Driving Down Under

I have learned to drive twice in my life. Once in my twenties and the second about a month ago. They both have had their challenges.

Of course every body knows that in Australia they drive on the left side of the road. The idea behind this dates back to the times when knights on horseback used their swords with their right hands and controlled the reins of the horse with their left. To partake of a really good sword fight you passed each other on your right sides (your sword side).

The vehicle we are driving while we are here is a Nissan Patrol. It's probably not any bigger than our van but it feels like a bus when you are getting used to it. It has an optional third row of seating which has worked out well with the kids. It's also a manual (standard). Yikes! Our old car was a manual but neither of us has driven one for a couple of years. It's one thing to drive on the opposite side of the road but another altogether to shift with your wrong hand! It's like your brain has to do a complete flip. And because our brains have flipped we also keep putting the wipers on instead of the turn signal. You may laugh but I dare any of you to try!


When we first were venturing out on the roads ourselves, Steve did all the driving. I stayed home all day while he was at work, just to avoid hurting myself or anybody else on the road. Finally I decided that I had to leave the safety of the house and get some fresh air. In order to be prepared I drove around the block about 4 or 5 times to get the feel of the vehicle. I ended up stalling the truck a few times and drove on the wrong side at least once. Thank goodness that there was nobody around!

When driving you have to contend with roundabouts. The trick is to always yield to the vehicle on the right. You don't have to stop and look, it's sort of like a glance, and if you see someone coming you stop and give them the right of way. There are arrows marked on the roads to indicate which lane you want to be in to turn left, right or go "straight across". A good way to think of it is this - if you pull your car up to the 6 on a clock and you want to turn right you have to go all the way around the clock (moving clockwise) past the 9 and the 12 and then get off at the 3. It's actually a lot easier than it sounds and traffic moves very smoothly. There are intersections with traffic lights as well but I'm becoming partial to the roundabouts. One of the things that we couldn't believe was that U-turns are completely legal, encouraged and lanes provided for them! We were surprised at that one.

To get where we want to go we have used Google maps which has been great. There is also the Melway. The Melway is a huge map book the size of a Vancouver phone book with maps of Melbourne and every suburb and street around it. It puts our little map books to shame. The signs are fabulous too. We head out the direction we think we want to go and just follow the signs. They're huge, green and white, and easy to read at 100km/hr. Even in the city there are signs directing you to schools, churches and shopping areas.

One of the biggest factors we have noticed about driving here is the lack of road rage. Nobody yells, gestures or honks their horns at you when you do something silly. It's quite amazing and it took us a few days and a few bad turns on the roundabouts to figure that out.

Each week that goes by we are becoming more comfortable with the driving concepts around here. I am starting to feel better about venturing into unknown territory and we are getting to know the lay of the land. I got lost a week or so ago but in doing so found a short cut to the shopping centre. There's a bright side to everything!

School Days

We have entered the third week of school in Australia for the girls. There have been relatively few incidents (other than falls, wasp stings and hurt feelings) so I consider the past 2 weeks a good accomplishment. The school is an easy 30 second walk down the street so I only drive on rainy days (hahahahhaha).

All school kids in Australia (public and private) wear uniforms to school. As a parent, I have to say that this is the best thing ever!! No arguments in the morning, no rushes to wear the right shirt with the right skirt. It's good old brown and gold! Yep - brown with a bright yellow polo shirt or the plaid brown dress. At first they sound horrific, but honestly, when you go to the school and find a wave of kids all wearing the same colors, it's not so bad. In term 1 (Jan - Mar) and 4 ( Oct - Dec) a hat is a requirement. The sun is incredibly hot during these summer months so if you are caught NOT wearing a hat outside you are sent to sit in the shade. I walk to the school to pick up the girls and every child is wearing a hat. It's funny to see.

The uniforms

The school is made up of a bunch of buildings on one lot. The office and some classrooms are in one building. The toilets (that's Aussie speak for bathrooms) are in another building. The gym is separated from all the other buildings and then there are 2 rows of portables. There are 3 separate playgrounds which a trusty source (thanks Kennedy) told me are separated for different age groups. All the buildings are centered around the basketball courts, which is huge with the kids at the school. During sports (PE) they are also used for cricket. Kindergarten, which they call Prep, is an all day thing here so Rhiannon goes to school from 9 til 3:30 with the other girls.

The girls all love their teachers. I have met them all and I can honestly say that they are really nice. Alex's teacher Miss Rickard is a total "ice" hockey fanatic. She cheers for the Oilers and the Phlegms, er, Flames. That was an interesting conversation. We set her straight. Kennedy's teacher, Miss Marshall is young and hip and has a bright red streak down one side of her otherwise dark hair. Rhiannon's teacher, Mrs Attard is fun and down to earth. She has the patience of a saint and always has a smille on her face.

Rhiannon with Mrs. Attard

What I find interesting is that there are different teachers for all the subjects outside the basic curricuulum. Frau May teaches them German, Miss Nells teaches them sports and Mrs. Johnson teaches them art. Can you imagine the budget that goes into that! I don't think that would be possible in a Canadian elementary school.

The first day of school was a tough one. Alex was tearful, which of course made it really difficult for her mother to keep a dry eye. Her teacher was fabulous and just took her by the hand and said "I'll look after her". She has met some new friends, so things are a little easier now. She has taken to talking with an accent though. I don't have the heart to tell her that she sounds more British than Aussie. Kennedy, in her typical fashion, had a best friend 5 minutes after we got to the school and they have been inseparable ever since. Now we are trying to map out play dates, birthday parties and overseas visits (ha!). Rhiannon goes about her day also with her typical attitude. She remembers nobody's name, has no clue what she did all day but when I ask, has had the best day ever!

I wasn't really worried about the school thing when we got here. I figured that once the girls had a routine they would feel more settled. It seems like they have settled in nicely, the other kids like talking to them so that they can hear the girls accents. They are getting tired of explaining that they are not American though. All in all it has been an easy transition. The school, teachers, and kids are all great. They have made the change easy for the girls. I think that they will remember this forever and, I hope, have some good friends for that long too.

At the school. Kennedy's classroom is behind the girls.

The car in the photo is parked at the school. I'm standing in our driveway. could it get any better?

We Can Smell the Smoke

This morning when we the girls and I walked out the front door to go to school we could smell the smoke. It was 8:45 am and the wind was blowing from the northeast. The girls asked why they could smell smoke and I told them it was from the bushfires. They responded with an understanding "oh" and walked the rest of the way silently. Even at their ages they understand the signifigance of the fires.



Wine region north of Healesville (above)




Talk about the fires is everywhere. Why do people stay? Why wouldn't they leave? Everybody seems to have a connection to somebody who was affected. Even us. Why did so many people die in such a senseless manner. I think you need to be here to understand the full scope of things.

Last Friday evening we went for a drive up the Maroondah Highway. We drove for about 90 minutes through some beautiful areas. One of the small "highways" we drove on was so windy I thought I was going to get sick. The area was beautiful, trees hanging over the road, trimmed just enough to let a vehicle pass. On one side of the road the steep embankement seemed to go down forever. I was watching carefully to make sure Steve kept the truck far enough from the edge that I wouldn't have to grab the
wheel from him. We laughed as we saw a sign saying how many kilometres it was to get to the town of Alexandra. We saw signs stating the distance to small palces like Kinglake and Marysville. We drove through Healesville and stopped to get some fish and chips for dinner.

Kennedy in Healesville (below)

Saturday night Healesville, despite also being touched by fire, had become a refuge for people fleeing from their homes. Places like Kinglake and Marysville have been completely wiped out, families perishing. The town of Alexandra is under the threat of fire. People on the news are describing it as an apocolypse. Seeing the footage on the news, I have to agree.

Australia has a law that states you may "stay and defend or flee" when under the threat of bushfire. In reading the newspaper it is apparent that many stayed to defend their homes. It is easy to say that you would leave at the first whiff of smoke but if your home was something you had spent 50 years in and built it up to your "dream home" you may think differently. I think none of us may judge without being in the situation. Many stayed to defend their homes with water pumps, garden hoses, mops and buckets. Some were successful, many were not.

The country eleventh year of a drought. This means that any vegetation in the area is dry beyond belief. The grass in our yard is yellow and doesn't appear to grow at all. The temperature that day had reached an all time high of 46C. Nature's paracites have weakened a lot of the trees, which combined with winds that reached up to 120km/hr create blockades on the roads making them impossible to drive. Driving when under the duress of fleeing your home in a panic makes for a deadly combination. The fire was moving at a speed of 120km/hr. Embers, burning leaves and branches were being thrown up to 15km in front of the main fire. Eucalyptus trees have oil in them that ignites easily. It all adds up to devastation.

Alex and Rhiannon in Healesville

We have learned, over the last few days, the national pride that exudes from this country. This evening the amount of money donated to help the victims had exceeded 60 million dollars. Tonight there was the Victorian Bushfire Appeal, a fund raiser involving many celebrities to raise even more money. It is incredible to watch how people can come together in a time of crisis. I think we can learn something from this, as we did after 9/11. Let's not take things for granted. Tell people you love them. Hug your kids every day.

The heat, ohhhh, the heat....

As many of you are aware, Melbourne has been under a huge heat wave. Yesterday (our yesterday, being Saturday February 7) the temperature was the hottest it has ever been since 1855 when they started to keep records on this kind of thing. The temperature topped off at a balmy 46.4C at 3:05pm. YIKES! I honestly was tempted to go outside to see how long it would take an egg to cook on the sidewalk. But I didn't. I didn't want to find out how long it would take for me to cook. Those of you that know me, also know how well I tan in the summer - not!

In the heat you try to find ways to cool off that don't require a lot of energy. Electric or body. Last week the girls and I walked to the public library and sat inside and read books for about an hour just to escape the heat. Yesterday we had to go to the bank to open an account. This took over an hour, but we didn't care because the heat when you walked out the door was absolutely suffocating! Many of you have said that you would gladly trade some of your snow for this heat - hahahahahaha. I think not! don't get me wrong, I love the snow. At least when it hits -25C you can put a coat on and go outside. When it hits +45 the only thing I can do is strip naked when I go outside. And really, who needs to see that?

We found another great way to cool off in the heat. Tom's mom (Elizabeth) told us about Lillydale Lake (thanks!). It is about a 5 minute drive from here and has been a saving grace on the hot days. Each time we have been there we have had the water to ourselves. Except, of course, for Mark and Angie who 5 minutes after we met them, invited us to their house for a barbeque. Crazy place, this!

The first day we went we were not prepared to swim. When it hits 45, does anybody care? The whole family went in, clothes and all. And it was fabulous!!!

The water is a little murky but really warm. The beach is sandy and fabulous. The lake is man made and our family would like to thank those men.

Phillips Island

On Saturday January 31 we headed out on our first Aussie road trip. We headed south to Phillips Island to witness the Penguin Parade. It was about a 90 minute drive on a somewhat complicated highway system. The scenery was beautiful, pretty much what I expected of the country. A lot of vast expanse with a few trees thrown in. It was so different from the lush trees that we are used to seeing around BC. We also saw "kangaroo crossing" and "watch for koalas at night" signs. Don't see many of those in BC either.

Our first stop on Phillips Island was at The Nobbies. This really is the name! It is a group of very large rocks at the tip of Phillips Island where the seals fish. Apparently the men who fish here are generally washed off the rocks, never to be seen again. We saw some huge waves but of course once I got the camera out I never saw another.

Our next stop was at the beach at Cowes Bay. We didn't see any friendly bovines but we saw a lot of seagulls, which are just as bad for begging for food this side of the equator as the last time we were at Stanley Park. We also found a couple of these on the beach:

We picked up some fish and chips (or at least I ate fish) and ate our dinner on the beach. The girls spent most of their time in the water while diligently keeping an eye out for any sharks that may decide they're hungry. We didn't have the heart to tell them that sharks are rare this side of Australia. They like the food around Sydney better.

Finally it was time to head off to the Penguin Parade. This was the whole point of the trip although if you asked the girls the beach would be their high point. The Penguin Parade happens at dusk every night. It is the time when the penguins (known as "little penguins" as they are only 30 cm tall) come home after a day of fishing to feed their babies. They come out of the water, across the beach and climb up a huge steep hill to their burrows. What I find fascinating is that they live in holes in the hills (how many of you knew that?!) and that they can actually climb the hills with their short, almost non-existant legs. Once they find their babies, they kindly regurgitate the food so that the babies can eat. A funny sight is to see the babies chasing the adults across the ground trying to get food. The babies do not recognize their parents so they will chase any adult trying to get fed. The adults do recognize their babies and will only feed their own.

These photos were actually taken at The Nobbies. You are not allowed to take pictures with a flash at the dusk parade. The flash blinds the penguins and who needs to see a blind penguin with a white cane. It's hard enough climbing the hill on those short legs!

We didn't get home until midnight after our day out but everybody was happy. We only took one wrong turn on the way back. Not bad for a couple of newbies I'd say!

Phillips Island

On Saturday Jan. 31 we went on our first Aussie road trip. We headed south to Phillips Island with the main goal of watching the penguin parade. The trip there was interesting in itself, especially with all the scenery along the way. The picture at the right is pretty typical of what we saw along the way. There were no lush forests or huge clumps of trees like you typically see in BC. It was about 90 minutes of this with a few "watch for koalas at night" and "kangaroo crossing" signs along the way. I've never seen those in BC either.