This trip has taken us to some pretty cool wine regions – Burgundy in France, Tuscany in Italy, Marlborough and Central Otago in New Zealand. All of these places make world renowned wine – Burgundy makes the best pinot noir in France, and that is saying a lot for a country that is basically covered top to bottom in grapes. The two most famous Tuscan wines, Brunello and Barolo, are some of the most velvety red wines on earth. New Zealand's pinot noirs and savignon blancs are winning worldwide acclaim for being soft and smooth. And now we are in the Barossa Valley, where the local shiraz is famous for ripping your head off and not apologizing. Most wines on this trip have pared well with fruit, cheese and crackers. Barossa shiraz pares best with a bucket of rusty nails, or in a pinch, a big fillet of kangaroo (our choice).
I am in heaven. For months, I've been drinking these nice friendly easygoing wines where there is lots of nuance in tasting. You looks for hints of elderberry, or ripe fig, or the dew of a fresh spring morning. And I've quite enjoyed it – my palate isn't going to win any awards and so it's been very educational. But deep down inside, I like big, angry red wines. Forget the essence of green apple -- I want a wine that looks like motor oil when you pour it and makes your eyes water. And so I am like a kid in a candy store here in the Barossa.
Adding to the charm is that it is true small town living here. We are staying in the biggest town in the valley, Tanunda, yet on our first night the only place open for dinner was the neighborhood club. There are no BMWs and Mercedes cruising around, just pickup trucks driven by people in overalls. It seems to be a salt of the earth type place, perhaps how Napa and Sonoma looked 35 years ago. The cellar door tasting rooms are run by universally friendly people, we usually have the place to ourselves, and the generous pours are almost always free (we did pay $5 at one place, but they opened a $100 bottle and a $165 bottle for us to taste – all was quickly forgiven). A great place to chill out, drink some absolutely brilliant red wine, and watch the world go by.
On a final note, it's back to just the two of us travelling now, after 5 weeks of the trip being 3, 4, and 6 of us at different times. Dana left this morning, two days later than planned after a random conversation about “you should change your ticket and come to the Barossa with us” turned into reality. We've absolutely loved having everyone along.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Sunday, 23 May 2010
A Love Affair With Mother Nature
I've learned a few things about myself during this little jaunt around the world. Left to my own devices, I will go to bed at 2am and wake up around 10am. My ideal outdoor temperature is 58 degrees, no warmer and no cooler. I can live without TV quite easily, but really like having the internet. I will eat local food, even if it isn't very good (newest addition to my diet in Australia – Vegemite). And while I do like working, I could pretty happily keep this lifestyle up for a few more years (sadly not an option).
But perhaps the most interesting thing I've learned is that I really, really like nature. And this is big for me. I once spent an entire week immersed in nature with my good friend Andy at Boy Scout summer camp – and it sucked. I just remember it being hot and buggy and wondering why on earth anyone would leave the comforts of air conditioning, chlorinated water, and paved roads to come to this hell hole. It didn't help that I failed my swimming test, the toilet was a hole in the ground, and my scoutmaster used to take his teeth out after meals. But I don't remember even taking the smallest enjoyment in the lake and the trees and the sky and the fresh air.
This trip is different. I am loving the solitude and remoteness of the back country. Admittedly we've picked some good spots to enjoy nature – the rainforest in Borneo, the fjords and sounds of New Zealand, the towering limestone coast of south Australia – but I'm finding that I could walk endlessly through nature reserves, stare at the stars each night, wander around lake fronts and rolling hills. It's quite a departure from most of the travel I've done in my life – Europe to me has been mostly about the small villages, Africa has been about different cultures, Asia has been about the food. Even in the US, I've been to Las Vegas five times, and the Grand Canyon just once. But down in this part of the world, nature seems to be my thing. We are off now for a bush walk on the gorgeous south coast of Australia – just call me the modern day Mic Dundee.
But perhaps the most interesting thing I've learned is that I really, really like nature. And this is big for me. I once spent an entire week immersed in nature with my good friend Andy at Boy Scout summer camp – and it sucked. I just remember it being hot and buggy and wondering why on earth anyone would leave the comforts of air conditioning, chlorinated water, and paved roads to come to this hell hole. It didn't help that I failed my swimming test, the toilet was a hole in the ground, and my scoutmaster used to take his teeth out after meals. But I don't remember even taking the smallest enjoyment in the lake and the trees and the sky and the fresh air.
This trip is different. I am loving the solitude and remoteness of the back country. Admittedly we've picked some good spots to enjoy nature – the rainforest in Borneo, the fjords and sounds of New Zealand, the towering limestone coast of south Australia – but I'm finding that I could walk endlessly through nature reserves, stare at the stars each night, wander around lake fronts and rolling hills. It's quite a departure from most of the travel I've done in my life – Europe to me has been mostly about the small villages, Africa has been about different cultures, Asia has been about the food. Even in the US, I've been to Las Vegas five times, and the Grand Canyon just once. But down in this part of the world, nature seems to be my thing. We are off now for a bush walk on the gorgeous south coast of Australia – just call me the modern day Mic Dundee.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Notes From A Small Island
In October 2001, as America was about to kick down the front door in Afghanistan, I remember watching a Taliban press conference on CNN. A Kiwi reporter asked the Taliban, "is New Zealand at risk of a terrorist attack at home because we've aligned ourselves with the US"? "Where did you say you are from?”, asked the Taliban leader. The reporter replied, “New Zealand. It's a small country off the east coast of Australia”. The Taliban was speechless and just moved on to the next question.
So perhaps New Zealand isn't huge on the international stage, but this little country packs quite a punch. We spent the last 16 days on the South Island, and it just a staggeringly beautiful place. We had some great company on this part of the trip too – the Sadlons joined us for 10 days, John (Andrea's brother) joined us for 14 days, and Dana was here the whole time. Lots of laughs, lots of wine, lots of card games – a great couple of weeks.
We started in the Waipara valley and rented a converted barn at a winery for a couple of days, enjoying bonfires and the local pinot noirs at night. After that was the Marlborough Sounds, where I could spend the next year happily staring at the serene crystal green waters. The local specialty is green lip mussels, and they are both delicious and massive (some people cut each mussel in half with a knife). Following that was a trip to the Franz Josef glacier, where we spent part of the day climbing through blue ice under equally blue skies. Then came Queenstown, the adventure capital, where a few in the group chose to fling themselves off a bridge with a rubber band attached to their ankles. We followed that up with a trip to the Milford Sound, often considered the 8th wonder of the world. 9,000 foot mountains rise straight up out of the sound, and thousands of waterfalls suddenly appear on rainy days (which we had our second day there), crashing down thousands of feet of mountain -- it was just absolutely amazing to see. We then headed to Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand, where we hiked to a glacier (under more impossibly blue skies), followed by a dinner of fresh salmon on the BBQ that had been caught that morning. Finally, we wrapped things up in Christchurch with a fine evening of Guinness and Burmese food. And of course all of this happened on a small island, not even the size of Virginia. Yet we saw 3 wine valleys, 3 glaciers, massive crysal blue lakes, green sounds, giant mountain peaks, and endless rolling fields dotted with sheep.
New Zealand is so easy to fall in love with – jaw dropping scenery, the people are lovely and over-the-top friendly, prices are reasonable, roads are in great condition – and everything is just very laid back. Very good living.
We are on our way back to Australia now – and coming from here, they have a lot to live up to.
So perhaps New Zealand isn't huge on the international stage, but this little country packs quite a punch. We spent the last 16 days on the South Island, and it just a staggeringly beautiful place. We had some great company on this part of the trip too – the Sadlons joined us for 10 days, John (Andrea's brother) joined us for 14 days, and Dana was here the whole time. Lots of laughs, lots of wine, lots of card games – a great couple of weeks.
We started in the Waipara valley and rented a converted barn at a winery for a couple of days, enjoying bonfires and the local pinot noirs at night. After that was the Marlborough Sounds, where I could spend the next year happily staring at the serene crystal green waters. The local specialty is green lip mussels, and they are both delicious and massive (some people cut each mussel in half with a knife). Following that was a trip to the Franz Josef glacier, where we spent part of the day climbing through blue ice under equally blue skies. Then came Queenstown, the adventure capital, where a few in the group chose to fling themselves off a bridge with a rubber band attached to their ankles. We followed that up with a trip to the Milford Sound, often considered the 8th wonder of the world. 9,000 foot mountains rise straight up out of the sound, and thousands of waterfalls suddenly appear on rainy days (which we had our second day there), crashing down thousands of feet of mountain -- it was just absolutely amazing to see. We then headed to Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand, where we hiked to a glacier (under more impossibly blue skies), followed by a dinner of fresh salmon on the BBQ that had been caught that morning. Finally, we wrapped things up in Christchurch with a fine evening of Guinness and Burmese food. And of course all of this happened on a small island, not even the size of Virginia. Yet we saw 3 wine valleys, 3 glaciers, massive crysal blue lakes, green sounds, giant mountain peaks, and endless rolling fields dotted with sheep.
New Zealand is so easy to fall in love with – jaw dropping scenery, the people are lovely and over-the-top friendly, prices are reasonable, roads are in great condition – and everything is just very laid back. Very good living.
We are on our way back to Australia now – and coming from here, they have a lot to live up to.
Monday, 3 May 2010
Cheating Death Down Under
Given how long it's been since I last posted, some of you might have thought I had perished. And it's not a bad guess because there are loads of things here in Australia that are trying their damnedest to kill you. Every ditch on the side of the road has a crocodile warning next to it. You have to swim inside a protective net at the beach due to sharks and the box jellyfish, which induces cardiac arrest in 10 seconds. And we saw a death spider (admittedly a name we assigned it) in the rainforest that looked big enough to take down prey perhaps the size of, say, Andrea.
But despite these creatures' best efforts, we are alive and well. We've just wrapped up 10 days in Port Douglas, on the northeast coast. It was just what we needed – a string of days where we really didn't have much of anything to do at all besides throw some local fish on the barby, crack open a beer, and watch the sun set over the Coral Sea. The most cultural activity we participated in was watching the waterfront pub feed a 200 pound grouper (named George) a giant salmon head tied to a big rope in the late afternoon. It was during one of these sessions (we went 3 times) that I reflected on the fact that 4 months ago, I was probably in a meeting in London discussing the charge off patterns of our customers in risk twentile 18. Now, oversized fish feeding down under is the order of the day.
Of course, one of the key reasons we were in Port Douglas is what sits 40 miles offshore – the Great Barrier Reef. We took a trip out once our good friend Dana arrived (she's spending the next month with us), and snorkeled for a couple of hours in a few different spots. It is simply stunning. We've snorkeled in some pretty good places in Hawaii and the Caribbean, but there is just no comparison. You can never put your feet down because there is no place that isn't covered in coral. The formations are amazing, coming in every color, shape and size you can imagine. The fish are much the same -- the quantity and sheer variety of the fish is incredible. And then there are the other creatures – 3 sharks (including one that passed directly under me and Andrea, causing a momentary flutter of the hearts), a blue speckled lagoon ray, and a giant sea turtle. Andrea and I gentlly swam behind the sea turtle for a bit, watching it lazily take a breath, then dive, then do it over again. Absolutely amazing.
It's down to Brisbane now for a couple of days before heading over to New Zealand (and then back to Australia after that). Time is flying! Hope all of you are well.
But despite these creatures' best efforts, we are alive and well. We've just wrapped up 10 days in Port Douglas, on the northeast coast. It was just what we needed – a string of days where we really didn't have much of anything to do at all besides throw some local fish on the barby, crack open a beer, and watch the sun set over the Coral Sea. The most cultural activity we participated in was watching the waterfront pub feed a 200 pound grouper (named George) a giant salmon head tied to a big rope in the late afternoon. It was during one of these sessions (we went 3 times) that I reflected on the fact that 4 months ago, I was probably in a meeting in London discussing the charge off patterns of our customers in risk twentile 18. Now, oversized fish feeding down under is the order of the day.
Of course, one of the key reasons we were in Port Douglas is what sits 40 miles offshore – the Great Barrier Reef. We took a trip out once our good friend Dana arrived (she's spending the next month with us), and snorkeled for a couple of hours in a few different spots. It is simply stunning. We've snorkeled in some pretty good places in Hawaii and the Caribbean, but there is just no comparison. You can never put your feet down because there is no place that isn't covered in coral. The formations are amazing, coming in every color, shape and size you can imagine. The fish are much the same -- the quantity and sheer variety of the fish is incredible. And then there are the other creatures – 3 sharks (including one that passed directly under me and Andrea, causing a momentary flutter of the hearts), a blue speckled lagoon ray, and a giant sea turtle. Andrea and I gentlly swam behind the sea turtle for a bit, watching it lazily take a breath, then dive, then do it over again. Absolutely amazing.
It's down to Brisbane now for a couple of days before heading over to New Zealand (and then back to Australia after that). Time is flying! Hope all of you are well.
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