• 18 things for 2018
  • 2015 Challenge – 52 in 52
  • 2016 challenge – 52 new things
  • 2017 Challenge – 17 things
  • Bucket List – Done and dusted
  • Bucket List – Still to do
  • This is Me – May 2015
  • This was Me – August 2014

RuthsArc

~ Looking forward, looking back & enjoying now.

RuthsArc

Monthly Archives: October 2015

Changing Seasons – October – Spring heatwave

31 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in one with nature

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

flowers, seasons, Tasmania, trees

My head knows that the seasons here in Tasmania are back to front from my UK background. So I’m posting this monthly series to record the changing seasons and to encourage my mind to grasp this southern hemisphere reality.

October has been a month of stunning flowers, strong scents and flowering gum trees.

Oct wisteria

Oct fushia
Oct rose 1
oct rhododendron
Oct rose
Oct iris
Oct tree 1
Oct flower 3
Oct flower 2
Oct flower 1
Oct bottlebrush

Oct flowering gum

Oct flowering gum 1

The elm tree beside our apartment is in full leaf and seed pods fluttered by like snow flakes on the wind. Tree ferns have grown new fronds. Fruit trees are protected under netting as blossom ends and the tiny fruit appear.

Oct tree

Oct tree fern

Oct fruit trees

The month began with a heatwave, strong winds, beach days during the school holidays and ice cream.

Oct beach

Oct ice cream

Mid month saw the opening weekend of the yachting season, the harbour is now busy with weekend races and midweek twilight yachting.

Oct yachts 1

The first cruise ship of the summer season visited Hobart, towering above the waterfront as three thousand extra visitors explored our city.

Oct ship

October saw the finals of the “footy” season, with cricket games taking over on the oval playing fields.

Now as the month draws to a close, the first Christmas window displays are appearing in the shops.

New Friends

30 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in all about me

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

me

quotes-about-friends-Strangers-are-just-friends-waiting-to-happen.-Rod-McKuen

“A simple hello could lead to a million things”

“Every new friend is a new adventure … the start of more memories”

My day today is made up of conversations with new friends….
~ Morning natter with other knitters in a local wool shop.
~ Afternoon chat with a blog friend, over a cup of tea and macaroons.
~ Early evening get together of local “Photo a Day” participants, in a dessert café!

Thank you to the new friends I have met here in Hobart in recent months.
Thank you for saying hello and stopping to chat.
I’m very happy to have met you.

Back in 1985 – Alice Springs

29 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in back in 1985

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Australia, in 1985

On this day back in 1985 I was travelling through the Northern Territory.

Australia is huge. The journey from Ayers Rock Lodge to Alice Springs took five hours. We had a new air conditioned bus from the Lodge to the Stuart Highway junction, but then got onto another old bus that had travelled up from Adelaide. It was a really hot day. A sticky soggy mass of people got off the bus in Alice.

Alice was nothing like I expected. There are hills around and it is a large town. Apparently, back in 1985, it was the fastest growing town in Australia. There were no buses or public transport in the town so it was difficult to get around. The only option was an explorer bus for the tourists. There were no road markings in the centre of town, no indications as to who should give way, which caused great confusion. Aborigines sat around town, sat in the dry river bed. I didn’t want to walk around town after dark.

I visited the Royal Flying Doctor Base and learned about the service, it’s history and saw exhibits of equipment used and general communications for the Outback.

The old Telegraph Station was an old stone buildings in the middle of bush. The station was located by the original “Alice Spring” which is a permanent waterhole in the usually dry Todd River. Here you got a feel of the remoteness of the early settlers. Further along the river I visited a camel farm and a date farm.

The next day I took a half day tour out to the McDonald Ranges. There was some beautiful scenery out in these hills. We stopped at Simpson’s Gap and Standley Chasm two narrow gaps in the hills, where dry river beds run through. Rock wallabies live amongst the fallen rocks. Standley Chasm is just five meters wide with tall red cliffs on either side. It was a pleasant ten minute bush walk up to the chasm from the road.

I got back on an overnight bus heading north, air-conditioned this time. Our first stop was at Ti Tree roadhouse at ten pm. The driver warned us about kangaroos, dingoes and eagles as we walked through the garden to the toilets. I thought he was joking, but no! A kangaroo came up to say hello and there were three dingo pups in a fenced area. An eagle sat on a table across the garden. We had another refreshment stop at three am.

I saw another lovely sunrise. When we stopped for breakfast we noticed the heat and humidity outside the bus. There were more trees up here and noise of budgies and parrots flying around in large flocks. There were also hundreds of huge termite mounds.

Benches and yarn bombing

28 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in creativity, photography

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

bench series

This month, Jude’s challenge is looking for benches with someone or something on it.

Here are a few benches I have seen with a variety of things on them.

Firstly, some yarn bombing.

bench yarn 1

bench yarn 2

bench yarn 3

Here in Tasmania, some houses have benches or sofas out on their front veranda’s. Often with boots or shoes or kid’s toys left alongside. This caught my eye.

bench bike

This bench is attached to a flower stall. An old tin is sitting on the bench for payments.

bench with flower stand

I was concerned when I saw these car keys on a public bench. As I looked around, a young boy ran up and placed some more rocks on the pile. His mum and brother were a few metres away so Mum knew her keys were part of the game.

bench keys

Does rain on a bench count, Jude?

bench rain

Although not related to benches, here are a few other fun yarn bombs that I have seen in recent weeks.

bench yarn 4

bench yarn 5

bench yarn 6

Taroona Coastal Path

27 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in days out

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Hobart, walks

t 1

This coastal path on the River Derwent, just south of Hobart, is one of our favourite places.

The well maintained footpath hugs the coastline as it passes through a range of vegetation.

t path 1

t path 2

t path 3

t path 4

The rocks are not far below, with some people choosing to walk that route. As the tide is coming in, there is a constant sound of waves breaking on the rocks. There are glimpses of yachts out on the river.

t kids 1

t bench

t view 1

There are information signs along the track, identifying trees, flowers or sharing a little of the history of the area.

t sign 1

t sign 2

t flowers 1

t tree 1

The path skirts the edge of homes that have boundaries to the high water mark. Most home owners are happy for the path to cross their land. A few are not. In some sections there are steps to negotiate a gully.

t sign 4

t sign 5

t path 9

t path 8

Then the path opens to this view. The cove is full of pebbles but a closer look shows a high ratio of shells amongst the stones.

t path 5

t pebbles

We continue around the point to another little beach. Sand this time with a boat shed and dinghies upturned on the grass. It is good to see kids playing on the beach and on the rocks, exploring and enjoying nature.

t path 6

t path 7

t kids 2

As we back track we pass a lone grave, a historic site of the oldest known European grave in Tasmania. James Batchelor was buried here on 28th January 1810. He was a young sailor who died on his ship, Venus, that had brought much needed wheat from Calcutta, to the new colony in Van Diemen’s Land. A perfect last resting place, with views of the estuary and the beach below.

t grave

t beach 1

Hidden behind the trees, the University of Tasmania has a research campus.

t UTAS

We’ve walked here at various times of the day and in different tide and wind conditions. When a southerly wind blows in, the waves pick up and we have seen surfers having fun on boards or in kayaks.

t surfers 1

t surfers 2

On a calm evening at low tide, the long shadows enhance the peacefulness of the beach.

t evening 1

t evening 2

t evening 3

t evening 4

Taroona Beach is also a perfect spot for observing the night sky and because it is south facing with minimal light pollution, we have been fortunate to see the Aurura Australis from here – The Southern Lights. As I said, it’s a favourite place.

Back in 1985 – Uluru

26 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in back in 1985

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Australia, in 1985

On this day back in 1985 I was at Ayer’s Rock – Uluru.

I stayed at the Ayers Rock Lodge and fully appreciated a bed and shower after a few days on the bus. Towards the back of the site, there were paths up the sand dunes which gave my first view of Ayers Rock, or Uluru as it is now called.

It looked unreal. One single gigantic red rock on a flat landscape. The Olga’s were visible in the distance, a group of individual round rocks. We’d passed Mount Connor on the drive in, a table top mountain, the third unique giant rock formation in the area.

I took a day tour to Uluru, which drove the 9 km around the base, stopped at cave paintings, at a wave cave, at Maggie Springs, a permanent waterhole. Our guide told us about the Aborigine legends. The Federal Government gave Uluru back to the Aborigines on this exact day in 1985, with a hand over ceremony in the shadow of the rock. The old Ayers Rock motel and campgrounds where Azaria Chamberlain was killed had been removed and a new tourist centre at Yulara, twenty kilometres from the rock was the new tourist resort.

The rock changes colour depending on the weather. The red colour is due to oxidisation, the rock is rusting. We saw the original grey colour on the inside of some of the caves. It’s surface is quite flaky and pieces do fall off. In places the rock sounds hollow, where it is lifting underneath.

The next day a few of us from the hostel drove back to Uluru and climbed it. I really don’t remember this. I wrote that I climbed but I didn’t know how. I hated it. It was very steep in places with a chain to help you up. Each time I stopped I debated whether to continue up or go back down. I did get to the top and saw the view. I’ve obviously blocked out that memory.

On the drive back we noticed that a few cars had stopped and people were taking photos, we stopped to and I got to see a four foot long goanna resting by the side of the road.

I joined an evening tour of the Olga’s which included a barbecue dinner. This guide showed us the flora, the desert oaks, the spinifex, before we hiked for an hour among the rocks. That was a nice climb with rewarding views at the top. We saw a beautiful sunset and enjoyed good food, including the traditional bush meal of damper and billy tea. As we drove back to the hostel and resort, there was spectacular lightening in the distance and rain heading our way.

Royal Hobart Show

25 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in days out

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

animals, Hobart

There was a lot of publicity about the four day Royal Hobart Show. It was the reason for last Thursday’s local holiday. So we thought we should experience the event on the final day.

It was a fairground, with the expected rides, side shows, fast food stalls and show bags on sale.

It was an agricultural show with vintage machinery, with all varieties of farm animals on display. There was an animal nursery where kids could pet the smaller animals.

There were home craft competitions, with flowers, cakes, jams and preserves, knitting and stitching, art and photography on show.

There was entertainment, with fire throwers, medieval combat displays, BMX bike acrobatics and a humorous outback show with jackaroos, a quad bike, horses and working dogs, mustering cattle on to the top of a truck.

It was a dog show with the full range of breeds in a best in show parade. There were sheep dog trial competitions held each day and equestrian events.

The memorable moments for us were pig races, sheep shearing demonstration and wood chopping competitions.

As well as all the cute animals, the reptile and snake displays were popular and educational. I now know what a Tiger Snake looks like and I know that there is a Tasmanian Reptile Rescue Service.

RHS wood chopping
RHS show
RHS sheering
RHS pigs
RHS rides
RHS alpaca
RHS chicks
RHS goats
RHS pony
RHS sheep

RHS snakes

Wallabies, Woodland and WPC

24 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in one with nature, weekly photo challenge

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

animals, Tasmania

This week’s photo challenge is “careful”. So I’m linking it to an overnight stay on Bruny Island, Tasmania.

As we drove up to the holiday cottage that we had rented, eight wallabies looked up as they grazed in the garden, as if to say “What are you doing here, in our place?”.

Some jumped away, but this mother with a joey in her pouch was happy to stay.

W wallaby 1

I was careful as I took photos of her, careful not to spook her as I gradually got closer.

W wallaby 2

W wallaby 3

W wallaby 4

W wallaby 5

W wallaby 6

W wallaby 7

W wallaby 8

We enjoyed wandering around the woodland garden, but we had to be careful not to walk wallaby poo back inside the house.

W garden

The reason we stayed on the island overnight was to see the penguins come back to their rookery from the ocean. They come back to this section of land after dusk.

W viewing 1

W viewing 2

We were careful to follow the guidelines and were lucky to see several of the cute little creatures in torchlight. (Sorry for poor quality of photo from my iphone. Another reason to buy a decent camera soon.)

W viewing 3

W viewing 4

We were careful as we drove back along the country lanes after dark, careful of the many nocturnal Aussie animals that have no regard for roads or cars.

It was cold in the late evening so Aussie Mate was careful as he used long dormant “man skills” to light a fire in the wood heater.

W fire

Careful

Back in 1985 – South Australia

23 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in back in 1985

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Australia, in 1985

On this day back in 1985 I was on a bus, travelling through South Australia to the Northern Territory.

(This was the beginning of several weeks travelling around Australia, so my posts looking back to 1985 will be more frequent in the coming weeks.)

I had travelled on an overnight greyhound bus from Canberra to Melbourne, then another bus to Adelaide. The countryside in Victoria was flat, mostly farmland. We stopped a few times on the journey, but mainly in one street towns. The clocks changed by half and hour between Victoria and South Australia.

The country side changed to pine forests in South Australia, Forestry Commission land with various saw mills.

Murray Bridge was an interesting place. The bridge was a hundred years old and much longer than seemed necessary to span the Murray River. But it was built to accommodate the flood waters that occur at certain times of the year.

Trees were mainly Australian natives, eucalyptus trees, evergreen and bottle brush. Back in Canberra the trees were European and in blossom, emphasizing that it was spring time.

We climbed the Adelaide Hills on the approach to the city. I arrived at dusk with the lights of the city laid out below us. Adelaide is a nice city. A main square, Victoria Square, and four other smaller squares are within the square mile city centre district. It was the first city in the world to have a “green belt”.

The River Torrens runs through the city alongside the northern terrace. I explored the art galleries, museums, arts centre, shops and caught the tram to the nearest beach at Glenelg. It was an overcast day but people were fishing on the pier and the esplanade was backed with Norfolk pines.

I spent a day on a tour of the Barossa Valley wineries, rolling hills, old style buildings with a German influence, vineyards and pretty towns. We sampled some good wines and lunch was included. The return drive to the city took us through the Torrens gorge, a narrow windy road alongside the river beneath the steep cliffs.

The bus broke down on the next leg of my journey so it was dawn as we arrived in Coober Pedy. I’m glad I got to see it in daylight. What a place. A real hole in the ground.

It’s the greatest opal producer in the world, a town literally in the middle of nowhere, the surrounding area just pale white earth. A one horse town, with an “out in the sticks” atmosphere, a population of just a few hundred.

The opals are just dug out of the ground, so there are holes and mines shafts surrounded by piles of earth dug out. An incredible sight. Some of the people who mine the opals here have dug their homes out of the ground too, cooler in the hot daytime temperatures. It was such a weird place. I was glad to move on after our breakfast stop.

As we drove north on the Stuart Highway, the tarmac run out. We had eight hours of dirt road. Because of the state of the road, the bus company only used old buses on that route. So we had a clapped out bus, hence the earlier breakdown, no air-conditioning, no cushions. The bus rattled and shook for the whole journey. A real bone shaker.

There had been rain in recent days which had left huge puddles, so the driver negotiated these by driving off the road and going bush. Our view for all those hours was mostly nothing. The occasional cattle, and fences miles and miles apart. This was a region of large cattle stations.

The land was flat but did change from sparse grass and low bushes to an area of trees and bigger bushes. The soil changed colour from the pale of Coober Pedy to the deep red soil and sand as we approached the Northern Territory.

We stopped at a couple of places to drop of freight. Mount Willoughby seemed to be just a small store with a petrol pump, in the middle of nowhere. Then Marla was a bit bigger with a pub and a cafe.

Indulkana was a different experience. A small place with several streets of houses, a school and a community centre. There was very little grass, the streets and gardens were red dust and mud. The majority of people that we saw were Aborigines, barefoot, sitting outside where the bus stopped. There was a diagrammatic sign indicating no photos.

Salmon Ponds

22 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by RuthsArc in days out

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

animals, Tasmania, walks

“Salmon Ponds” is a heritage hatchery set in beautiful grounds. It is the oldest hatchery in the southern hemisphere. We enjoyed a walk around on a sunny spring day.

Version 2

“From it’s inception in the mid 1800’s, Salmon Ponds was designed with visitors in mind. The grounds were landscaped with exotic trees reflecting a Victorian era garden setting. The hatchery with it’s network of display ponds was open to the public.”

The gardens contain over fifty varieties of native and European trees. They are all clearly labelled and are noted on an information sheet map, along with pictures and leaf shapes of each tree type. Original buildings are dotted around the grounds.

SP 1

SP 2

SP 3

SP 4

Several heritage buildings explain the challenge of bringing salmon and trout from Britain to Tasmania, the life cycle of the fish and history of trout fishing.

SP info 1

SP info 2

SP info 3

SP info 4

SP 5

SP 6

The grounds run along side the River Plenty, home to trout and platypus. They grounds are all accessible to wheelchairs and it was interesting to see ramps for disabled fishermen.

SP river 1

SP river 2

There are various ponds, each stocked with a different variety of salmon or trout. Visitors are encouraged to buy food and to feed the fish. This was a lot of fun. There was a lot of splashing going on, with some fish jumping out of the water. Atlantic Salmon, Brown Trout, Tiger Trout and Rainbow Trout were difficult to photograph. Whereas the Albino Rainbow Trout were easily visible in the water.

SP albino 1
SP albino 2
SP albino 3
SP rainbow
SP splash

Although it is called “Salmon Ponds” and salmon were released into the rivers from here, these migratory fish never returned. Trout became the success story and over the years ova from here were used to establish hatcheries throughout Australia and New Zealand. The Victorian challenge to bring the fish reminded me of the movie “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”.

SP fishing

This is my contribution to Jo’s Weekly Walk. Click on the link to enjoy a variety of walks from around the world.

← Older posts

Archives

  • January 2023
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
award-free-blog-2

Categories

  • 100 word challenge
  • 52 challenge
  • all about me
  • back in 1985
  • creativity
  • days out
  • fifty something
  • making changes
  • midlife
  • more to life
  • my place
  • one with nature
  • Past Squares
  • photography
  • remembering / musing
  • Uncategorized
  • weekly photo challenge

Tags

5 minutes 52 Things 100 words A2Z Challenge Amsterdam animals architecture art astronomy Australia beach bench series birds boats books Cadiz Cambridge Cars challenge curiosity day out doors Ely emotography family flowers Giant's Causeway Gibraltar gratitude Greenwich happiness Hastings history Hobart holiday home in 1985 India insomnia Ireland Life with Covid-19 London Maastricht macro Margate me Melbourne music Netherlands New Zealand our garden people photos Pull up a Seat quotes Rediscover Tasmania Scotland seasons Seville sky Spain squareodds still life Sydney Tasmania time Titanic trees walks Whitstable work WW Remembrance
Follow RuthsArc on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 657 other subscribers

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • RuthsArc
    • Join 657 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • RuthsArc
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.