Land of the giants

Was browsing through old pics and noticed a recurring theme. Every place we've visited seems to have a giant something or other to call its own. There's the giant mango in Bowen, the giant crab on the road to Cairns, the giant brolga at the entrance to Townsville, the giant banana in Mackay, the giant Ned Kelly in Glen Rowan and the giant galah in the middle of the Nullabor. What's with that, I wonder? Would make an interesting holiday (worthy of the Griswalds) to travel around Australia photographing every giant this or that you could find. I wonder if Darwin has a giant sea wasp? Or if Canberra has a giant politician? There you go! A giant Tony Abbott in his giant budgie smugglers! (ewwww)

Voyage of the Money Spenders

You've got to love Hollywood! This isn't a condemned sewerage plant, it's actually a section of castle battlements made at great expense for the Narnia blockbuster 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader'. It was plonked down on the Gold Coast while we were living there (right near the Dog Beach) because the producers liked the quality of light for filming. After sitting there for some months (we never actually saw them film anything), it suddenly disappeared and we heard it had been shipped off (again at great expense) to somewhere in California for another epic blockbuster. Makes you wonder if it was the light or the lifestyle they really came for? I know if I had millions of dollars to throw around, I'd be looking for the best light too. In Hawaii perhaps, or somewhere on the Mediterranean (plenty of good light there).

The art of lawn care

This image always plays with my head. It is either the aftermath of a serious disagreement with a ride-on mower, or some kind of statement about earth and sea or something. I don't know who the sculptor is. It was one of the exhibits at Strand Ephemera a few years back, an annual event where they plant works of art by the sea shore in all kinds of surprising places and people stroll along the Strand discovering them. It is my favourite event and on again in a few weeks. I don't know much about art, but I know what I like and I like this ... whatever the hell it is.

Off with his head

The last time I visited the local museum, there was an optical illusions exhibit. The illusion pictured reminds me of John the Baptist (Salome was a real cow, wasn't she?). The table actually has mirrors placed strategically between the legs, which reflect the floor and wall pattern, creating the illusion of a complete floor and wall behind and below the table. Quite a neat trick, I thought. All it needs is an apple in its mouth. Which reminds me, if you're looking for different dinner ideas, why not try the recipe below. Most of the ingredients should be readily available at your corner apothecary.

WHOLE STUFFED WILD BOAR'S HEAD

To sufficient boiling water to cover the boned head in a shallow pan (approximately 1/2 a gallon) add first:

1 dessertspoon salt
1/4 lb chopped shallots
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 dessertspoon ground pepper
1/4 lb chopped parsley
1 large pinch saltpetre (potassium nitrate)

Allow the water to cool completely before putting the head in it and then leave it to soak for two days. To stuff the head you will need:

2 or 3 good size truffles
1 lb beef suet
2 small shallots
salt
pepper
1/2 lb lean veal
1/2 lb fat mild bacon
2 eggs
mixed spice

Remove the pig's head from the pan, rinse it in cold water, drain it, dry it and put it on a board, top downwards. Now fill it with the stuffing interspersed with layers of the bacon cut in thin rashers and the sliced truffles.

Line a large casserole pan with bacon, onions and carrots, place the pig's head on top. Add thyme, bay leaf and garlic, then pour on wine and add cold water till the head is covered. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer gently for about 6 hours.

Serve with the head a sauce made as follows: Make a mayonnaise with 3 egg yolks and 2 wine glasses oil. To this add 2 dessertspoonfuls of fresh mustard and 1 of vinegar. When this is thoroughly blended, add 1/2 lb of stiff redcurrant jelly cut in little cubes and carefully and gently mix all together.

Flat out like a lizard drinking

My grandson in America was given a school project involving a character called Flat Stanley. This little flat fellow with the big grin was required to have an adventure and be photographed doing so. As his grandma lived down under, what better place to send him, so off to Australia he went. After being snapped in a number of exotic locales, Flat Stanley returned to America and my grandson presented his school report on the most well-travelled Flat Stanley in the class.

Ned's not dead

When we lived in Albury, we took a day trip to the town of Glenrowan, the stamping ground of the legendary Ned Kelly. As well as the obligatory tea house and souvenir store, there was a quaint little place which offered an animated reenactment of the famous Kelly showdown. We seemed to be the only tourists that day and were welcomed by a strange old bloke with a beaming smile. He sat us down in a darkened room and the show began. It consisted of a series of lifesize dummies in various poses, which, through the miracle of modern technology, had laser images of talking faces projected onto their heads. It was kind of eerie in a fly-blown sort of way. Then suddenly, half way through, the whole thing ground to a halt. The old bloke emerged from the shadows like the Wizard of Oz and started tinkering with what looked like a giant fuse box, all the while apologising profusely and swearing this never happened usually. We tried politely not to titter while we scuffed our feet and waited and waited. Eventually the show began again and ground to its creaking climax and we emerged back into the sunlight. I'm not sure what tourists would make of it, but then, the story of a guy with a bucket on his head is pretty bizarre to begin with, so they probably came away, as we did, feeling they had witnessed something uniquely Australian.

Attack of the killer figs

When we visited the Tablelands near Cairns, we saw this strange sight. It's called a curtain fig and it's not something you want to make friends with. The sign in the attached picture explains how a fig seed lands in the crown of a tree and then puts down aerial roots all the way to the ground. These roots then encircle and eventually strangle the host tree. The dead tree then falls onto a nearby tree, where it leans and the fig's roots develop into this curtain-like arrangement. Eventually the host tree rots away and the fig tree is left standing by itself. Does it feel remorse for its actions? No, it doesn't give a fig. It's curtains for anything that gets in its way. (sorry, no more puns).

A cloud over Sin City

Discovered something new on our last trip to Vegas. This awesome looking structure is called The Cloud. It is built above one of the world's biggest enclosed malls ... Fashion Show Mall, which boasts over 250 shops and restaurants. The Cloud floats about 20 storeys above the mall and is larger than a football field. It provides shade during the hot Vegas day and doubles as a mammoth projection screen at night. It is so big, I had to take a panorama of it to fit it all in. A stunning piece of architecture ... and where else but Vegas?

Paradise lost?

A top spot in a great part of the world ... the Picnic Bay jetty on Magnetic Island has a special place in the hearts of North Queenslanders.
Built in 1959, it was used by the ferry to bring tourists from the mainland. But when a new ferry terminal was built in Nelly Bay, the people all went away and Picnic Bay jetty was left to the fishermen and seagulls. It continued to provide a tranquil piece of paradise for the locals until it was badly damaged in cyclone Yasi and now it lies in ruins, with the government reluctant to spend the money on its repair. Would be a shame to see it go, as it sums up what Magnetic Island is all about ... kicking back and getting away from it all.

Deadly anniversary

Hard to believe it's been six months since cyclone Yasi bulldozed its way across North Queensland. Seems like yesterday we were emerging from our front door in the morning light and surveying the destruction all around. It was like walking onto a battle field after the fighting has passed. You could still hear the roar in the distance and the ground was littered with leaves, debris and severed tree limbs. It was the longest night of our lives (Yasi was about 100 kilometres wide and took some ten or twelve hours to fully pass over us) and we were the lucky ones. North of us in Innisfail and Cardwell, they are still rebuilding even now. Amazingly enough, the only casualty from cyclone Yasi was a young guy who died from asphxiation after running a generator indoors. That night was as close as I ever want to come to Mother Nature's destructive fury. We have resolved to get out early if there is ever a next time.

Grabbing a cab in Brisbane

We visited Brisbane before the floods and were really taken with this unique mode of transport. These little water taxis would chuff up and down the river, picking up and dropping off people at floating pontoons. When the flood came, all this was destroyed and has only recently been rebuilt. The new taxi ranks are still floating pontoons, but now they're state of the art (costing several million dollars each). If inundated by water, they actually lower rather than raise themselves, allowing the flood water to pass over them. When you look at the picture of Brisbane from the air, you can see why it is so flood prone. The river snakes throughout the city and surrounding suburbs and you can imagine it wouldn't take much of a rise in level to breach its banks. Melbourne has its trams and Brisbane has its water taxis. Great to see the tradition is being preserved.