The Tarkine is an area of temperate forest in far north-west Tasmania. It is that largest area of wilderness of its kind left in Australia.
There have been discussions about roads being built through this unique piece of Tasmanian beauty, and I don't know the full story. However, some good friends and family of mine have been on several trips into the Tarkine area, and are quite sure that a road through it would spoil its unnecessarily. They have apparently turned my house into a campaign headquarters with a busy hive of activity taking place to get an action plan into place! There has been an article in the Mercury today, letters to the editor, maps made (thanks Tim), and a commercial produced for TV and YouTube. Many people have donated (and will no doubt continue to) time, energy, skills and money to get this campaign into action in a very short time!
I wish I was there to throw in my weight, but in the mean time, I'm sending hard working vibes to everyone at home! Lets do something smart - save the Tarkine!
When I get home and see Mum's no doubt spectacular and very recent photos of the Tarkine I'll try to add some.
Thursday, December 11
Tuesday, December 2
Engaged in the Whitsundays!
I am no longer in the Whitsundays, however, Tim and I are engaged!
We had a wonderful couple of days there - relaxing, swimming, eating icecream and so on. We did a couple of tours/organised trips which were heaps of fun. We went 95km out to Knuckle Reef, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef. There is a permanent pontoon there with waterslide, snorkelling gear, glass bottom and semi-submersible boats. We got a good look at some pretty fish, coral and I even spotted a squid swimming around not far below me.
The other trip we did was on a maxi yacht (80ft): Maxi Ragamuffin, a Sydney to Hobart three-time winner! We sailed to Whitehaven beach on Whitsunday Island for a picnic (along with the rest of the paying guests on board).
When we arrived, Tim and I went for a little stroll before lunch. Right at one end of the beach, and all of a sudden, Tim was on one knee before me and I think I just about said 'yes' before he finished asking! Of course, the question he asked, was whether I would marry him!
So then it was lunch, a play in the water in oh so glamorous stinger suits and the sail back on the boat which were all a bit floaty! Back on board they gave us one of those 1 serve bottles of champagne 'on the house(boat)' to celebrate!
We had a wonderful couple of days there - relaxing, swimming, eating icecream and so on. We did a couple of tours/organised trips which were heaps of fun. We went 95km out to Knuckle Reef, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef. There is a permanent pontoon there with waterslide, snorkelling gear, glass bottom and semi-submersible boats. We got a good look at some pretty fish, coral and I even spotted a squid swimming around not far below me.
The other trip we did was on a maxi yacht (80ft): Maxi Ragamuffin, a Sydney to Hobart three-time winner! We sailed to Whitehaven beach on Whitsunday Island for a picnic (along with the rest of the paying guests on board).
When we arrived, Tim and I went for a little stroll before lunch. Right at one end of the beach, and all of a sudden, Tim was on one knee before me and I think I just about said 'yes' before he finished asking! Of course, the question he asked, was whether I would marry him!
So then it was lunch, a play in the water in oh so glamorous stinger suits and the sail back on the boat which were all a bit floaty! Back on board they gave us one of those 1 serve bottles of champagne 'on the house(boat)' to celebrate!
The ring was designed by the lovely and clever Timmy! The blue stones are Tanzanite, and the green one is Tsavorite - both found only in Africa, the Tanzanite, naturally is from Tanzania. This of course, is very fitting and well chosen considering my family history of Africa and Tanzania in particular!
Hurrah!
Hurrah!Friday, October 24
Writing from Flinders!
There were 5 girls and a van
To Flinders they went with a plan
They travelled the land
Walked on the sand
And gave the locals some bags
The van!
The bags!
What could be better – a week of normal uni, or travelling a beautiful island, meeting people and talking about what we do? After a week of the latter, I know my choice! Flinders Island is a beautiful island – there are many picturesque bays, inlets, lagoons, and beaches, all with the ‘East Coast’ orange lichen on the rocks and light blue-green water. Although I very much enjoyed trying to capture these sights with a camera, there is much more to Flinders than the landscape. We have been privileged to meet ‘locals’ along the way who have given us a glimpse of ‘island life’. There are some aspects that are just like anywhere – there is good internet, people watch TV, listen to the radio and mow their lawns. Other parts are what you make of it – you can live in your own kingdom, visiting town once a month, and enjoying your own company, you can retire to a fabulous house, entertaining guests regularly, and getting groceries every week, or you can run the shop. In this particular rural community, people are friendly, everyone knows everyone, and kids and dogs are safe to roam. I enjoyed the sense of community – by show day I could bump into a handful of people and say hi, and easily chat to others I hadn’t met. I could even pick out some of the prize-winning artists, sculptors and chutney makers as kids we’d met and ladies we’d Scottish Danced with! For me, the trip was a success – we shared our interest in rural health, we met some real rurals, we climbed a mountain and we patted not one but two wombats.
Arne and I
Coffee with Arne
Beach on the track to Arne's place
Dolce the wombat - about 2 years old
Dolce sleeping
From part way up Strzlecki. There was only a view of cloud from the top!
Delicious scones at Cape Barron Primary School
Another person on the island also has baby wombats to look after - very cuddly!
Playing on the rocks at Wybalenna
Flinders Show - local! (The chap in the purple shirt was part of Circus Infurneaux who performed at the show)
To Flinders they went with a plan
They travelled the land
Walked on the sand
And gave the locals some bags
The van!
The bags!What could be better – a week of normal uni, or travelling a beautiful island, meeting people and talking about what we do? After a week of the latter, I know my choice! Flinders Island is a beautiful island – there are many picturesque bays, inlets, lagoons, and beaches, all with the ‘East Coast’ orange lichen on the rocks and light blue-green water. Although I very much enjoyed trying to capture these sights with a camera, there is much more to Flinders than the landscape. We have been privileged to meet ‘locals’ along the way who have given us a glimpse of ‘island life’. There are some aspects that are just like anywhere – there is good internet, people watch TV, listen to the radio and mow their lawns. Other parts are what you make of it – you can live in your own kingdom, visiting town once a month, and enjoying your own company, you can retire to a fabulous house, entertaining guests regularly, and getting groceries every week, or you can run the shop. In this particular rural community, people are friendly, everyone knows everyone, and kids and dogs are safe to roam. I enjoyed the sense of community – by show day I could bump into a handful of people and say hi, and easily chat to others I hadn’t met. I could even pick out some of the prize-winning artists, sculptors and chutney makers as kids we’d met and ladies we’d Scottish Danced with! For me, the trip was a success – we shared our interest in rural health, we met some real rurals, we climbed a mountain and we patted not one but two wombats.
Arne and ICoffee with ArneBeach on the track to Arne's placeDolce the wombat - about 2 years oldDolce sleepingFrom part way up Strzlecki. There was only a view of cloud from the top!Delicious scones at Cape Barron Primary SchoolAnother person on the island also has baby wombats to look after - very cuddly!Playing on the rocks at WybalennaFlinders Show - local! (The chap in the purple shirt was part of Circus Infurneaux who performed at the show)Sunday, October 12
Another Adventure!
It has come to another one of those weeks when I am like my little profile says - I am a student but I try not to only study. (Perhaps it should really say, that I am a student and occasionally I try to study.)
Anyway I'm off to Flinders Island this afternoon for a week. I'm going with a couple of other medical students, but not actually as part of my course. We are visiting the school and the ag show, Cape Barren Island and probably the health centre. It will be fun to see some of the place, see some 'rural life/health' and, most likely to force myself to survive with limited telecommunications capabilities for a week!
Hopefully I'll have some good photos when I'm back, as well as being a week closer to the looming exams. If the weather stays as nice as it is in Launceston now, it'll be fantastic - although it may well be a bit cooler if weatherzone.com is to be trusted. The only shame is that I'm not around to write a good blogpost for the Blog Action Day competition - with great prizes and for an even better cause!
Anyway I'm off to Flinders Island this afternoon for a week. I'm going with a couple of other medical students, but not actually as part of my course. We are visiting the school and the ag show, Cape Barren Island and probably the health centre. It will be fun to see some of the place, see some 'rural life/health' and, most likely to force myself to survive with limited telecommunications capabilities for a week!
Hopefully I'll have some good photos when I'm back, as well as being a week closer to the looming exams. If the weather stays as nice as it is in Launceston now, it'll be fantastic - although it may well be a bit cooler if weatherzone.com is to be trusted. The only shame is that I'm not around to write a good blogpost for the Blog Action Day competition - with great prizes and for an even better cause!
Monday, October 6
Stand Up
I was looking around for something to show at church in a few weeks for 'Stand Up' - a potentially world record breaking event counting people all over the world who will STAND UP to support Make Poverty History and keeping to the Millenium Development Goals. There's lots of youtube clips made for the cause so I thought I'd add a couple here!
If you feel like it, it is easy to register a 'Stand Up' event on the Make Poverty History Website - all you need to do is register, then have an event and count how many people stand up. There are resources for how to run an event (not ecessarily a churchy thing...!)
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