Don't worry we've got it planned out...

Getting closer to the end of the master thesis is taking its toll on the regularity with which I update our blog. Resulting in a very belated: "Happy 2013"! 

~

One of the main attractions of South Australia is undoubtedly Kangaroo Island. With its 4250 square kilometres (1/10th of Switzerland or about three times the area of Greater London) it is Australias third biggest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. Because it is not connected to the main land a part of the endemic flora and fauna could surive or was brought there in order to secure their preservation. 

Location of Kangaroo Island (Wikipedia)
 

Matt, accompanied by Linda and his car Toadie were supposed to pick us up on Friday at 8:30 am. This would give us enough time to shop in Central Market and get to Cape Jervis by noon. The kick off of a weekend plan that Matt and myself had "carefully" crafted - mainly to appease Linda who likes to have a structured framework. Naturally it failed immediately. Due to heavy traffic we hit Central Market at 9:30 - no need to panic. Whilst casually driving southwards at 80 km/h and taking in the sights we suddenly realised it was 11:30 and we had 45 km to go. Missing the ferry would have cost us $ 22 each and 3 h - the next one was not leaving until 3 pm. We were left with the option of flooring the throttle and Matt taught Toadie how to fly along the coast with up to 150 km/h. At 11:57 we arrived at the port and reversed instantly onto the vessel. The woman at the check in was slighlty confused about our sequence of things but, in true Aussie style, didn't make a big deal out of it...

Map of Kangaroo Island and our route
 

After this rather stressful start and a calm 45 minute cruise we enjoyed the sights at the Bay of Shoals, Emu Bay and Stokes Bay - proving that the two wheelie Toadie is a true dirt road star. Slightly to the dislike of Linda who didn't enjoy the rattling...:) Western River Cove was our campground of choice for the first night. We were the only ones in this stunning place, had a private beach, barbie and toilet. Kangaroos encircled our tent and the vibrations of their hopping gently rocked us to sleep. The pleasant besiegers were still grazing early next morning - at least twenty in our direct vicinity. 

Top: Bay of shoals and Emu Bay, Bottom: Cave at Stokes Bay and view of the campground at Western River Cove

The reason for our early start was an egg laying, beak bearing, semi aquatic mammal - the platypus, best spotted at night / early morning. Luck was on our side and after patiently waiting for almost an hour in total we had seen three of them. One in full size because he performed a "dolphin roll" right in front of us. Snake lagoon (a MUST when you're on KI), Admirals Arch, and Remarkble Rocks were the other stops for the day before camping at Vivionne Bay - ranked the second nicest beach in Australia (whatever that means). The only regret was not bringing climbing shoes with us. The Remarkable Rocks would have had some interesting problems to solve...

Snake Lagoon (only accessible via dirt roads and then on foot)

View and lighthouse at Cape du Couedic

Remarkable rocks

Evening shadows and sunrise at Vivionne Bay

Determined to not experience the same adrenalin rush as when we got to Kangaroo Island, we decided to take it easy on the last day. Sandboarding in Little Sahara (really fun - especially the second row of dunes where no one goes) and visiting Seal Bay (The seals are cute but it's overpriced - Admirals Arch offers (different) seals for free) were on our do to list before heading to Antechamber Bay to cook dinner.

Little Sahara: views and sandboarding

Seal bay boardwalk

From there we returned to Penneshaw - so early that the check-in for the ferry wasn't open yet. A coffee later and back at the registration counter we checked our reservation and it said: Monday 21.1.2013. WHAT? How could that happen? Surely we booked the return on Sunday... Our good friend adrenalin was back. Next step: switching to emergency plan: make the guy at the counter laugh. Telling him about having had a retard moment and joking about being drunk at work when booking the tickets won him over. There was just enough space on the boat and he let us on without having to re-book for $ 22 each. We couldn't believe our luck but were on edge until well clear of the island and sure they wouldn't make us debark again...

Conclusions from this trip:

• Kangaroo Island is awesome. Almost everything Australia has to offer is condensed right there. To make the most of it I would advise taking a car that you can take off road. Otherwise you will miss some amazing spots. 
• Under no circumstances travel with Elvira, Matt or me if you love well planned trips. Spontaneity and improvisation is our forte. And that is exactly how I "plan" to walk through Southeast Asia with Elvira...:) 

Pictures compyright P. Wettstein

Why vegan?

In this probably last post in 2012 I will not write about Australia. I will tell youabout something very close to my heart. If this does not interest you feel free to stop reading here and just look at the pictures (random choice from our stay thus far).

Park in Adelaide and view over Adelaide

 

Like most people I am extremely grateful for everything my parents passed on to myself and my brother. But two specific values need highlighting to create a backdrop for this post. The first is a deep love and respect for our nature. I was fortunate enough to not grow up with a TV so I spent endless hours outdoors. My dad would draw my attention to the beautiful jay up in the sky and the woodlouse under the rocks. It was him who named bushes, trees and animals and explained how they all have their important place ecosystems and consequently on the planet. And secondly they always did what they, deep down in their hearts, believed to be the right thing. Irrespective of possible inconveniences, personal sacrifices or consequences. And that - luckily - rubbed off. Thanks mum and dad.
My decision to live vegan needs to be seen in this context. Now first things first: it is and can only be a personal choice. I do not want to convince anyone to convert to a vegan nor do I think badly of people who enjoy dairy or eating meat. I enjoyed both very much for roughly 26 years of my life... I would simply like to explain how I came to that decision because most people outside of Australia do not know about that yet.

Sleeping koala in the wild

 

The real spark was the World Vegan Day in Adelaide. Elvira and I decided to attend - mainly out of curiosity and because we were vegetarians (myself for about three months, Elvira for a 1.5 years). The people I met there were great and a peaceful atmosphere seemed to hover over Victoria Square. Having come home, like my usual self, I started researching the matter deeper...

I came across "Livestock's Long Shadow" published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and learnt that livestock farming could account for as much as 18 % of the global CO2 equivalents (under their model assumptions of course). That is more than all planes, ships, trucks and cars put together.

Like everyone I knew the availability of drinking water will be one of the biggest challenges ahead. Little did I know about all the publications on water foorprints. In these one finds that, compared to plant based products, the water usage / kcal for all investigated animal products (with the exception of butter) is higher. In some cases this factor can be huge. Beef for example has a 20 fold higher water footprint than cereals. 

I read about the main cause for deforestation in the Amazon - the "lungs" of our planet and one of the most intriguing ecosystems - being soy beans. A crop which is mainly used to feed cattle. Roughly 90 % of the world wide harvest goes into the production of animal food. Despite its perfect suitability as source of protein. Moreover the rising prices of soy have lead neighbouring countries like Paraguay to follow Brazil's example - resulting in a huge GDP growth and devastating social consequences. A small handful of prepotent latifundistas push small farmers out of business, depriving them of their lievelihood and forcing them out of their houses into favela like shelters. The few who stay or the ones misfortunate ehough to live in the vicinity of soy fields are poisoned by pesticides and fertilizers. A rise in newborn deformity rates and a substantially lower life expectancy are the results.

Then there is the EU. The insatiable appetite for meat on the old continent has lead to a massive increase of meat production. In fact, the farming of chickens has risen so steeply that producers had to search for new channels to sell the "low quality" parts i.e. everything that isn't breast meat. Solution? Freeze everything and export it to certain countries in Africa. Because of factory farming the price is ten times lower than that of locally produced poultry. Result? African farmers give up - and the EU increases the budget for development aid. "The market will regulate it". 

And what about the bonoboesque desire of the human race to reproduce? How will 9'000'000'000 be fed in 2050? Depending on the calculation an estimated 2.5 - 3 planets would be needed to sustain a western diet for every citizen on earth today. And whenever someone uses more than his share there is someone else who doesn't have enough. Even if it is not directly visible due to a large geographical distance. 

And I studied more. A lot more. But I will spare you with it because Christmas is a time of happy meet ups with family and friends.

Somewhere in that process I paused - and tears started running down my face. Numerous enough to irrigate the lawn in front of the house and there was nothing that could stop it. It saddened me how the "pride of creation" treats his habitat and fellow humans - how he can destroy something so beautiful and awe inspriring like nature. Even worse: the thought of my son or grandson to be, looking up at me with tearful eyes, asking me why he cannot enjoy an intact planet any more popped into my mind. Knowing that I would have to answer "Because I, like many others, was too lazy to make a change" litreally tore my heart into shreds. 

Once I mopped the floor dry and could think clearly again I knew: From here on in I will do everything possible to never, ever see that look on my childrens or grand childrens face. And if I do see it then at least I can leave this earth in peace. Knowing that I did what I thought to be the best, simplest and most effective way for an individual to create a fairer, more humain planet. With humans treading on it in the lightest possible manner, respecting and taking care of nature.

To close I wish to repeat what I said in the beginning: This is NOT an attempt to turn anyone into a vegan. Everybody needs to decide on his or her own. It is an insight into my personal thoughts that led me into making this decision. Nothing more. Nothing less. The same contemplations in someone elses head could lead to a completely different conclusion on what could benefit our planet most. But what we can hopefully all agree on is that we need to change something and that we need to do it quickly. Before it is all too late...

Vegan carrot and praline cake

 

Now I am left with one last thing. I wish you all a lovely festive season and a brilliant start into 2013. Thanks to everyone who read this blog, you made writing it so much more fun. 

Love and Peace

Christmas Season

Grey skies, temperatures approaching zero degrees (32 F for my American friends) and possibly the first snow. Drinking tea, eating mandarins, peanuts and chocolate, a crackling fire in the background. Succumbing to the smell of roasted chestnuts on the way home if I am hungry or not. The aroma of fir and spruce filling the living room - dimly lit by a flickering candle. Elvira snuggling up to me under a blanket covering us both. These are all things I relate to this time of year - probably because, until now, no December has gone by without me spending at least a few days in Switzerland. So what is it like on the other side of the planet?

Well, blue and usually cloudless skies greet us every morning. 30 - 40 °C (86 - 104 F) is rather common and snow is just to be seen on posters hanging in windows of travel agencies that advertise summer cruises to Antarctica. Barbies are sizzling and smoking in place of the familiar steaming of chestnut ovens. Bright, blinking LED lights try to imitate their waxy counterparts and the only odour to be expected from the plastic conifere twigs is that of petrolium - if they are (mis)placed so unfortunately that the sun beats it out of them. For fear of proteins denaturing a "strictly no cuddling" policy had to be issued and he middle in our bed is marked by barbed wire... A rather stark contrast to my usual advent. 

Then there are the things I just cannot get my head around. Walking through the streets to "Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh (...)" with sweat breaking from every pore somehow feels weird. And why would father Christmas wear fur boots along with a padded jacket when teenage girls in thong-esque hot pants display their butt cheeks on Rundle Mall (main shopping street in Adelaide)? Admittedly, seeing the guy in tight Speedos would be a rather disturbing sight but there is a bearable middle ground. Flip flops and Billabong trunks would be a start for example. Exchange the sleigh for a barbie on wheels and the reindeer for dingoes and you're in for a real, contradiction free Aussie Christmas. Even though I would just be putting tofu on the barbecue - not very Australian.
However, I am embracing this very different run up to the end of December and looking forward to spending 24th and 25th on the beach. After all, curiosity and the search for something new is what draws most of us to places far away from our families. 

Marion Coast Park Walk

Having acclimatised in Australia has the side effect of thinking more about our upcoming project of walking through Southeast Asia. I catch myself feeling guilty about using a lift or taking the tram, fearing that the missed training might come back to haunt me. I stop at any outdoor shop and ponder what gear we’re still missing, how we could save weight and what the most appropriate equipment could be to tackle the vast number of different climates. Last but not least a 1:250’000 map set of the whole area is ready to be studied extensively.

So, not surprisingly, we chose hiking as our Sunday activity and the Marion Coast Park Walk seemed perfect. The trail is described as "hard", spans 7.2 km from Hallet Cove Headland to Marino Esplanade and leads through two conservation parks. Hikers often walk on boardwalks, which tackle the sometimes rather precarious coastal topography. Impressive stairs provide access to the sea at selected points. The cliffs are close the beach – therefore it is mostly covered by rocks. Since they seldom dig themselves up from the ground but rather tend to fall from above I decided to not try climbing at this location…

Impressions from the trail

 

Nevertheless it has a lot of other attractions. Since Switzerland is a landlocked country being close to the sea is one in itself. Then there are geological features like large, polished slabs of stone telling stories that date back 280 million years – when glaciers covered Australia and polished the bedrock. Continental drift had yet to separate Pangaea and shape the world as we know it today...

Original location of Australia and subsequent continental drift (Image from USGS)

Then there is the flora and fauna which is still very unfamiliar to me – but I am working on it. Finally the two parks have the important function of reining back the approaching settlements, which threaten to topple the equilibrium of these ever so sensitive coastal ecosystems. 

Lovely devotement and getting jumpy at Hallet Cove Beach

 

Now you may ask: A 7.2 km coastal walk on a plank is described as “hard”? Well, we had the same thought. And to be honest: it turned out to be a stroll in the park – but a lovely one. We came up with an explanation of our own: in Australia one has to factor in venomous animals.  Throw in a few Eastern Browns and the trail is potentially deadly – which makes “hard” a gross understatement…:)

Five years

Five years ago Fox news reported "Hillary Clinton leaps ahead in latest democratic polls". Five years ago Airbus delivered the first A380 to Singapore airlines - generating immense media attention and huge expectations. Five years ago the space shuttle "Discovery" took off from Kennedy Space Center. You might ask yourself why I am telling you those random facts. 

Well, five years ago I got to know my lovely fiancé Elvira. As we all know: Hillary Clinton did not win the presidential race, the engineers have experienced all sorts of trouble with the A380 and the Space Shuttle programme is discontinued. A lot of things can change in five years. Thank god our relationship is not one of them. We still are a very happy couple and definitely had far less problems than Airbus' Suberjumbo...:)

Anyhow we decided that this anniversary should be celebrated. As an English proverb says: you must make the hay when the sun shines. Since we are not yet blessed with Internet at our flat (I might tell you about that story some other time...) we could not look up departure times for trains and buses. So we decided to walk to the train station and let the time table decide for us. The verdict was Port Adelaide. 

Location of Port Adelaide - picture adapted from Google map

Port Adelaide is (nowadays) a small town located around 14 kilometres northwest of Adelaide's CBD. It is directly connected to the sea by the Port River. In 1836 Colonel William Light deemed it a suitable harbour to supply the colony of South Australia with everything they needed (including new colonists). Its population fluctuated with the trade - grew very quickly (second largest city of the state in 1911) and declined again. Today roughly 1100 people live there.

We first visited the Fishermen's Wharf Market. It is basically a large hall, two stories filled with stalls that sell pretty much anything. From bicycles to pizza wheels, oversized lollipops to oriental spices and "Made in China" plush toys to postcards from Adelboden, Switzerland (dated 1908). If you love flea markets you will love this. Some of the shops are so stuffed with objects that the danger of being buried would be rated "very high" by the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. 

 'Deadly' market stall and Port Adelaides' waterfront

After 1.5 hours my stomach was rumbling and my optical nerve suffered from severe input overload. A big portion of small donuts and a boat cruise promised to cure this unfavourable condition - the latter with a pleasant side effect. A permanent population of roughly 30 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins live in the Port River. An estimated 300 more come to visit occasionally. So we got on the boat and Elvira could not hide her anticipation since she had never seen dolphins before - unfortunately that turned into slight disappointment 90 minutes later. No sight of them.

Having had a relaxing cruise was a consolation nevertheless and so we strolled to the bow to enjoy the last 15 minutes of the trip. And suddenly there were dolphins. First one, then two and then three. The captains announcement "Dolphins bow riding to the left of the ship" was like a spark in a gun powder factory. All passengers ran towards the front of the ship as if they had to catch the last life boat leaving the Titanic. Within split seconds no one but the lucky few in the first row could catch a glimpse of the spectacle displayed in the water. The unlucky majority tugged, pushed and shoved for the second best places. Elvira giggled like a small child and exclaimed "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" whenever a dolphin jumped out of the water - completely in her own world and unaware of the turmoil behind her.

Dolphin bow riding and us two on the ship

 

On the train ride home she still chuckled to herself every now and then. A dinner at Mee Su (great restaurant, a must try if you're in town!) rounded off our day perfectly. May we still celebrate anniversaries when the A380 is on scrapyards around the world - as a reminder of the primitive technology in the early 2000s...

Pictures (except for the map) by P. Wettstein 

Australian law

At the end of a lovely trip with a rental car I switched on the wipers (instead of the indicators - I'll never get my head around it) and pulled over into a parking spot right in front of our door. In order to avoid a fine (they're ridiculously high in Australia) I rechecked the parking sign and it said unlimited parking on Sundays.

It was quite an unpleasant surprise when I returned to the car and saw a white, narrow note fluttering on the windscreen. Did I misread the sign? A double check confirmed that this wasn't the case. Took a loot at the note and to my astonishment I read the following:
Offence: FAIL TO PARK FACING DIRECTION OF TRAVEL - Fail to park vehicle facing in direction of travel (two way) - Australian road Rule 208(2)(a). 

Penalty: $ 58

WHAT? You must be joking! What is the danger of parking "not facing the direction of travel" on a quiet street? Having me drive on the left side of the road was a thousandfold more dangerous! I have yet to find a satisfactory explanation... But in Australia there is no mercy for criminals like me who dare spurn their orderly parking habits. So all I could do was pay the fine - not without a good deal of muttering though.

This incident sparked my interest in Australian laws, especially the silly ones. If you google silly laws + Australia a lot pops up - usually not stating in what act they are to be found. I am always careful with those kind of sources but most rumors were circulating around Queensland and Victoria. So I decided to concentrate on those two to see what I could find in the actual acts. Here is an excerpt:

Trading with pirates (Victoria)
These days pirates are a common occurence in Australia - easily recognized by the eye patch and peg leg. So it is very useful to have such a law. 
Just to be on safe side - I wouldn't recommend even giving them a chewing gum (pirates crave that). You might end up in prison for 10 years... 

Harnessing goats and slaughtering beasts (Victoria)
Whoever does the following commits and offence:

What most tourists don't know (and what is never written in any guide): Aussies love to drive their dogs and goats harnessed through a public place and subsequently slaughter the "beasts" on the spot to have a nice barbie (barbecue for the non Aussie speaking). Hence paragraph (c) is supplemented by (g). 
Nowadays the smart Victorians just harness kangaroos and sheep instead to avoid the law. They cannot kill them on the street however (unless they knock them over by a car)...

Smacking passengers (Criminal Code, Queensland)
Watch out if you're sitting next to a Queenslander in a car - if you don't put on your seatbelt or muck about he might lawfully slap, choke or kick you or use any other "reasonable force" to keep "good order" in the vehicle... Btw: fleeing to the back seat doesn't help - he is allowed to delegate the mistreatment.

Setting mantraps in Queensland (Criminal code) In Queensland it is officially allowed to set "spring guns, mantraps, or engines at night" to protect a dwelling house. As a husband in Queensland I'd always tell my wife when I'm coming home - being shot by a spring gun / "mantrapped" at 5 am would put a rather brisk end to an unanounced long night out.

Sweeping in Brisbane (Brisbane City Coucil - Streets, Bridges, Culverts etc.)
Footpaths in front of houses are to be swept daily before 8:30 am. Failing to do so could cost you up to $ 5000 and up to $ 500 for "each and every day during which the offence continues" - I am sure everybody in Brisbane dutifully contributes to clean streets before 8:30 am...

Since spit complicates sweeping considerably they have also issued the following law (with the same penalty as above!) ;)

No spitting in Brisbane

  

Whenever QLD is short on money I have the remedy: The police could patrol the Brisbane running festival and issue fines to all runners who blemish the streets with "nasal discharge" or by expecorating.

That is it for my crash course in Australian law. As you can see it has a firm grip on any situation in life! I hope you enjoyed it and remember: offences are very costly in Australia. Thus I will always face the direction of travel when parking, not trade with pirates and never drive a harnessed goat through Queensland (althogh it was my firm intent do do so of course)...

Two websites facilitated the search substantially:

news.com.au

melbourneaustralia.com.au 

Paragraphs are excerpts from the original acts which can be found on the respective state websites

Touchdown

I think I am ready to find a job as real estate agent in Adelaide. But let me start from the beginning of this rather lengthy story. 

Elvira and myself arrived in Adelaide two weeks before commencing studies and work respectively. This would give us enough time to find an apartment, move in and set up our "base camp" - that was the theory anyway. With hindsight this was a rather naïve plan. 

Firstly we were only looking for a six month lease term - not good! Aussies like to rent out for 12, so if anyone applied for a year we were out. Period. Secondly we needed something furnished - even worse. Finding an affordable flat in Adelaide is like looking for a grass patch in the Sahara. Wanting a fully furnished apartment is asking for the blades to be lush green rather than brown. Not very probable. And last but not least we did not have an Aussie -> English translator with us. Otherwise we would have known that "you'll hear from us on Friday" means that the very earliest time to expect a call is Monday (althogh that is a brave estimate - Tuesday might be more like it). I don't have a problem with that but having this information is vital to plan accordingly.

Clearly were not moving in before the two weeks went by. But we did have a promising application in the pipeline and on Friday (21.09) the real estate agency confirmed that we could relocate on Tuesday (25.9). Since I did not receive a call to pick up the keys (confirmation in Aussie is a synonym for a vague statement) I phoned the agency on Tuesday morning - only to find out that they were very surprised by my call. Their plan was handing over the keys on Saturday 29.9 (definitely translation issues!) - and we had checked out of our hostel already. Argh!

Not taking the risk of further Aussie -> English misunderstandings I went to their office and was not going to leave without the keys. They were handed over to me with the comment that we might not have electricity... WHAT? Availability of electricity obviously isn't a prerequisite for a "move in ready" apartment in Australia. 
Jumped on the phone and rang the electricity company whilst picturing how the two girls (especially Inessa but also Elvira) would react to the proposal of a lukewarm, candle cooked soup and brushing teeth with headlamps on... 
Surprisingly the electricity company was very speedy - at 16:55 we were officially on the grid. The girls were cheering as if they were Thomas Edison demonstrating an effective light bulb for the first time. And I was happy about not having to sell them the whole scout thing as something romantic and unique (although that is exactly my opinion).

So yes, we have moved in and we like our little flat. A big step towards feeling at home. And if anyone wants to move to Adelaide in the next few weeks / months: drop me a message for translation services or other hints. Office hours are from 9 am - 5 pm...;)

Clockwise starting from top left: Entrance, light well in front of the flat, one of the bedrooms and the kitchen