000 head of beef, stud farming, etc.

The manager of the property was so gracious, and just a very down to earth guy. After our meeting he even had his kitchen prepare us lunch. He was genuinely interested in why our family was in Australia, and what I thought of living here. Then he asked me if I had seen any wild emu. Would I like to? So off we hopped to his ute and went on a wild 4 x 4 ride across several fields, until we spotted these in a canola field. Apparently emu love canola, who knew?
As soon as they saw the truck they knew the routine and took off. Emus are not the smartest birds, and watching them run really brought that home. They are super fast and agile, but they have no idea where they're going. They were jumping over fences then back, then over again - galloping and looking like they were going to end up head over heels at any moment. All the while that huge feather rearend shaking up and down behind them.
The photos aren't that great, you can click on them to enlarge them. We also came across a mob of kangaroos but they were further away so the photos didn't really come out. I've seen kangaroos in reserves, but they are usually walk hopping or lying down. It's an incredible sight to see a group of them hopping in giant strides across a field, with no sign of slowing down. Just incredible! It was soon time for me to head to the airport for my flight back to Sydney. As I left, Ned Kelly saw me off. Ned Kelly is an icon as far as Australian folk lore goes. You can read about him here . I think this Ned SO cool - he is made entirely of car parts!

Overall I loved this trip and I think we're planning a family trip to the region in the next few months. Don is really keen to travel a bit, so Parkes is a good option. We'd like to take a look at the Dish, and the The Western Plains Zoo is in nearby Dubbo . Plus, this was closed on Monday, and I really wanted to go....

NRA Home Readers

Mitch's school sends the kids a Home Reader every night to help reinforce their phonics and reading skills. The Readers are small paperback books, usually about eight to ten pages in length. Some are quite charming, especially since they use Aussie words and reflect the culture. Mitch brought home this Reader last week, which showed great promise.


Hmmm - what could this one be about? Bang - A Traditional Rhyme. Well, it can't be about the Fourth of July. Maybe New Years Eve and fireworks?

Awwww bunnies. I bet the bunnies are holding those little sparklers. Or, maybe those black things that you light on fire - that turn into snakes and stain the driveway. Wait, those don't bang. Back to fireworks - definitely fireworks. Bunnies watching fireworks.

Or not.


I'm thinking the third bunny has the right idea. I mean, we are talking about firearms. This really isn't the time for machismo or boastful pride.


Well, it did rhyme. And really, what says Happy Ending more than a narrow escape?

Jenolan Caves

The weekend before Kevin left for Florida we visited the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains. Our last trip to the Blue Mountains was right after we arrived in Sydney. We went to see Thomas at the ZigZag Railroad. And although Mitchell would have been quite happy to spend another day with Sir Topham Hat, we figured Kevin might not be as enthralled with the Island of Sodor. So off to the Caves. It was about a 2.5 hour trip one way; a perfect day trip. It was Sunday, the last day of school holidays. We didn't make a reservation, and all I can say is thank goodness we didn't try going the weekend before. I would definitely pre-book tickets for our next trip. We got into line to buy tickets for the next tour, starting in about 15 minutes. The tours start about every 40 minutes or so. So, even if you don't pre-book you can buy tickets, you might just have to wait a bit. I was a little disappointed when I heard the cashier tell the two people in front of us that they had purchased the last two tickets for the 2:30 tour. However, it was all good because the tour we missed was deemed, "strenuous". Jenolan has about 15 different tours, of varying difficulty. The tour we ended up purchasing tickets for was called the Imperial Cave, which had a total of 358 steps. In comparison, the River Cave has 1,298 steps. So, with a five year old I'd say turning up in line five minutes late was definitely a blessing in disguise. The cave we went in didn't have the gigantic stalactites, but it was a nice intro to the caves, and I'd definitely go again.




It was really cold outside, and I'm glad we packed coats and hats. It reminded me of being in Seattle, low lying clouds and misty rain. Walking back to our car after the tour, we passed the Inn which looked like a really fun place to stay the night. Maybe next time we'll get a family suite and do a few different tours. One thing that did catch my eye as we passed by....

This is actually representative of Christmas in July, a popular celebration in the colder areas. I had read about this on Julie's blog so I wasn't too surprised. Which means that I got to explain Christmas in July to Kevin - who was thoroughly perplexed with the whole thing. I can't say that I totally buy into it either, but walking in the cold and seeing this tree did give me the warm fuzzies.