Backpacking in Tasmania

In the middle of March Ross and I went on a 6-day backpacking trip in Tasmania (one of the states in Australia). Initially we had been planning on spending a week in Singapore in March, but in early to mid-February the writing was already on the wall in terms of COVID-19, so we cancelled those plans and looked for other holiday options.  Rewind to 2016 for a minute. Before we left for the Southern Hemisphere, one of my good friends from Earlham College (who happens to be an avid hiker) told us that, if we got the chance, we should do the Overland Track in Tasmania, since we were going to be down that way anyway. I looked it up and immediately fell in love with the rugged scenery. I shared it with Ross and we have wanted to do it since.

Cradle Mountain above Dove Lake

One of the tricks with the Overland Track is that it is incredibly popular. Because of its popularity only a certain number of people (32 individuals and 32 people on guided hikes) are allowed to start on the track on a given day during the summer season (October 1st - May 31st). Normally you have to book 6 months to a year out, especially if you want to go around the holidays. Ross and I were lucky enough to get the last two available spots starting on the track on March 15th, even though we only booked about three weeks out.

Ross in the alpine section of the track.

Some basic fun facts about the Overland Track:

- The track is 65 km (40 miles) or 80 km (50 miles) long, depending if you take a ferry from the last hut (Narcissus) or walk along the shore of Lake St Claire. We opted for the ferry but kind of wish that we had walked.

- The walk is designed to take approximately 6 nights (though you can do it significantly faster if you want) and there are designated huts that you have to stay at along the way. All of the huts also have tent platforms, if you don't want to listen to everyone snore in the hut.

- You walk by the tallest mountain in Tasmania, Mount Ossa (1617 metres) and, if the weather is good, you can hike up it.

- There is a ultramarathon that goes along the full 80 km of the Overland Track and the records are 7 hours and 25 minutes for a man and 8 hours and 13 minutes for a woman. Personally, I prefer my plodding pace so that I can stop and smell the proverbial roses.

- The entire walk (and then some) is through a UNESCO World Heritage Wilderness Area.

- Two thirds of the track is on natural surface (i.e. mud, gravel, etc.) and the other third is a combination of planking, duckboard and cordwood.

Duckboard track through the buttongrass moorlands.

Back to our trip... Ross and I flew from Melbourne down to Launceston on March 14th. We picked up some last minute supplies and then caught a shuttle to Cradle Mountain. On the ride to Cradle Mountain we saw an echidna (looks sort of like a porcupine but about the size of a football), but didn't get any pictures. We camped in one of the campgrounds by the visitor centre and made sure to treat ourselves to a fancy dinner at one of the lodges before we'd be eating trail food for a week.

Bennetts Wallabies

Wombat

On the 15th, we picked up our track passes from the visitor centre and caught the shuttle to Ronny Creek, which is where the Overland Track starts. We had learned the previous night (technically we were reminded as I has received an email with this information and then promptly forgot) that the first hut on the track (Waterfall Valley Hut) was closed for repairs this season. To get to the alternate first night's hut, you had to lose a decent amount of elevation, that you would have to regain again first thing in the morning to get back onto the Overland Track. Ross and I decided to skip that and just walked to the second night's hut (Windermere). Because of this, our first day on the trail ending up being 18.5 km (11.5 miles) with the most elevation gain of any day on the track and our packs at their heaviest. We were definitely questioning the wisdom of the decision, particularly in the last 5 km to Windermere, but everyone we talked to said that the hike down to and back up from the alternate first hut was pretty terrible, so I guess that we made the correct decision. Plus, the scenery was AMAZING! While the elevation isn't that high (just over 1000 metres), the terrain is really rugged and the alpine vegetation made both of us feel like we were hiking at elevation in one of the mountain states.

At the start of the track.

Ross walking toward Barn Bluff.

Lake Windermere

Our second day was another long one with 16.8 km of rolling terrain (10.5 miles) (this should have been the longest day on the trail, but we're overachievers apparently). This was another day spent mostly in the alpine terrain with sweeping views of mountains. We eventually made it to Pelion Hut and decided to camp, as the previous night in Windermere Hut had involved a number of snorers and not as much sleep as we would have liked.

Mount Oakleigh (left)

Frog Flats

Mountain Rocket

Mount Oakleigh

Our third day we decided to take a rest day. We'd already covered more than half the track and we were beat. Subsequently we spent the day lounging in the sun on the helicopter landing pad (all of the huts had them for emergency), napping and reading. We had talked up doing a day trip up Mount Oakleigh (1386 metres) but resting seemed like a better plan. It was fabulous and just what the old legs needed.

Hanging out on the helicopter pad with the hut in the background.

Sunset on Mount Oakleigh

Our fourth day was a shorter one, just 8.6 km (a bit over 5 miles) to Kia Ora Hut. From this section of the trail, you can do side trips up either Mt Pelion East (1433 metres) or Mt Ossa (at 1617 metres its the tallest mountain in Tassie). We had been talking about going up either but the day dawned cloudy and by the time we got up to the pass between the two peaks, it was raining, windy and cold. As neither of us was in the mood to get hypothermia, we headed on to the hut. Since it was raining when we got there, we ended up spending the night in the hut and played a bunch of cards with some of the other hikers. Despite the less-than-stellar weather, it was a really nice day.

Woo hoo for a dry hut!

Sign on the way to the toilet at Kia Ora Hut.

Our fifth day on the trail was an easy, mostly flat 9.6 km (a hair under 6 miles) to Windy Ridge. We tacked on a couple of extra kilometres by walking out to some waterfalls that weren't too far off the track. It started raining as we were leaving the second waterfall and then proceeded to rain for the rest of the day and night. As such, we spent another night in a hut and another evening playing cards with the other hikers. 

Ross and Du Cane Hut (for emergency use only)

Great forest day

D'Alton Falls

At Windy Ridge we ran into a ranger who had just hiked in and got our first hint of the state of the outside world. He and I had the following conversation.

Ranger: Where are you heading after this?

Me: To Narcissus Hut (last hut on the track).

Ranger: And after that?

Me: We're taking the ferry and then spending the night at Lake St Claire.

Ranger: And after that?

Me: We're going to Hobart and flying back to Melbourne (I was starting to get a little confused and concerned at this point).

Ranger: And after that?

Me: Um, we live in Melbourne...

Ranger: Oh, you should be fine then. Australia is closing its borders to non-residents and non-citizens on the 20th (the next day) and all international flights are stopping at the end of the month. But you should be able to get back to Melbourne.

Me (internally): Oh dear god, what is going on?!?

So, that conversation definitely destroyed some of the tranquility of the trip. Things hadn't been looking great when we left Melbourne on the 14th, but they hadn't been that bad. Needless to say, we were not super excited to leave the woods and head back into the real world in a few short days. But I digress...

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Our last day on the trail, day six, was another comfortable 9 km (5.6 miles) of flatness through the rainforest. It rained off and on but nothing too hard. We had gotten a slow start to the day, so there were a number of other hikers at Narcissus Hut, waiting for the ferry, when we rolled in. Apparently there was mobile reception there (not with our carrier though), so we found out that Tasmania was closing its borders the next day (21st). Endless good news. We ended up staying in the hut again and chatted with the two other couples who were there that night. We also saw a wombat, a pademelon (kind of like a small kangaroo) and a platypus. The platypus was smaller than I would have thought but it was also the first one that either Ross or I had ever seen in the wild, so it was amazing!

Ross crossing the Narcissus River.

It doesn't look like much but that's a platypus!

Eucalyptus trees are the best.

Morning clouds on Mt Olympus and Lake St Claire.

The next day (March 21st), we caught the ferry to the south end of Lake St Claire. Originally we had been planning on camping there but we splurged and got a room. Let me tell you, that shower and soft bed were amazing after a week on the trail. Don't get me wrong, the huts were nice but you're sleeping on a wooden platform so it's actually probably worse than the ground.

Red-bellied Pademelon

Looking south down Lake St Claire.

Done!!

From Lake St Claire, we caught a shuttle to Hobart and then got our flight to Melbourne. The Hobart airport is not big by any stretch of the imagination but it was deserted. It was pretty surreal. Ross and I had been in contact with our respective managers once we got off the track and were told to work from home for two weeks, just in case we picked anything up in the airports. It is definitely a surreal time to be alive. 

At the moment, Melbourne is not on lock-down. All non-essential businesses are closed but lots of people are still going into work, including all of my colleagues. The university that Ross is at has told all employees that they will be working from home until the end of April. Currently I'm due back in my office on April 6th. Everything is changing so quickly though, so we'll just have to see what happens next.

To end on a happy note, Ross and I adopted a cat from the RSPCA (akin to the Humane Society in the US) at the beginning of March. His name is Cooper and he is just over a year old. He was incredibly shy when we first got him but he's definitely settling in at this point and he's starting to come out of his shell. In the last week, since we've been working from home, he's figured out how to play with the toys we got him, meows (he was silent before), plays on the bed when we're trying to go to sleep and doesn't run away when we walk toward him. All in all, good progress for the little man.

I hope that this finds you all well and staying healthy. All my best until next time.

Movin On Up to the East Side

The big item for February is that Ross and I moved apartments. We are now in Windsor rather than St Kilda. For those of you who are not familiar with Melbourne, we moved about 3 miles northeast of where we had been living. We are still firmly in the greater Melbourne area but we're not next to the beach or the penguins any more. We are right down the street from our favourite art-house movie theatre though, so that's a plus.

Flowers on Phillip Island

The main impetus for the move was Ross's commute. From where we were in St. Kilda, it took him 1.5 hours, on a good day, to get to the Monash University campus. From where we are now in Windsor, it's closer to 1/2 hour on a good day. My commute time has gotten a bit longer, going from 30 minutes to 45-50 minutes. It's all down to trams, trains and transfers. When I bike, which I do most of the time, it's only about 10 minutes longer than it was from St Kilda and I get to ride by Albert Lake, so it's not too bad.

Living room, plus we're finally using our rug from Morocco!

Dining room and balcony (out the giant window)

We're also excited to say that we have a two-bedroom apartment and we finally have a/c! The second bedroom is nice because now people can stay with us when they visit rather than being relegated to an AirBnb or the floor/couch. And a/c is basically a must when you live someplace that is regularly in the 30-40 C range (90 F to 115 F) for 6+ months of the year, though this summer hasn't been as bad (i.e. hot) as the previous two. Our last apartment didn't have a/c and, let me tell you, there were some pretty miserable days and nights sitting in front of the fan, slowing melting into a pool of misery and sweat. So much sweat.

Park by our new apartment

Besides moving this month, we haven't done a whole lot. Turns out moving takes a lot of time and energy. Plus it's terrible. It took us two and a half weeks to get our internet up and working in the new apartment which seems pretty standard in this part of the world. I really don't know what the issue with internet here is, but it is a pain. The last apartment that we lived in, it took me a month to get the internet working and I think that it was about the same with the apartment where we lived in New Zealand.

I also spent a weekend down on Phillip Island with my knitting group. I don't know if I've talked about the group much but it is called the Melbourne Drunken Knitwits and it is fabulous. We meet up at pubs around the city every Thursday to knit, drink, chat and try out the various pub food. It's pretty awesome. 

Churchill Island

Saturday morning run views heading from Churchill Island back to our AirBnb on Phillip Island

Anyway, for our Summer Retreat, we rented a big house in Cape Woolamai, which is on the east side of Phillip Island. It was a very relaxing weekend with tons of good food, good laughs and a decent amount of knitting thrown in for good measure. This was my second time to Phillip Island - Ross and I went for a weekend in 2018 but we stayed in Cowes, which is located on the north side of the island. If you happen to be visiting Ross and I, or Melbourne in general, Phillip Island is a good, calm weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

So much knitting

Beach weather on Phillip Island

I came back to Melbourne a bit early from the knitting extravaganza because Ross and I had tickets to a Tool concert last Sunday night. They are one of Ross's favourite bands so we definitely couldn't miss them if they came all of the way to Australia. The venue that we were in was absolutely packed. The opening act was not great but Tool put on a pretty incredible show. Definitely repeatable. 

To wrap up the month, Ross and I both competed in the Melbourne Corporate Triathlon. It was a baby tri - 400 metre swim, 10 km bike ride and 4 km run. This is my third year competing in the Corporate Triathlon but my first time attempting the entire event. Since it's designed for the corporate crowd, you are either on a team of three where each person completes the entire triathlon or you're on a team of three where each person does one leg of the triathlon. The previous two years I have done the running leg for my team. I had thought that signing up for the event back in December would motivate me to train, but it didn't at all. I was fine with the bike and run legs but I had a bit of a panic attack in the water and ended up getting pulled out by the lifeguard. I got to hang out at the first aid station for a bit and then head off on my merry way. Definitely not an ideal first triathlon experience, but it made me realise that I should probably take some swim lessons and, I don't know, actually train for it next year. Ross was also struggling a little bit (it was his first tri too) but he did the whole thing and didn't dislocate his shoulder, which is always a plus.

The motley PJRA triathlon crew this year post race.

We're going backpacking for a week in Tasmania in the middle of March (doing the Overland Track), so the next blog will be more adventurous and have significantly better pictures. All the best until next time!

Home for the Holidays

So I know that Christmas was a month ago, but I'm just getting around to writing up a blog about our adventures with family and friends. My office closes for two weeks over Christmas and New Years, which is pretty awesome, though a bit like forced leave. Anyway, I took an extra week off work and Ross and I went back to the US for three weeks over the holidays.

It was our first time travelling back to the States together but the second trip back for both of us since moving abroad. I went back last year for Thanksgiving and saw my family in Kansas, while Ross went back in June 2018 and saw his family in Colorado. This year we split our time between the two families. As I know that a bunch of the people who will look at this are our families, here's a rundown of the more interesting points. 

It took us 27 hours and 40 minutes to get to Parker, Colorado from Melbourne (door to door). In Colorado we:

1) Ate at Taco Bell and Jimmy Johns for the first time in 3.5+ years;

2) Saw snow fall from the sky for the first time since we lived in Minnesota (2016);

3) Probably ate our weight in Mexican food;

4) Finally found a restaurant with good horchata. Ross had close to 2 litres in one sitting;

5) Met/saw for the first time in a while 5 kids of friends and in-laws (including two of our groomsmen);

6) Made Candy cane cookies on Christmas Eve (Taylor family tradition);

7) Went sledding with my niece and nephew in Colorado;

8) Made s'mores with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law;

9) Went hiking in Garden of the Gods with friends;

10) Unpacked our storage shed and loaded it into a U-haul for the trip to Kansas;

11) Knit some, read some, and ate a whole lot of tasty food; 

12) Caught up with friends and Ross's family;

13) Celebrated Christmas Eve/Day with Ross's family; and

14) Saw squirrels, deer, blue jays, etc. for the first time in a long time.

From Colorado, we drove to Oklahoma and stayed with the best man at our wedding and his family. This involved driving through Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. We met his two kids and ate more delicious Mexican. From there we headed north to Kansas and hung out with the Taylor clan for the rest of the trip.

In Kansas we:

1) Met my new nephew (born mid-November);

2) Ate at Dairy Queen, Wendys and Jimmy Johns (again) for the first time in 3.5+ years;

3) Ate my weight in cookies that my mom made;

4) Played with our fur baby who lives with my parents;

5) Went through everything from our storage shed, got rid of some stuff and repacked/organised everything else for storage in my parent's basement;

6) Met up with my best friend, her hubby and their two kids for dinner;

7) Met up with a friend of mine from college that I hadn't seen since graduation (i.e. - far too long ago);

8) Went out to dinner for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary (a couple days early);

9) Learned some new knitting techniques from the Mom - brioche knitting;

10) Ate a ton for tasty, home-cooked food;

11) Had a second Christmas with the Taylors;

12) Went to the National WWI Museum in Missouri (our 6th state of the trip, if you don't count LA);

13) Went to Baker wetlands; and

14) Admired my Dad's giant rock collection and talked about minerals. A lot (this was mostly my dad and Ross, though I threw in the odd nugget from my mineralogy course occasionally).

Eventually it was time to head back to Melbourne. Of course, on the day that we were flying out, Kansas got hit by an ice storm so we got to sit at the airport for 5+ hours while flights were diverted to Minneapolis, among other places. We eventually made it to LA but missed our connecting flight to Melbourne. Luckily we were able to be rerouted through Sydney so we didn't have to spend the night in LA. Of course, the flight to Sydney was delayed so we missed our connection to Melbourne and had to be rebooked again. Ultimately, it took us 33 hours, door to door, to get from Kansas back home. It wouldn't have been too bad because we were able to sleep on our flight from LA to Sydney but I went back to work the next day... Which was definitely poor planning on my part.

All in all, it was a great trip and, while it was not particularly relaxing, it was fabulous to see and catch up with so many friends and family.

Spring Down Under

I realised the other day that it has been ages since I've done a blog post...sorry! Here are some cute ducklings to make up for it.

Pacific Black Ducks

It's been a pretty quite spring for us. There was a run of ~6 weekends in September through early October where we were doing stuff every weekend, so it's been nice to have a calm November. After our trip to Cairns we: 

1) completed a 50 km bike ride as part of the Around the Bay event,

2) took part in the Mornington Running Festival - I ran a half marathon and Ross ran a 10 km,

3) I ran the 10 km at the Melbourne Marathon Festival (this was the weekend after the bike ride, I think...), 

4) we went to the Royal Melbourne Show two days in a row, and

5) I think that there was something else, but I can't remember it right now...

In Williamstown, during Around the Bay

After the Mornington Running Festival

Enjoying the view and a well earned rest after the half marathon.

Winning Cupcakes at the Royal Melbourne Show

Possibly the greatest chicken ever

World Cup show jumping at the Royal Melb Show

I also applied for and was granted a four-year work visa, so we can stay in Australia for a while longer. Woo hoo! I say "I" because I am the main visa holder and Ross is tacked on as my partner, so he didn't actually have to do anything except send me copies of various documents. If I'm remembering correctly, I ended up submitting about 30 supplementary documents in addition to filling out a 22 page visa application.  Good times.

We had to submit: passports, drivers licences, birth certificates, wedding certificate, proof of our relationship (i.e. - joint bank accounts, bills in both of our names, joint leases, etc.). We also had to have police background checks for any country that we had lived in for a year or more in the last ten years, so Ross had to get one from the US and NZ, while I had to get them from the US, NZ and Australia. Fun story - I managed to submit the wrong type of Australian background check (because there are multiple types...) so I had to get and submit a second one. I also had to submit my university transcripts, CV, contract from the company that I work for and letters of reference from previous employers.

Honestly though, one of the more challenging aspects of the visa application was listing the dates of entry and exit for every country that we have visited in the last ten years outside of our country of citizenship. It wasn't too hard for me but Ross had been flying to Australia about once a month since I moved over in May 2017, plus he has been to an impressive number of foreign conferences at this point. Needless to say, we made sure to keep that record, should we need to submit it again for any reason.

All-in-all, I am glad that it's done and that we were approved and we don't have to worry about that one again for a while, though technically I could apply for permanent residency (PR) in May 2020.... I'm not sure I'm ready for yet another crazy application so soon though. Plus I'm not sure how that would effect Ross since I'm the primary visa holder and he hasn't been in Australia long enough to apply for PR yet. At some point I'll call immigration and sort that all out but that's a task for another day.

As I said at the beginning of this post, November has been more laidback. Well, for me at least. Ross is so close to submitting his dissertation for external review that we can taste it. He's aiming to send it off on Wednesday or Thursday this week. So exciting!! This means though that he's been working until ~11 p.m. most nights and putting in pretty solid hours on the weekends too. He's planning on going back to NZ to help a friend with a couple weeks of field work at the beginning of December, so that has been his carrot to finish up the dissertation.

Just one of the friendly, neighbourhood penguins

We're planning on doing a small Thanksgiving this week and I've told my co-workers that I'll bring in some pie on Thursday. I might try to get out of Melbourne the weekend that Ross is in NZ, but otherwise there's not a whole lot on the schedule for us until we head back to the States for Christmas on 21 December. My office shuts down for two weeks over the holidays and I took an extra week off, so we'll have three weeks to see family and friends and enjoy a cold, snowy (hopefully) Christmas. I'm most excited to meet my new nephew (sorry Mom and Dad...), who was born a little less than two weeks ago.

To everyone in the US, I hope that you have a fabulous Thanksgiving this week!

Cheers,

Annika