Inside it is warm.
A man and a woman share coffee and a glass of wine.
Outside is a magical ice lake.
A path invites them out of the warmth and away from their wine and coffee.
Will they take up the option? Will they just walk the short path to the Lake's edge or will they venture all the way around the lake of ice?
This photos invites your speculation, reflection and imagination.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Subi farewell
This is Australian rules at its best. Last round of 2007 West Coast play Essendon. Two legends of AFL, Kevin Sheedy and James Hird, coach and play their last game with Essendon at Subiaco Oval. Before the game West Coast people were clapping Sheedy. We got super wooried in the last quarter as a James Hird and Scott Lucas led revival almost stole the game from us. we survived!
This photo of the supporters at the East end of the ground show the the black & red of the Bombers and the blue and gold of the Eagles standing as one to acknowledge two great football men.
This photo of the supporters at the East end of the ground show the the black & red of the Bombers and the blue and gold of the Eagles standing as one to acknowledge two great football men.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
We shall not be moved
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In Kalamunda on Friday November 6th, a different protest took place on Orange Valley Road. A group of ducks quietly took control of the left hand lane heading towards Kalamunda. Drivers going to Lesmurdie had right of way, while the ducks steadfastly blocked the way of the Kalamunda bound drivers.
As the photos showed the ducks were determined and united and organised. A group sat on the right not being moved. Others stood on the footpath, looking to respond to any organisational problems that may arise. The pictures illustrate this well.
However, what is unclear what led the ducks to block the road. Do they want a reinstatement of an ancient duck pond? Do they seek voting rights in council elections? Or were they larking around, sorry ducking around, for the day and causing delays for innocent drivers.
More pictures can be found at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinlin47/sets/72157608761366183/
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Rocky Pool Kalamunda
After a 10 days in the Rocky Mountains in Canada, walking the hills of Kalamunda is a bit different. No ice, no snow, no frozen waterfalls. Just a quiet green beautiful bush on a sunny day, the last of Autumn 2008. The hills may not be as grand and tall, however, the pathways on the Rocky Pool walk are steep and demanding. They require perserverance going up and caution going down. The reward is to come to Piesse Brook and hear it flowing and then to sit and watch the gentle waterfalls of the Rocky Pool.
Home again - we really did it, again!
It is Sunday and we are at home on the first day of winter. This morning Jenny and I took a stroll in the sunshine from Kalamunda to Gooseberry Hill along the old railway track. The tress looked refreshed after yesterday's battering storms and green and yellow were dominant colours. The wattle was glorious and perhaps a little early. The coffee at Gooseberry Hill was good. I think Western Australian coffee is streets ahead of Canadian and Alaskan coffee.
We have been home 8 days after a month away. During the month we flew on 6 planes – the flights varied from 25 minutes (Vancouver to Victoria) to 15 hours on the way home to Sydney. In addition to the 6 planes, we caught 4 trains, 4 trams (all going up mountains – a bit different from good old Melbourne’s trams), 13 buses or coaches, 6 taxis (including one to the wrong station), 3 ferries – 2 of the ferries would have fitted into the last one we caught from Vancouver Island and we slept in 8 different beds and tried to sleep in 2 planes and 1 train. Fairmont beds are the best in the world and coupled with majestic views, gob smacking settings and friendly and prompt service makes the Fairmont stay an opportunity to turn a moment into a magic memory.
We have looked through our photos and remembered parts of our trip we have put to the back of our minds. When so much is happening in from of your eyes on a daily basis it taxes the old brain cells. A number of times I have thought: “gosh, did I actually see that, visit here and go there?”
One thing photos don’t capture is the conversations that occur along the journey. Sometimes short ones, some longer.
On the ship we met lots people we chatted with at mealtime, saw in the bar as we listened to music or just bumped into around ship.
There was the young guy from Houston. Our relationship started in queue at Vancouver Port and continued a couple of times as we met moving around the ship. Then in Anchorage, as we sipped coffee in the park we had one more chance encounter where we compared notes on our journey.
Jenny discovered a relative on the ship (there are Cochranes everywhere) while ashore at Ketchikan but we didn’t quite get to Cochrane Canada to see if there were relatives there! However, we did celebrate the end of our ship voyage with Jenny’s new rellies. We discovered how French speaking families were sent to southern USA, how the Scots & Irish influenced blues music (that bit in the steam bath!), heard about grits, discussed international skiing, were told how fascinating our accents were and had discussion with our English and Kiwi cousins. The English were all bemused by the fact that USA people thought Aussie and English accents were similar.
On the Rocky Mountaineer the Canberra guy was ecstatic about seeing a bear while the Queenslanders at Jasper Park Lodge could all talk about Aussie Rules. At dinner in jasper we chatted with a retired Perth magistrate in between Stuart’s gold plate dinner service in the Moose’s Nook. Later we danced to the 3-piece band in Jasper and I got to dance with my daughter Amy for the first time in a decade or so.
Dancing we did a lot on the ship. Some nights going from one place to the other as we improvised on small dance floors. The bands appreciated having dancers and chatted to us asking about our steps. We did lots of Rock n Roll, Cha Cha, some waltzing, some nifty Balmoral Blues and the odd Rumba. Dancing on a ship was fun and sometimes challenging as the boat swayed and I was suddenly leading Jenny uphill and down dale.
Well, I could rave on forever. Whiteouts on the mountain train out of Scagway, the Sunday markets in Anchorage, Sears – a great place for shopping, and then glorious Victoria, described by Amy as Perth in Melbourne. Buildings that were like the good ones in Melbourne with an ocean breeze like we get in Perth, and the most magnificent parliament House just across the road from the grand old Fairmont Empress.
And then we had our personal travel guide, my delightful and devoted daughter Amy who patiently educated her father about life in Canada, explained tipping brilliantly, drover us around in her car Betsy, introduced us to her wonderful friends and colleagues and generally looked after her old man well.
We are not sure where we are going for our next trip. So much world, so little time and not enough cash. However, to have done this journey meant seeing places I never imagined seeing.
Travel on people, May the journey be enriching and enlightening.
We have been home 8 days after a month away. During the month we flew on 6 planes – the flights varied from 25 minutes (Vancouver to Victoria) to 15 hours on the way home to Sydney. In addition to the 6 planes, we caught 4 trains, 4 trams (all going up mountains – a bit different from good old Melbourne’s trams), 13 buses or coaches, 6 taxis (including one to the wrong station), 3 ferries – 2 of the ferries would have fitted into the last one we caught from Vancouver Island and we slept in 8 different beds and tried to sleep in 2 planes and 1 train. Fairmont beds are the best in the world and coupled with majestic views, gob smacking settings and friendly and prompt service makes the Fairmont stay an opportunity to turn a moment into a magic memory.
We have looked through our photos and remembered parts of our trip we have put to the back of our minds. When so much is happening in from of your eyes on a daily basis it taxes the old brain cells. A number of times I have thought: “gosh, did I actually see that, visit here and go there?”
One thing photos don’t capture is the conversations that occur along the journey. Sometimes short ones, some longer.
On the ship we met lots people we chatted with at mealtime, saw in the bar as we listened to music or just bumped into around ship.
There was the young guy from Houston. Our relationship started in queue at Vancouver Port and continued a couple of times as we met moving around the ship. Then in Anchorage, as we sipped coffee in the park we had one more chance encounter where we compared notes on our journey.
Jenny discovered a relative on the ship (there are Cochranes everywhere) while ashore at Ketchikan but we didn’t quite get to Cochrane Canada to see if there were relatives there! However, we did celebrate the end of our ship voyage with Jenny’s new rellies. We discovered how French speaking families were sent to southern USA, how the Scots & Irish influenced blues music (that bit in the steam bath!), heard about grits, discussed international skiing, were told how fascinating our accents were and had discussion with our English and Kiwi cousins. The English were all bemused by the fact that USA people thought Aussie and English accents were similar.
On the Rocky Mountaineer the Canberra guy was ecstatic about seeing a bear while the Queenslanders at Jasper Park Lodge could all talk about Aussie Rules. At dinner in jasper we chatted with a retired Perth magistrate in between Stuart’s gold plate dinner service in the Moose’s Nook. Later we danced to the 3-piece band in Jasper and I got to dance with my daughter Amy for the first time in a decade or so.
Dancing we did a lot on the ship. Some nights going from one place to the other as we improvised on small dance floors. The bands appreciated having dancers and chatted to us asking about our steps. We did lots of Rock n Roll, Cha Cha, some waltzing, some nifty Balmoral Blues and the odd Rumba. Dancing on a ship was fun and sometimes challenging as the boat swayed and I was suddenly leading Jenny uphill and down dale.
Well, I could rave on forever. Whiteouts on the mountain train out of Scagway, the Sunday markets in Anchorage, Sears – a great place for shopping, and then glorious Victoria, described by Amy as Perth in Melbourne. Buildings that were like the good ones in Melbourne with an ocean breeze like we get in Perth, and the most magnificent parliament House just across the road from the grand old Fairmont Empress.
And then we had our personal travel guide, my delightful and devoted daughter Amy who patiently educated her father about life in Canada, explained tipping brilliantly, drover us around in her car Betsy, introduced us to her wonderful friends and colleagues and generally looked after her old man well.
We are not sure where we are going for our next trip. So much world, so little time and not enough cash. However, to have done this journey meant seeing places I never imagined seeing.
Travel on people, May the journey be enriching and enlightening.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Scagway Alaska
This was an email written on May 14th in an internet free zone.
=================
It is 7.15 am on Wednesday and we are in Scagway, way up north in Alaska.
The morning air is crisp and clear with a tinge of diesel. There are 3 liners in port, including ours, and 2 ferries. One is leaving on my left as I write. There is a hum in the air from the ships in an environment that it
is still.
On my left a majestic mountain sits. White capped at the top and down its side about half way where dense bush sits quietly. In front and to the right of me, above the 2 Norwegian cruise ships (Norwegian Star & Pearl) sit 2
more mountains. To the right of the ships is Scagway, a town I have glimpsed for the first time, as I walked the decks in cool morning air.
Both mountains are well clad in snow at the summit. The more distant and central one is grandly covered in snow except for a small section. Its peak reaches upwards, proudly as it watches over Scagway. The sky is white making
for a misty but clear connection between sky and mountain.
In the foreground behind our Norwegian sister ships a scene of bush and trees lies beneath the 3rd mountain and a few houses dot the bush. However, it looks like most housing is down in the valley in the town. The bush is
both a dark green and a lighter green in the trees with some tinges of grey and as my eyes climb up towards foot of the mountain.
This is a town where people came with hopes and dreams in search of gold. First reading suggests a wild town where it was every man for himself. Stories of men pushing their bodies to the limit exist and they sought riches in the mountains.
Today we will go ashore explore the township and then journey up the mountain by train. Our exploration will be a gentle one not like the experience of those who often swam ashore before carrying their gear up and over the mountain.
Margerie glacier in Glacier Bay. The Margerie Glacier is an excellent example of a tide-water glacier: a glacier that extends into a body of water
Email written onboard the Diamond Princess May 15th
This is a photo of the Margerie glacier in Glacier Bay. We parked outside
this today on the ship. After spending hours on the deck we retired to the warmth of our stateroom at had our own personal view. Pretty good eh!
Here is a web link http://www.lcss.net/glacierbay/Glacier_Bay_glaciers.htm#Margerie%20Glacier
If you want a room like this ring Belinda at Flight centre Kalamunda! Well done Belinda.
The Canadian Rockies was an amazing wilderness experience and today has added again to our marvelous wilderness adventures. The Americans might be a bit tardy with their immigration procedures but they are looking after this place very well.
Around 6 am the local rangers, minus tonto, boarded our ship. They gave us information about the National park, glaciers, wildlife, etc.
I am not sure when I will log on for this but hope you enjoy it. Postcards are somewhere in our luggage!
Love and Joy
Graham & Jennifer


Saturday, May 17, 2008
Australian Licorce in Anchorage
we arrived in Anchorage today after visiting a wildlife sanctuary, another tramway to a huge mountain where international skiing occurs and the local museum with an brilliant and thorough presentation on Alaskan history. along the way we continued to chat with people and hear of lives lived differently. today a guy who has been to China 21 times!
once booked into our sunshine filled room at the Copper Whale Inn, we wandered around Anchorage. It is a city and so different from our other Alaskan visits to towns with an interesting past and a unique quality. This is a city that seems to be growing and developing - oil seems important!
anyhow we wandered into a cute shop and discovered licorice. all sorts of licorice including 2 types of Australian licorice. we haven't seen much Aussie influence around apart from wines on dining room wine lists, which we have avoided. we chatted with the young shop assistant. she claimed the Aussie licorice was her most popular brand.
so we drank out coffee and wandered some more. another chance meeting with a young couple from Houston took place in the park. we had our final chat - the first one started in a queue as we attempted to get on board our ship. I must have chatted 3 or 4 times with him as our path crossed on the ship.
well we are tired tonight. after dining with 2 Australian couples, we danced hard and went to bed late. We had to get up early to leave the ship and catch our tour. We discovered we now have to turn on taps again. for a week on board the Diamond Princess we have not turned on a tap. they just worked!
But fancy, Aussie licorice popular in Anchorage.
once booked into our sunshine filled room at the Copper Whale Inn, we wandered around Anchorage. It is a city and so different from our other Alaskan visits to towns with an interesting past and a unique quality. This is a city that seems to be growing and developing - oil seems important!
anyhow we wandered into a cute shop and discovered licorice. all sorts of licorice including 2 types of Australian licorice. we haven't seen much Aussie influence around apart from wines on dining room wine lists, which we have avoided. we chatted with the young shop assistant. she claimed the Aussie licorice was her most popular brand.
so we drank out coffee and wandered some more. another chance meeting with a young couple from Houston took place in the park. we had our final chat - the first one started in a queue as we attempted to get on board our ship. I must have chatted 3 or 4 times with him as our path crossed on the ship.
well we are tired tonight. after dining with 2 Australian couples, we danced hard and went to bed late. We had to get up early to leave the ship and catch our tour. We discovered we now have to turn on taps again. for a week on board the Diamond Princess we have not turned on a tap. they just worked!
But fancy, Aussie licorice popular in Anchorage.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Return to Vancouver May 8 & 9
may 9th 12.30 pm.
Vancouver is an hour away. 5 hours late but we are almost there.
We have descended from Jasper through the mountain ranges and massive canyons along the mighty Fraser River away from the magnificent and awesome Rocky Mountains.
The advantage of being 5 hours late has been travelling in the daylight through the canyons west of Kamloops. Normally we would have missed this. It has meant seeing again what we saw on the way up to the Rockies. This time we were on a different track and could see things from a different perspective.
During our trip back we had dinner with Darlene and David from Saskatoon. A mother and son travelling to Vancouver for family celebrations. As we descended from the Rockies we talked about Canada and Australia, our similarities and differences and for a short time enjoyed our geographic togetherness.
The Rocky Mountain experience was an awesome, amazing, jaw dropping experience. Tired old words that struggle to describe the grandeur we have witnessed.
At Jasper Park Lodge we lived in a National Park and walked by the lake daily and gazed up to the mountains. On top of Whistlers Mountain is a little hut to where the Tramcar flies. http://www.jaspertramway.com/ You can a virtual tour at the website! The tramway was always visible sometime during the day, but not all the time as clouds passed by, the weather changed and on the last morning it snowed! The snow was great for two West Australian tourists but not for Lodge management wanting to open the golf course for summer.
The other wonderful experience at the lodge was swimming. A warm pool in front of the lodge provided a poolside seat to the mountains. An almost surreal experience!
We walked to breakfast through the snow on our last morning in Jasper (Thursday 8th). Throughout our stay we had had breakfast in our rooms with provisions purchased in town. On the last morning we celebrated a magnificent week in Jasper by dining in the Meadows room with Amy.
I have thought about my time in the Highlands of Scotland throughout my stay. The Scots we met quite rightly pointed out the Highlands were smaller. However, they both have place in my mind as places of awesome beauty that provide pleasure while intimidating at the same time. The message is something like play with us well and with care and you will be ok. Take risks at your peril.
And so it is farewell to the Rocky Mountains, farewell to my beautiful daughter for a few weeks and forward to Vancouver and Alaska and Victoria on Vancouver Island.
8.30 pm We have been in Vancouver for 7 hours and have 270 degree views from our hotel window of Vancouver. It is absolutely magnificent. We ate well at the Old Spaghetti House after hearing the Gastown clock strike 5 pm. http://www.gastown.org/ However, we are back in the city away from the rural Jasper and it feels so different.
Tomorrow a new adventure. Our cruise north. Tonight we have just witnessed a ship leaving the harbour destined for adventure. Tomorrow it is our turn.
Vancouver is an hour away. 5 hours late but we are almost there.
We have descended from Jasper through the mountain ranges and massive canyons along the mighty Fraser River away from the magnificent and awesome Rocky Mountains.
The advantage of being 5 hours late has been travelling in the daylight through the canyons west of Kamloops. Normally we would have missed this. It has meant seeing again what we saw on the way up to the Rockies. This time we were on a different track and could see things from a different perspective.
During our trip back we had dinner with Darlene and David from Saskatoon. A mother and son travelling to Vancouver for family celebrations. As we descended from the Rockies we talked about Canada and Australia, our similarities and differences and for a short time enjoyed our geographic togetherness.
The Rocky Mountain experience was an awesome, amazing, jaw dropping experience. Tired old words that struggle to describe the grandeur we have witnessed.
At Jasper Park Lodge we lived in a National Park and walked by the lake daily and gazed up to the mountains. On top of Whistlers Mountain is a little hut to where the Tramcar flies. http://www.jaspertramway.com/ You can a virtual tour at the website! The tramway was always visible sometime during the day, but not all the time as clouds passed by, the weather changed and on the last morning it snowed! The snow was great for two West Australian tourists but not for Lodge management wanting to open the golf course for summer.
The other wonderful experience at the lodge was swimming. A warm pool in front of the lodge provided a poolside seat to the mountains. An almost surreal experience!
We walked to breakfast through the snow on our last morning in Jasper (Thursday 8th). Throughout our stay we had had breakfast in our rooms with provisions purchased in town. On the last morning we celebrated a magnificent week in Jasper by dining in the Meadows room with Amy.
I have thought about my time in the Highlands of Scotland throughout my stay. The Scots we met quite rightly pointed out the Highlands were smaller. However, they both have place in my mind as places of awesome beauty that provide pleasure while intimidating at the same time. The message is something like play with us well and with care and you will be ok. Take risks at your peril.
And so it is farewell to the Rocky Mountains, farewell to my beautiful daughter for a few weeks and forward to Vancouver and Alaska and Victoria on Vancouver Island.
8.30 pm We have been in Vancouver for 7 hours and have 270 degree views from our hotel window of Vancouver. It is absolutely magnificent. We ate well at the Old Spaghetti House after hearing the Gastown clock strike 5 pm. http://www.gastown.org/ However, we are back in the city away from the rural Jasper and it feels so different.
Tomorrow a new adventure. Our cruise north. Tonight we have just witnessed a ship leaving the harbour destined for adventure. Tomorrow it is our turn.
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