Back to the Coast

Due to some problems with the Push-Bike, I deviated from my plans and took an Auto-Bus to the East Coast. As it was Friday, the Bus took me as far as Maryborough. It was the biggest Town I had visited all week: the Centre was several blocks in each direction! There was also a Bike-Smith, who took care of my 'pushie'.
While I waited for him to do his job, I walked around the charming town; it was cute, but not too much (i.e. Moomin-Valley Syndrome was absent), and had plenty of Heritage architecture. This is the birth town of the author of Mary Poppins, as was evident in this statue in front of her birth house:

There was also a big "Mary Poppins in the Park" Festival about to take place, this weekend, one presumes, with Motion Pictures and Chimney Sweepeing &c fun for the whole family.

Speaking of families, after I had done climbing in the best climbing tree I've seen so far, in the Queens Park, I ran into these youngsters. The Lady in the right asked if I would like to take a Photograph of her. As I did, the young Gentleman on the left rose up, too. He informed me, that once back home, I could show this Photograph to my firends and tell them 'these are who make the future young ruffians'. So now You know, too.

I pushed my bike to Hervey Bay, the Gateway to the Fraser Island, a wonderful UN World Heritage site: 75 miles long sand island, all of it a National Park. No paved roads, only sand paths barely wide enough for a vehicle. The ride was very bumpy even with a four-wheel-drive bus:



I spotted some turtles and a couple of Humpback Whales, but did not see the famous Fraser Dingoes.


Here's an unusual Column decoration from Toogoolawah: Elkhorn ferns used as flourishing Capitals.

More to follow later.
Good luck and godspeed!

Paddlewick

Fraser

DL&GotS,

we report with pride that our survey of the mid latitudes of the coast was expanded by a minor expedition to Batjala K'Gari and surroundings. This peculiar remnant of ice age sand blown in from retreated seas, compacted and recovered, then surrounded once again, illustrates a fascinating rapid alternative to the customary geological processes of terrain building. Of particular amazement are the so-called perched lakes - filtered rainwater of utmost purity and clarity, puddled in age-old compacted plant matter encatchments. The sand is a formidable opponent to expeditions, and having mired our carriage once on the deceptive surface, we entrust ourselves to local guides and conveyance.

Various more or less indigenous creatures inhabit the island and surroundings.

Yarr! A man!

P-wick reports via ansible from the remote hamlet of Yarraman. Apparently the dread dropbears have not attacked, despite ubiquitous warnings. We wish the best of luck for our intrepid adventurer!

This weekend we headed south for some cute and/or commercial villages, and some surf & turf. We ascended some 500m to Mt.Tamborine, where the village had a definite cute overload. Then down we descended, toward's the Ms' friends' party in Slweepy Hollow.
On the way we visited the rather over-the-top Party and Shopping Central known as Surfer's Paradise, which looks like a cross between Las Vegas and Miami:

As the sun set before we got there, some rather spooky rural roads were travelled in darkness. The party was a hoot and a half, with very good 'dutch-oven' lamb and chicken roast on open fire etc.


The second day we went snorkeling and diving in Byron Bay, the easternmost point of the Continent! I saw some wonderful schools of fishesh, a couple of stingrays, and a couple of little sharks. A good time indeed.

Tomorrow I'll be starting my bicyckle journey up north, hopefully all goes well!

Qld

DOWN UNDER PT. THE FIRST

Sydney

Brisbane

...arrived in Brisbane safe and sound. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for my trunk. They lost track of it momentarily in London, but were able to deliver it to Wensworth Residence a mere 30 hrs after my arrival.
W & the Ms. had rented a carriage for the day, so we drove around town for a bit. In the evening we enjoyed some local Bubbly in the Mt. Coo-Tha Botanical Gardens. Here W makes friends with an Ibis:

W & Ms. inspecting the Putting Greene at the Uni.

And here's asummary of my Mt. Coo-tha Expedition: quite a climb up to the observation area (about 2,5km distance), then quite a looong downhill on the other side. The brakes proved their worth :)

That's it for now; more to follow!
Good luck & godspeed.
Paddlewick, Esq.

Dear Ladies & Gentlemen,
I shall journey "Down Under" for a few weeks of R&R and bicyckling in The Colonies. I'll try to update this Blogge a couple of times per week, as my circumstances and constitution allows. I'm also hoping that Jeeves can keep track of my ... track, so to say, in form of an Electronick Map (or somesuch) and Photographics (Jeeves knows these things better). So keep an eye on this space and wish me luck!

Yours truly etc,
W.P. Paddlewick, the Society Antipodean Bicyckling Expedition Organizer

Jules Verne in space

Way to go, Mr. Verne, we salute you!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7321116.stm

Far East Travels, Part the Second

Yours truly accompanied by his trusty Jeeves arrived at the dawn of
summer at a city called Jiamusi in Heilongjiang province, the most
Northern and Eastern province in China.

Jeeves had studied a little Mandarin Chinese before the voyage, and thus
he soon managed to locate suitable accommodation for a gentleman.

During the old days, before us Britons came along bugging the Dragon,
this goose shaped province was used as a place to expel imperial
officials who had the misfortune to fall out of the grace of the
emperor; One might even think of the region as the Chinese version of
Siberia - and according to the natives, the winter really is almost
as frosty as on the Russian side of the border.
But I must take their word for it, since during my visit the temperature
was most agreeable at low twenties.

I was quite pleased with Jeeves' performance for arranging
such comfortable logging. Later on old J. disclosed that his
well deserved sleep was on and off disturbed by in-hotel phone calls
from professional ladies offering nocturnal delights. Needles to say,
Jeeves' wholesome moral sentiment gave him no opportunity to
condescend to any such seedy relations.

As the rising sun greeted us beyond the Pacific, it was time to get
acquainted with locale life and culture. The natives seemed to be
somewhat curious about the pale skinned foreigner, but nevertheless no
uncomfortable contact ensued.

In spite the natives attesting their home town being small and remote,
the streets were to the contrary quite lively and audible all the day long.

As to our hosts, they were always very hospitable. Whenever a meal was
served, a large round rotating table was stacked with an impressive
variety of delicious dishes.
Yours truly is ashamed to admit, that his culinary expertise failed on
numerous occasions to recognise the contents of dishes. Albeit
not always being quite aware of what I was sampling, I assure you the
old taste buds were very well tickled with the bewildering flavours
of the exotic delicacies.

After these delightful experiences it was very difficult to imagine,
that a mere forty years ago, approximately 30 million unfortunate souls
died of starvation during the worst famine experienced in human history.

Our hosts were kind to arrange a jaunt to the province countryside to
explore some Northern flora. Wandering around hilly nature reserves was a
most welcome undertaking after all the sitting around; after all, the
heart of an explorer yearns to the yonder.

Maj. Coastnail inspecting
the properties of a local bamboo
forest for use of Her Majesty's Navy

But after a few days honest countryside sightseeing, I instructed
Jeeves to arrange a train ticket to the Imperial City.

Many big red dots were neatly arranged
in a row along sight-lines, during a
mapping excercise

Arriving at Beijing, I must confess, that the local emperors certainly
knew how to show off their might. During the start of Qing Dynasty an
estimated 9000 eunuchs served in the forbidden city. According to my
calculations every single day for 25 year a poor chap had to depart
himself of his family jewelry as to gather up the required staffing
for the forbidden city.

Quite a splendid place to visit, allthought I must alert dear
Wensworth, that he will not be able to locate any of his http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1993358,00.html favourite
refreshments within the bounds of the Forbidden City anymore.

I can relate many more juicy details at the club, or one-on-one over a good whisky. Meanwhile, upwards and onwards, fellow explorers!

Maj. Coastnail, Esq; Society Anglo-Sino Relationship Coordinator

Hitting the Slopes

Goode tidings again!
The Society here, to report on the new Co-Operation between the good folks at Google (information gathering and storage) and Nokia (rubber boots & cable etc).
Using one of the Nokia gadgets, one can record, and view, the ground one has covered, and also share said information with friends. Below is a Graphick Interpretation of a recent ski-trip, over-layed onto a Satellite Image.

Mount Tahco, March MMVIII

Very handy for various explorations & exploits, one must say! No more need to consult Jeeves for current or previous (after one too many G&T or such) where-abouts. The White Areas of the Earth, and one's memory, are getting smaller and smaller!

We'll keep you updated.

Meanwhile, godspeed & good luck.

Paddlewick, Society Technical Advisor, Esq.

The State of the Southern Extremities

Dear G&LotS,



having recently surveyed the deep South, it is my solemn duty to bring you news that the noble culture of Cider has collapsed, apparently the result of vicious warfare between the greater evil of Strongbow and the lesser one of Mercury. The Good Old Homelands are the last bastion of decent scrumpy. We mourn.



Other than this shocking development, our survey was exceedingly educational and refreshing. Various wildlife was encountered, and we can finally lay to rest the suspicion that the Southern Areas have no snakes: we spotted two of the three species on this Island. The Tasmanian Devil brought us particular joy by presenting itself at our camp site; alas, twilight rapidly encroaching, our Photographuerre was not able to capture it on fickle film.



We regret to announce that the Passage to the Center of the World was not located this time, either.



Yours in &c, &c,
WW, DAoGCE, EDoHMRSSE

Words of Wisdom

Hullo, chaps & chapettes,
we here at the Society Papers offices have received and advanced copy of some very proper Traveller's Advices, soon to be found in finer Book Merchants near You. With(out) kind permission, I here offer you a glimpse of quite an important section within the book, regarding alcoholics and decent behaviour while overseas:
(we regret the bad quality of the printing, due to the proof-reading stage and copyright issues)






That said, let us all wet our whistle with, and by, exotic locals when possible and safe!

Paddlewick, Society Papers Editor

Rapid-fire Exploratorizing

DG&LOTS,

Monkeys, Park, Kuala Lumpur

Greetinges from the Orients. Having lost several couriers in mysterious circumstances, reportages of our recent journeys have been scarce. We hope to rectify the situation by messenger redundancy.

Topical DVDs, floating village, Tonle Sap

In our most recent excursion, we targetet the fabled ruins of Angkor, a past haunt of combat archaeologists and fiends of intelligentsia.

Departing KUL

Approaching Siemreab

Our most efficient and optimized rapid strike survey commenced through Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - an interesting mix of cultures, and a veritable cradle of civilization and sophistication after certain back-country cities, worthy of more exploration which we would achieve on our way back).

(TBA)

(TBA)

Having landed in Siemreab (a small city in a poor country, relatively thriving on the influx of said combat archaelogists and intrepid explorers), we lost not a single second in our deployment. Item 1: GT. Item 2: explore, explore like the wind! The documentation far exceeds the meager capacity of our courier; DG&LOTS are encouraged to enquire, are they so inclined, for more.

Floating village. The canal lights seemed like they would be worth seeing at night.

The photogenic ruins - quite varying in style - remind one of the Middle American temples in scope, implementation, and state of preservation. The stalwart reconnoiters of the ongoing restoration projects have most fascinating three-dimensional puzzles on their hands.

A visit to the floating village on Tonle Sap provides some contrast to marauding one temple after another. However, Kbal Spean is worthy of particular mention; it takes the breath away from even the most hardened explorer.

Down it goes. Safety equipment required.

Fire-proof B52.

Let it not be said that the traditions of the S are not withheld in the far reaches! One unfortunate oversight in far Japan must not be let sap the moral. Let it burn!
(The Malaysian B52 did not want to; mayhap it was the somewhat antipathetic attitude prevalent in the country that required extensive corrective rituals and spells to counter. Efforts paid; flames ensued.)
(Exchequers note: Siemreab, ~4€, large comparative investment, fancy restaurant; Kuala Lumpur, ~6€, huge comparative investment, major hotel.)

What to do when your servant contracts malaria

Best of Seasons Greetinges,
WW, HMSfS&E

Münchestein

Greetings, fellow Society members!

This time I shall report about Bawaria, Tirol, und Liechenstein. Recently an esteemed school-mate from the past called up, and asked if I would accompany him to Münich. After checking my calendar, and realizing I've never been to said city, I replied in the affirmative.
So early one morning we found ourselves outside München, acquiring ourselves a rental carriage:

Sir Eppu behind the wheel

My main goal was to check up on some contemporary architecture. On the top of my list was Ye Olde Olympic Stadium, and a brand-new BMW showroom, as well as a new Synagogue. We thence set out to explore the town. In the rather thick fog we stumbled upon the odd, distinct hanging tents of the Olympic Stadium:



It was too foggy to even see the top of the Olympic Tower!
On the other side of the road, the Bayerische Motor Werke had just last month opened a state-of-the-art showroom facilities:

The old(er) BMW HQ tower in background,

the new BMW Welt in foreground

Outside the "tornado"...

...meanwhile inside, Sir Eppu
inspects a carriage...

Münchestein pt. II: Onwards and Upwards

The next day we got up and going bright and early. In fact, we left way before sunrise. We headed down towards the Alps, and run into our second Olympic Stadium:

The one at Garmisch-Partenkirchen had
somewhat more old-fashioned pomp!


Pastoral beauty in the Lower Alps


Driving down towards Innsbrück got interesting, as the fog intensified: we could see barely 20 yards on the steep switchback road! Fortunately it wasn't slippery. Once in Innsbrück, we run into our third Olympic Stadium! Who would have thunk it?!

Finally, at around 2000 metres up, we briefly broke through the fog & clouds:

Our trusty carriage at 2000m and sunshine

The descent got interesting, again. The map informed us of 18% decline. As we had summer tyres on, some snow was unwelcome news :) At times we could see nothing but fog past the road railing, into what was obviously steep and deep drop in to the valley far below... But sometimes we caught a glimpse of some more pastoral beauty:


Somewhere along the way, in Western Österreich, we drove through the longest (14 km) and most expensive (8.5 euros) tunnel I've ever driven through:




To our great surprise, our passports were actually checked on the Österreich-Liechenstein border! Due to some misunderstanding and driving error, the Border-Guard was somewhat curt, and we dared not request a stamp in our travel documents... But onwards to the capital of all of Liechenstein, Vaduz. This rather sleepy hamlet was somewhat underwhelming in the winter and Sunday grayness. The Prince of Liechenstein's castle, Schloss Vaduz, sits right on top of the town. We rode up to it, but nobody seemed to be home, nor was there any kind of guard precence...

Yours truly in central Vaduz
(photography by Sir Eppu)

By now it was getting late, so we drove directly to München for some Sauna and dinner. 4 countries* and 2 Olympic stadia in one day is enough, one must say!

*incl. about 15 minutes in Switzerland