Now that we're sort of settling down in Brisbane (we bought a case of wine at a local wine shop, very good and unusually inexpensive wine, so that must mean we're settling in!), moving out of "travel mode," we have time to reflect on the adventures so far.
Port Fairy, at the end of the Great Ocean Road, is a cute, relaxing town; we enjoyed ourselves there. We had some good food, listened a pretty good balladeer at a local pub, swam on wide, fine-sand beaches, and took a 20 mile bike-ride through grazing land on an old rail bed:
An annoying but interesting thing about the ride was the swarms of flies that hassled us as we rode to the little village of Koloit (an Irish name, this area was settled by folks from Belfast). They flew in front of our sunglasses, into our ears and noses, it was pretty bad. When we got to Koroit, we sought refuge from the flies and heat in a little cafe, where we ordered milkshakes and chatted with the owner. Hearing about the plague of the flies, he told us about some sort of cedar cream or spray that was the sure thing for this menace. He directed to the town gas station and variety store, where we found the very pungent stuff, lathered ourselves with it, and took off back to Port Fairy. It was miraculous! Where before, black flies nearly covered the shoulders of Kate's white shirt, now there were none! I'm sure we'll put that cream to good use during our stay here.
Another "find" in Port Fairy was this plaque on the main street:
It reads: "In memory of the thousands of Aboriginal people who were massacred between 1837 and 1844 in this area of Port Fairy. Today, we pay our respects to them for the unnecessary sacrifices they made. Your spirit still lives on within our people." Like the U.S., the legacy of the European colonization of this continent seems both evident everywhere and invisible, so this memorial was notable in its honesty. I'm sure we'll learn much more in the coming months.
Port Fairy, at the end of the Great Ocean Road, is a cute, relaxing town; we enjoyed ourselves there. We had some good food, listened a pretty good balladeer at a local pub, swam on wide, fine-sand beaches, and took a 20 mile bike-ride through grazing land on an old rail bed:
An annoying but interesting thing about the ride was the swarms of flies that hassled us as we rode to the little village of Koloit (an Irish name, this area was settled by folks from Belfast). They flew in front of our sunglasses, into our ears and noses, it was pretty bad. When we got to Koroit, we sought refuge from the flies and heat in a little cafe, where we ordered milkshakes and chatted with the owner. Hearing about the plague of the flies, he told us about some sort of cedar cream or spray that was the sure thing for this menace. He directed to the town gas station and variety store, where we found the very pungent stuff, lathered ourselves with it, and took off back to Port Fairy. It was miraculous! Where before, black flies nearly covered the shoulders of Kate's white shirt, now there were none! I'm sure we'll put that cream to good use during our stay here.
Another "find" in Port Fairy was this plaque on the main street:
It reads: "In memory of the thousands of Aboriginal people who were massacred between 1837 and 1844 in this area of Port Fairy. Today, we pay our respects to them for the unnecessary sacrifices they made. Your spirit still lives on within our people." Like the U.S., the legacy of the European colonization of this continent seems both evident everywhere and invisible, so this memorial was notable in its honesty. I'm sure we'll learn much more in the coming months.
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