Adventure

Breathing Room

One nice thing about autumn is the waning daylight hours. While I may very well regret the lack of sunlight in the coming months, at present I am relishing it. The darkness of night forces us to quit working outdoors and settle in for the evening, allowing us to eat dinner at a reasonable time and get some much needed paperwork (and blogging!) done before bed.

Fortunately along with the reduction in daylight hours comes a reduction in duties, or at least that’s the idea. With as many animals as we have our work is never done, but the weeds have slowed down and we’re no longer planting new crops so we have a little more space to breathe. The farmer’s market season has ended and we’re in the home stretch of our CSA, with only three weeks left. At the end of October Sam will be leaving the farm, and Andrew and I will be back to the drawing board, coming up with new ideas for next year while we keep our little wood burning stove alight.

This season was quite a whirlwind. Some random highlights include:

* The switch in seasons as marked by the transition from horrible buzzing mosquitoes to horrible buzzing cluster flies (it turns out our home built house is NOT air tight. Surprise surprise.) I (along with the many spiders in the house) have become an insect serial killer
* Making homemade kombucha, water kefir, sauerkraut, mead, tomato sauce, jam, pickles, dilly beans, picked beets, chicken stock, salsa, preserved lemons, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, noccino, and shrub (to name a few!)
* An (unsuccessful but fun!) overnight trip into the mountains to try and see the Aurora Borealis
* Farm yoga sessions with our friends at a neighboring farm
* Three hours spent chasing our brand new ewe who escaped into the “wilds” of 100 or so farm acres
* One edible trout we finally caught in our “backyard” river
* ~600 broiler chickens successfully slaughtered at the farm by us and an army of volunteers
* Zero major injuries, despite Andrew’s repeated attempts to ride “piggy back”

With the craziness of another farm season under our belts comes some powerful lessons. We have learned that there is way too much going on for just the two of us, and even with Sam’s help we were often overwhelmed. We’re going to have to figure out how to make our vision sustainable for the long haul, especially if we plan on raising a family some day. Additionally, owning our own business has been a lesson in fiscal responsibility and management. Next year I will need to invest in some software to help me better track our accounts. Stashing crumpled receipts in our Carhartt pockets or the truck dashboard to be added to Excel spreadsheets later is probably typical behavior for farmers, but not so great for business owners!

Unfortunately this season I have been struggling with a general lack of energy, likely caused by a combination of stress, irregular eating habits, and an underlying blood sugar issue. It’s a difficult dilemma, because work on a farm is truly never done. When the sun sets I spend much of my evening writing emails and catching up on paperwork, when mostly I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for twelve hours. This is part of why I have been so bad about updating this blog! We knew going into this that this farm gig wasn’t just a job, but a lifestyle. We are so lucky to have found something we’re passionate about, and I would never complain about our (chosen!) circumstances. It is important to be honest though, and admit that there are times I feel a real apprehension about this life. I have met many farmers who feel chained to their land/animals/crops, and never seem to find time to take a break. This is not how we feel yet, although with our growing animal herds it may prove harder and harder to find a good “farm sitter.”

My solution to that problem is to take a vacation this month while Andrew and Sam hold down the fort! Next week I’ll be visiting my sister in Maine, and get to meet my baby niece Juniper for the first time! My dad, uncle, and spouses will also be there so it will be a wonderful mini reunion. I’m looking forward to some time away, where I can rejuvenate my body and soul (and take hot showers on the daily!).

The cows in the mist
32 bunches of dahlias ready for delivery!
Winter squash is now being harvested and sent out in our CSA boxes
The pigs have moved into a new pen again, and are growing so much. Soon enough we’ll have bacon sizzling in our pan once again!
We grew lots of peppers really well this year, with the help of a plastic tunnel and abundant sunshine
Nova and Io are still the cutest goats on the block
This one wins the cutest farmer title though
Turkeys have been such a challenge this year. I’m thinking we may switch to hardier heritage birds next season.
Misty mornings are the norm this time of year
Mmmm shrub!!
Andrew emerges from his cocoon…
My Aussie cousin Larry came to visit for a few days and helped with the chicken harvest!
Just another glorious farm sunset

Remember Me?

A few weeks ago the first of the Canada Geese returned to our valley, heralding summer’s end. If that wasn’t enough to convince me of how short our seasons are here, a lone (and possibly lost) trumpeter swan flew overhead yesterday, and the reality of the approaching winter began to sink in.

This summer has been an absolute whirlwind, which I am sure comes as no surprise to my readers since I have been radio silent for quite a while. I’m sorry! At the end of the day I can barely keep my eyelids open long enough to shovel forkfuls of dinner into my mouth before collapsing into bed, and I haven’t had the time or energy to spend on my writing. I will do my best to catch you all up to speed!

Last week was our third chicken harvest of the season. While the work is hard and time-consuming, we have dialed in our procedures and have plenty of interested volunteers who help make things go smoothly. Selling birds has never been a problem, and we are always so encouraged by our amazing customers who are committed to supporting us and the way we raise our meat. Where we live there aren’t very many options for pastured, ethically raised meat, and so we have really tapped into a niche. We consider ourselves very fortunate that this is a niche we are extremely passionate about!

In that regard we have started to expand our menagerie, and have added a couple of sheep to our farm. They are Katahdin hair sheep, which means we don’t have to worry about shearing them because they shed their hair like dogs. We have two ewes (Rosemary and Blossom), and a ram (Rambo, aka Beau, aka Cephus…we’re still working on that one!). We hope to buy a few more before the season is over so we can have lambs in time for Easter. The goats continue to alternately entertain and frustrate us with their hilarious antics. The hilarity rapidly turns to irritation when they escape and won’t go back in their pen, or when they completely destroy the nice tarp they had for a roof on their house. With the amount of time Andrew spends wrangling goats, they have yet to be proven as an economically sound investment. They definitely keep us on our toes, and that’s got to be worth something!

The pigs have grown immense in a short amount a time, a function of having free access to high-quality feed. They are such wonderful creatures, and delight in the small pleasures: a fresh bucket of bendy cucumbers, a wheelbarrow of ginormous zucchinis. They come running when I call them while snorting in excitement, much to the delight of visiting customers and friends. Our turkeys are also growing quickly, and while rearing them to this stage has been a difficult and often painful process, I am so incredibly enamored with them. We had many losses when they were just little babies, since they have a habit of smothering each other at night. Now they are out in pens on sawdust, and are eager to get onto pasture where they can eat their fill of greens and grubs. This week we plan on building them a safe brooding house for nighttime, and will set up a netted fence for them to roam within during the day. In the meantime I can often be found clipping clover and dandelion greens for my chirpy little “goobers.”

This season we have added a farmer’s market to the mix, and it’s definitely a unique experience. I had prior “booth” type experience at my last job, but it’s a very different thing to sell produce I grew with my own two hands. Farmer’s markets also attract a wide array of people, and I find myself having really interesting conversations. One thing I’ve noticed is that some people really just love to unload, vent, or otherwise air their dirty laundry onto poor unsuspecting farmers, and I’m starting to feel like a bartender! I know all about certain people’s ailments, car accidents, divorce battles, and the like…it makes me feel grateful for my own joyful life and good health. The best part of the market is getting to know my “regulars,” including a sweet gentleman who calls himself “Orca Man,” pushes his mother’s wheelchair everywhere, and always pays in $100 bills. There’s a guy who always wears a kilt, countless old ladies in elaborate hats and scarves, curious children, and health-conscious gym rats. There’s bicyclists, motorcyclists, home-gardeners, and housewives. In other words, the market is full of diversity and I always come home richer for the experience, even if the cash box doesn’t feel much heavier!

As the season marches on, Andrew and I continue to plot our next move. It’s hard to make plans when so much of what we are doing is tenuous. We’d like to expand our meat operation, but without reliable running water or electricity we are in a tough place. (Side note: Our shallow well ran dry this summer…again! Eric, the landowner, recently had a real well put in, but the water coming out of it is pretty unpleasant). Also since we’re in a flood plain, having breeding stock of certain animals (like pigs) becomes a big challenge. We can’t imagine ever having the funds to buy our own place with adequate acreage, and we have fallen in love with the valley we now call home. Fortunately for us we are adaptable and creative, so I’m confident things will fall into place.

Change is definitely afoot down here at the farm, and you may have noticed some blog changes too. In addition to some layout updates, at the bottom of the page (keep scrolling!) you’ll find links to both our farm website and Agrilicious!, a free service that connects you with local farmers. I anticipate some small financial benefit to adding this link (perhaps an upgraded membership on their website), but I am truly passionate about helping each and every one of you find amazing, local produce. If everyone endeavors to support local agriculture in some small way, we may be able to heal our broken food economy and nurture the land back to health while we’re at it.

Back on the farm the turning seasons are bringing afternoon winds that carry a weight larger than that of Old Man Winter. There’s a stirring in my bones, and a sense that big things are on the horizon for us. I am not sure what these big things are (no Mom, I’m NOT pregnant!!!), but I’ll be sure to keep you appraised as our story unfolds before us.

** Click the link below for a random video of Andrew being interviewed for the news!**

No cock-a-doodle-doo here? County weighs expanding animal nuisance zone

 

Western Washington is so unbelievably gorgeous!
Hey Look! A WATERMELON!!
We managed to sneak away for a few days for vacation in Oregon with Andrew’s family. This was the most I exerted myself for a couple days!
Heirloom tomatoes rock my socks.
Hot air balloon magic
We are selling gren beans and other produce to a new local restaurant!
Grease Monkey!
Pepper time!
More hot air balloon magic!
Isn’t he a cutie pie?
A girl and her cat
Summer veg!
Golden beets
Dahlias are amazing
Galaxy among the clover

A Season of Growth

Two years ago Andrew and I were wed in a campground in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. We did not know what our future looked like, but it involved togetherness: on that front we were certain. A few months after we married I lost my job and we decided to travel across the US, exploring the great outdoors as we went. That trip was what started this blog, so I could share our experiences with friends and family (and for posterity, since I have a horrible memory). After our trip ended we decided to find fulfilling work outdoors, away from office cubicles and fluorescent lights. We landed on a farm in Snohomish, Washington, and after a (mostly!) successful season of farming I am happy to announce we have started our own business!

Obviously this has been quite a remarkable two years. What started out as an exciting adventure has become more than a job, it is a way of life. I have developed into someone I might not have recognized just a few years back. Or rather I have nurtured those parts of myself that were submerged, struggling under the overwhelming influence of commercialism. I shopped too much, I bought expensive makeup, I flittered my money away on things in an attempt to fulfill myself. I know it’s a cheesy troupe, but indeed it seems true that you can’t buy happiness. If I extrapolate my experience onto our society at large, I sense a great emptiness that we are trying to fill with junk. I suspect the lack of interpersonal connections that comes from cubicle culture and digital communication share some of the blame.

In this day, electronic gadgets are more highly valued than healthy foods, which of course I notice much more now that I am growing said food. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1950 a whopping 29.7% of total expenditures was on food. In 2012 this number landed at 12.8%. Of course there are many complicated factors which go into a statistic like this, but I have no doubt that the availability of cheaply made, mass-manufactured “food” products and the prevalence of cheap, unethically raised meats, eggs, and dairy are a huge part of the equation. People now balk at spending considerable money on food, although to my mind what could be more important than that which nourishes you and keeps you healthy? If we spent more money on nutritious vegetables, I bet we’d spend less on those ubiquitous pills!

In any case, where I once felt a need to acquire, I now put off going to the store and spending time and money when I could be/should be out weeding my beets. And maybe that’s really the crux of it after all: maybe when you’re farming (or otherwise working with your hands), you’re so busy and you get so tired from working hard that you just don’t have the time or energy for consumerism. It also doesn’t hurt that I have very little occasion to wear nice things. Either way, it’s a good thing because at this point I wouldn’t have the funds to support my old habits anyway! At the end of the day I feel more fulfilled than ever before, and I think a big part of it comes from living more in the moment, being outside in nature every day, and (honestly!) not having a television.

Okay I realize most people check in here to read about life on the farm, not about my personal hippie revelations, so let’s get back to it! This spring we had NINE new baby goats come into this world. We had two sets of twins and a set of triplets all born within a few days of one another in early March. And then a month later…my little darling Gretchen kidded a set of twins too! Her twins are special: not only are they like my grandkids (heh!) they’re genetically unique. They are 75% Kiko and 25% Boer, and because of this they look different too. The little girl is all white with one brown spot near her ear, and her bigger brother is all brown with a little white patch on his forehead. They are extremely adorable and love to be scratched, just like their momma. Gretchen is a great mom too, which is a relief since this was her first time kidding.

With spring came the rains, or rather, the rains stayed, and we had the wettest March on record with 6.65” of precipitation. This was about double the average, and boy did we feel it. The farm developed a few new “lakes” in some of the pastures, and our road was impassable for a couple of days. We were anxious to work the ground, but when nature has other plans, on the farm you must be patient. Now we’re well into April and the weather is doing the fun Washington spring thing, where one day it’s so sunny and warm you’re in a tank top and the next day there is a hailstorm. Thankfully we have had plenty of time to get things growing, and we’ve got quite a variety of plants in the ground and in the greenhouse.

Which brings me to our new business! This year we have decided (with the help of Eric, the owner of Chinook Farms) to develop our own company: Bright Ide Acres! We are doing basically the same things as last season, but in a larger capacity and with more independence. Our CSA membership will be capped at around 40 boxes, and we will be attending a Sunday farmer’s market in Snohomish. We also expanded our animal operation significantly. Our animal counts for the season (not including goats) will be: 20 pigs, 600 broilers, and 100 turkeys! We still have a relatively small egg laying flock, which is unfortunate because demand is outpacing supply. In other words, things are going great for us and we’re actually expecting to make minimum wage this season. Hooray! You can visit our farm website here: www.brightideacres.com. I have a mini farm blog there too, but if you want a good fix of farm photos you should like our page on facebook: www.facebook.com/brightideacres. I’m obsessive about taking and posting farm photos, especially this time of year when all the animals are young and adorable.

That’s been our spring, in a nutshell. We are chugging away, getting things ready for the crazy, busy year ahead. Farming can be fairly stressful at times, and I often have anxiety about the upcoming season. But in those moments I take a deep breath, sniff a calming blend of essential oils I keep handy, and stick my nose back in those beets. When things get overwhelming, there is no better way to come back to the moment at hand than by sticking your fingers (and toes!) in the dirt for a while.

Brooding chicks without electricity is a challenge. Andrew came up with a great propane system that is working really well.
Fuzzball!!
The “great flood” of 2014! This is our road into the farm. It only looked like this for a day though.
Goat kid minutes after birth
Aren’t they adorable?
Yay! Chicks love fresh greens too!
They don’t like dandelions, which is a real shame. We have billions.
This year we used an implement called a water wheel planter to get our brassicas in the ground. It’s a real time saver, but we still have to go back and fill in the holes.
Yeah…we’re legit.
Grease the “feral barn cat” has turned out to be the cuddliest, most affectionate cat I’ve ever known. Sometimes he even wraps his paws around my face.
We had the pleasure of dog sitting Oma for a week. She is bascially Zephyr’s girlfriend, and they have so much fun together.
We went from 5 pigs to 20. Wish us luck!!!
My two newest babies, with momma Gretchen walking up. Name ideas?
Andrew’s grandparents came to visit in their RV for a week. We had a blast, and Garry worked really hard. Work hard, nap hard!
The beavers have been busy this spring too!
Our tomato forest in the greenhouse is looking good!

The Best Vacation Ever Part 3: Eastern Australia (Part 3!)

We’ve been back on the farm for almost two months now, so it’s probably time for my final post about our Australian vacation extravaganza so I can start filling you in about what’s been going on around here (goat babies, for one!).

After our misadventure in the rainforest, we headed back down to the quiet town of Yepoon to stay in the same caravan park from our trip up the coast. Our gregarious host Murray was kind enough to show us a giant carpet python he had captured when a neighbor called and asked for his help. Apparently he is known as the guy you call when giant snakes are in your yard and he will come pick them up and relocate them away from residences. Pretty great! We had our own little Steve Irwin moment there in Yepoon, and I got to watch the flying foxes, rainbow lorikeets, and red-tailed black cockatoos again too!

The next morning we spent some time in the tiny town at a shop that was 1/3 coffee shop, 1/3 clothing shop, and 1/3 nautical themed home décor. Obviously I loved it. We idled for a long while, sitting at a long bar with giant windows overlooking the ocean. We sipped our lattes and read trashy Aussie magazines, and I was discouraged to find that the majority of the characters in said magazines were of the Kardashian variety…I guess horrible American pop culture is inescapable.

Our next stop on this journey was Bundaberg (Bundy), which is known for it’s sugarcane crop and namesake rum. The logo on a bottle of Bundaberg rum is a polar bear, which makes little sense considering the location is downright tropical. Apparently the rum is potent juice, and many bars in Eastern Australia have banned it because it encourages “rowdy” behavior. I was under the impression that this is just a side effect of alcohol in general, but I guess I’ll have to take their word for it. After all, we didn’t go to Bundy for the booze…we went for the sea turtles!

Mon Repos turtle rookery is a natural nesting site on the coast near Bundaberg, and for once the season was in our favor. Sea turtles only lay eggs between November and February, and the eggs hatch about 6 weeks later. We bought tickets to the sanctuary and had to wait with tons of other people for the sun to set before we could head out onto the beach in small groups. We were in the last group, and we had heard that groups before us had all seen baby turtles emerge and scurry towards the ocean. Baby turtles use the moonlight reflecting off the ocean to guide them, and light pollution from cities is a real concern. Flashlights were prohibited on the beach for this reason, and we stumbled behind our quick-footed guides as we hustled down the beach to an amazing sight. A mother loggerhead sea turtle was on the beach, laying her eggs in a hole she had dug with her flippers. A research team was there taking measurements and notes, and after her eggs were laid we got to help move them to a safer spot up the beach where the incoming tide wouldn’t drown them. It was a slow, laborious journey for the turtle to lumber back out to sea, but when she made the final push and vanished beneath the waves I cried tears of joy.

We had spent over an hour watching this turtle, and were told that was the end of the action for the night. As we headed back up the beach towards our cars, someone spotted a baby turtle running willy-nilly down towards the water. A researcher was alerted and we soon learned that a nest of flat-back turtles had hatched and was pushing out of the ground trying desperately to get to the ocean. This turtle species is more rare at Mon Repos, so the researchers had placed a basket on top of the nest to try and catch the babies so they could take measurements before releasing them into the sea. The instinct in these little guys was so intense they were pushing the basket out of the way and escaping one by one. The researchers finally rounded them up and we were able to touch a little turtle before they took them into the lab. Fact: baby turtles are adorable! And amazing! They dig themselves out of the ground, but they don’t start digging until every egg has hatched. They also wait for nightfall, which they can sense by the temperature of the sand. These little tricks are meant to better ensure their survival…the rate of sea turtle survival to maturity is a paltry 1 in 1,000.

After what was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, we had a miserable night. We had failed to secure a campsite before going to the rookery, and nothing was available at the late hour we returned. I even deigned to walk the halls of a disgusting youth hostel but could not find anyone who even worked there, so after much driving around (and almost hitting a kamikaze wallaby!), we lucked into a caravan park that had a rare and welcoming sign: “late arrivals check in in the morning.” The next morning I went to check in and mentioned we arrived after midnight, and they said in that case our night was free! We found a nice place to make breakfast on the beach and read, relaxed and felt happy after our stressful (and argument-inducing) night!

Before I get to the end, there are some things about traveling in Australia that I think would be nice to pass on to you, in case you decide to go (you should!!!). Of course there are a million little differences between the U.S. and Australia, but these are some of the ones that really popped out to me while we were traveling around, mostly because they are things we apparently take for granted.

Wifi is very hard to find. If you’re going to be staying in big cities, you’ll be fine. But wifi is not in every coffee shop like here in the US. We found we had to spend way more time in various McDonald’s (Maccas) than we’re comfortable with. I would definitely recommend paying for international cell phone service rather than trying to rely on free wifi like us. Having cellular data available would have saved us a lot of stress on those nights where we couldn’t find lodging, and would have made it easier to contact potential lodgings (and saved us a needless trip into the flooded rainforest!).

Most restaurants close early by American standards. Again, probably not an issue in big cities. But in the beach towns along the coast, we struggled many times to find a meal after 8PM. This rule applies to caravan parks too…don’t expect to find a campsite after a long day of traveling. I assume you might be able to call ahead and make a reservation so they know you are coming, but without a phone we were stymied more than once by locked gates and “closed at 5PM” signs.

Coffee culture is different. If you like lattes and mochas, or any espresso drinks, you’re set; they have really great espresso. If you like drip coffee (as we do), forget it. It cannot be found in a coffee shop. At the grocery store you can find some beans, but most Australians drink instant coffee at home. Also if you order iced lattes or mochas, they’ll put ice cream in it unless you specify otherwise!

Bacon is different! This isn’t a big deal at all, but of course we are bacon lovers and we had a fun time trying to convince Cathy that crunchy bacon is superior to floppy bacon. She wouldn’t budge on this one! The bacon slices are huge, and contain not only the belly strip but the round of the chop as well. It’s like a combination of American bacon and Canadian bacon. Australian meat is really delicious, and they still process their pigs with the skin intact (rather than skinning them like so many of our American butchers these days), so we enjoyed that aspect very much.

Our last couple days in Australia were wonderful. We drove through gorgeous “hinterland” scenery in the hillsides just inland from the coast and passed through a town called Maleny. We didn’t have time to stop and explore, but even driving through I could tell Maleny was a place in which I could happily live! The hillsides were covered in pink and purple blooms, and the ridgeline offered amazing views of the valley below while the Pacific twinkled in the distance. The town itself was comprised of cool local shops and the vibe was very laid back and independent. It seemed a perfect place for a small, sustainable CSA farm, although I think the property price tag would be a tad prohibitive!

Our last night was spent at Dicky Beach outside the town of Caloundra. This was the most expensive caravan park of our trip, and it was obviously a popular destination for city folks from all around Southern Queensland. The caravan park was HUGE and lacked character, but the proximity to the beach was the real draw. For dinner we went into town and tried to use our outdated library copy of the Lonely Planet guidebook, and were laid astray again. We read about a cool pub called CBX, which stands for Caloundra Beer Exchange. Apparently the beers on tap are all priced according to global market prices and there are ticker signs up that stream the live market prices. We thought it would be fun to check this out, as it is apparently one-of-a-kind. When we arrived we were obviously mistaken…the beers had set prices and nothing seemed any different than any other pub. The girls behind the bar looked at us like we were crazy, before one mentioned that she thinks they had ticker signs up a few years ago “or something.” They weren’t even able to recommend good beers or ciders because, as one admitted, “I don’t really drink beer.” Oh, good thing you’re working at a bar then! (Another instance where some internet research might have helped us pick a better place for food and drink!)

The next morning Andrew woke up early to watch the sunrise on the beach, and I lazed in the tent while a cacophony of tropical birds greeted the coming day. We bid farewell to the Pacific (on this side of the world anyway) and headed into the Glasshouse Mountains for a quick day hike. The Glasshouse Mountains are strange volcanic spires that jut out from the valley floor, and our short hike afforded amazing views. When we passed other hikers they greeted us with “g’day!” which was exciting because it was the only time we really heard people use this phrase on our entire trip. We returned to Brisbane that evening, and spent a nice time with Cathy and Lee relaxing and packing up for our return home. I was glad to spend some final quality time with my cousin, and even got to say goodbye to my little possum friend who was lurking in the tree outside. The next morning we may have boarded the plane with our pockets turned inside out, but our hearts were bursting with rich experience.

Australia is such an amazing, diverse continent. As a child I always dreamed of visiting Australia (who doesn’t?!), and would send my exotic cousins Hershey bars and peanut butter while eagerly awaiting the Cadbury chocolates and vegemite return packages. Now I have been there and met my cousins in the flesh. I have explored, camped, hiked, sweated, itched, and gaped around both Eastern and Western Australia, and it’s fair to say I can check this off my “bucket list.”

Except. Except. Australia was so amazing, and there’s much more to see (and let’s not forget New Zealand!), so I may have only succeeding in whetting my appetite. Fair warning Australia: I reckon we’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail!

We stopped to take in the scenery whenever possible
On the beach in Yepoon
The beach in Yepoon was covered with tiny little sand balls that are made by tiny little crabs digging themselves in
Holding a sandy turtle egg for re-nesting. They feel like leathery, slightly squishy ping pong balls
A mamma loggerhead turtle lays her eggs, oblivious to the crowd. The tears help keep her eyes from drying out while she’s on land.
Amazing (and adorable) flat back back babies. I got to touch them and their tiny flippers are incredibly strong as they frantically pump them, wondering why they aren’t heading out to sea.
Punk rock pigeons!
Probably the best street sign I’ve ever seen
Andrew took amazing photos of the sunrise over Dicky shipwreck at Dicky Beach.
The soil in Australia really is red!
A view of the Glasshouse Mountains from our hike.
Another view of some of the strange volcanic spires
My handsome husband on the top of Mt. Ngungun in the Glasshouse Mountains
My little possum pal! See? Obviously a different (much cuter) species than the North American opossum.

The Best Vacation Ever Part 3: Eastern Australia (Part 2!)

Our adventures in Eastern Australia continued up the coast a few hundred miles at Fraser Island, part of Great Sandy National Park in Queensland. Fraser Island (known as K’Gari (Paradise) to the native Butchulla people) is the world’s largest sand island, which means that there is no rock to be found. Despite this strange occurrence, the island is a wonder of diverse environments including rain forests, eucalyptus woodlands, and peat swamps. To access the island you are required to take a ferry, and we soon discovered that 99.9% of visitors to Fraser Island rent giant four-wheel drive vehicles (or join a tour), so they can zip all over the island and rocket around the sand dunes while stopping here and there to appreciate tidbits of the scenery. Since we had a wimpy two-wheel drive rental car, and because we tend to go against the grain when it comes to travel, we proudly boarded the ferry as the sole passengers who were sans vehicle.

Our ten-kilometer hike from the ferry terminal to Lake McKenzie was relatively flat and uneventful, although walking on sand is inherently difficult. Every once in a while we heard the revving of a vehicle engine beyond the tree line, but we didn’t see a single soul on our hike. We arrived at Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora) while a tour group was lounging about, so we hiked on to the campsite and set up our tent in the hopes that the crowds would soon scamper on to their next destination. Fraser Island is home to Australia’s largest and purest dingo population, and over the years there have been several aggressive encounters between people who are picnicking irresponsibly and dingoes who are hungry scavengers. Because of this the government has gone a little overboard and posts signs all over the island about how to avoid dingoes, to keep food locked up, be vigilant, etc etc. Our campground was even enclosed by an 8’ tall chain link fence to keep dingoes out. I was apprehensive about all the dingo warnings, but we neither saw, nor heard, any howling dingo packs while we were there, much to Andrew’s disappointment.

After the crowd thinned out we headed back down to the lake. Lake McKenzie is a perched lake that sits on the top of an old sand dune, and is comprised of 100% raindrops. It is one of cleanest lakes in the world, and it was one of the most beautiful bodies of water I have ever seen. The sand in the lake is almost pure silica, and the water is a gorgeous blue with an aquamarine band around the shallow lakeshore. The water is warm and inviting, and we spent plenty of time relaxing in the slightly acidic water which, combined with the soft silica sand, made for some great exfoliation (we even used it to clean stains off our teeth)!

The next day we hiked out a different trail that was previously closed due to fire damage. It turned out that they hadn’t gone in to clear the trail yet, so we spent hours climbing over and under fallen trees and branches in the scorching sun. I was a little grumpy by the end, but we came out of the woods onto a gorgeous beach, and a quick dip in the tropical Pacific Ocean restored my Zen. After lazing around a resort pool (cocktails in hand!), we boarded our ferry back to the mainland and set our sights further up the coast on a little town called Yepoon.  We found a nice caravan park near the road, and though we arrived late a very gregarious man answered the door and gave us a nice spot in the park. We relaxed here and enjoyed hot showers, a laundry room, and tremendous wildlife including rainbow lorikeets, Kookaburras, and giant flying foxes (fruit bats)! I was obsessed with the flying foxes, and spent much of my time watching them fly around, bobbing upside down as they clung to flimsy branches while bickering over choice morsels from the abundant trees.

The next morning we watched the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean, a real novelty for us American west coasters, before heading further up the coast to pick up cousin Cathy, who caught a flight up from Brisbane to spend the weekend camping with us. The three of us explored the tourist hot spot of Airlie Beach (pronounced Air-lee), which turned out to be full of young, drunk backpackers. A “backpacker” in Australia isn’t really someone who backpacks or hikes, but is a person who goes around the country staying in youth hostels. I am still a young, adventurous person, but being surrounded by drunken teens and early 20-somethings made me glad I was experiencing the wonder of Australia at my more “mature” age.

Our original plan was to book a ferry ride out to Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsunday Islands, which is considered to be the most beautiful beach in the world. This was to be the pinnacle of our Eastern Australia tour; a quiet weekend spent loafing on the pure white sand, floating in the clear, bathtub-warm water, reading in a hammock, well…you get the idea. Unfortunately for us, Mother Nature had a different set of plans. The weather along the north coast of Queensland had been blustery for weeks, with cyclones spinning along the coast and bouncing back off to sea, dumping inches of rain in their wakes. We hit the tail end of one such storm, and the boat company refused to take us all the way out to Whitehaven Beach (a 1.5 hour ride) because the water was really choppy and they didn’t want us to be stranded if the weather grew worse. The only option we had was to get a 10 minute ferry ride to the closest and smallest island in the chain, known as South Molle (pronounced mole) island.

South Molle Island was underwhelming, mostly because it did not fit into our preconceived notion of this trip. The beach was full of coral and shells, which was neat to look at but not so great for lying upon. The water was cold and choppy, and though we rented special lycra bodysuits to protect against jellyfish stings, the weather was never nice enough to actually go swimming. We spent the majority of our weekend hunkered down under a tarp reading or playing cards, soaking wet from the rain and high humidity. We managed to take a short hike into the island interior on one afternoon, but much of our time was spent debating whether to call the boat company for a bail out. After one wet and squally night on the island we finally made up our minds to raise the white flag, but the boat company informed us that the water was too choppy for them to come early and we’d just have to wait until the next day. While it wasn’t the ideal summer getaway, we are proud to say we survived near-cyclonic weather on little South Molle Island, and not just anyone can say that!

When we finally returned to dry land, we found a nice beach during an early sunbreak. I took a dip while Cathy read her book on the beach and Andrew snoozed in a hammock. It was only an hour or two’s worth of the vacation we’d wanted, but we felt rejuvenated and though Cathy boarded her plane in dirty clothes and windswept hair, her spirits were high. We said goodbye, knowing we’d see her soon again back down in Brisbane.

After that little misadventure, I was more than ready for the next stop on our journey. We headed into the rainforest to stay at the “Platypus Bushcamp,” which our Lonely Planet guidebook made sound like paradise on Earth. We were expecting hot tubs under the rainforest canopies, beds on platforms in the trees where you can look down and watch the platypuses swim by, and fire pits where campers gather together to share meals. Apparently we should have paid more attention to the season, because in order to get to the camp we had to ford two mini rivers that were flowing over the roadway. This should have been an indication of things to come, but we were determined to get there so we drove on with high expectations. When we arrived, it was apparent we had made a mistake. There were no tents, cars, or people anywhere in sight. We walked through a crazy maze of handmade wooden structures towards the sound of a television, and stumbled upon a zany old man drinking a beer and watching a movie with his dog at his feet. He was just as surprised to see us, and informed us that there was no hot water or beds to be had, as it was the rainy season and there are no tourists this time of year. He offered to let us camp out anyway, but as mosquitos the size of golf balls swarmed, the thought of another wet night in a tent without hot showers was too much and we drove back towards civilization. This was the only time on the east coast we decided to splurge on a hotel room, but after hot showers and mediocre Thai food, we settled into bed to watch movies on the TV and knew we’d made the right choice.  Sometimes you have no recourse but to take a vacation from your vacation!

(Stay tuned for the final installment of the Best Vacation Ever!)

On the trail head to Lake McKenzie
Andrews jumps for joy at Lake McKenzie
The trees have to adapt to sandy soil and a lack of nutrients in the acid lake
They eat babies you know
Andrew sits in the warm water as the sun rises over Lake McKenzie
Signs around Fraser Island (K’Gari) teach about the native Butchulla people
After a refreshing dip in the gorgeous Pacific
We walked the last leg of the hike along the ocean’s edge
This was one of the most beautiful views on our trip
Cathy reads under our tarp. This is what most of our camping trip in the Whitsundays looked like
When the weather got too rough we spent the rest of our time hot and humid in the tent.
One of the foggy views we found during our hike on South Molle Island
This is an ant nest created by green tree ants. The ants build it by grabbing onto each other and making a chain that extends from the ground up into the tree.
During a quick break in the rain we amused ourselves by posing on the beach. Cathy is a natural.