Photo of the Week: Emu and Rock Art (Gundabooka, Australia)

Tweet

Native to Australia and second to the ostrich in size, an emu in full stride is a spectacular sight. Reaching speeds around fifty kilometres (30 miles) per hour, emus run confidently through the Australian bushland, superbly built for such speed and agility.

The indigenous rock art at Gundabooka shows several emus with their three prominent toes, highlighting the importance of the statuesque bird as a source of food and feathers.

This photo is from the driver's car window in remote Gundabooka National Park. Trying to time the gaps between the roadside trees and keep the car in a straight line, this photo gives some impression of the speed and agility which emus move.

The females lay deep green eggs around the size of a human hand. In a reversal from most of the animal kingdom, the females woo the males. After partnering, the males sit on the eggs while the females leave and partner a second and even third time laying another clutch of eggs.

Rock Art and Red Soil (Gundabooka, Australia)

Tweet

The rocky plateau of Mt Gundabooka rises awkwardly in a protrusion of rust coloured rock and olive green bush a few hundred metres above scrubby arid plains, the mountain visible for vast distances around. Fifty kilometres south of Bourke, it represents an important landmark for the Ngemba Aborigines or Stone People, a meeting place for millennia for various tribes and a source for shelter, food, medicines, tools and water. Cliffs, gorges and ancient waterways mark this ancient remote land estimated at nearly 400 million years of age.

Over 40,000 hectares of Gundabooka National Park is broken only by a red ochre highway and a couple short spur roads to major highlights. Native animals abound. Kangaroos bounce along the roadways or munch watchfully on the thick vegetation while shaggy emus use the main road as their own personal highway to ease their path through the park. Wild pigs (assuredly the least popular animal and hated by park rangers) scarper for cover while snakes bake joyously on the russet road.

Walking across rough rock country and over a small stony bluff in searing heat, a marked path leads to one of Mt Gundabooka’s most treasured sights, the Aboriginal Rock Art Gallery.

Karra mayingkalkaa, Paliira yuku ithu. - Welcome to our country. A sign welcomes visitors to this beloved Aboriginal land reinforcing the ongoing unity between Australia's indigenous people whose history goes back over 40,000 years and their country.

Under an idyllic natural rock cave that could provide shelter for numbers of people, stories of essential elements of aboriginal lives are told in yapa (rock paintings) in pipeclay and ochre. Graphic images of ceremonial dances (or wakakirri) are mixed with food sources such as emus and kangaroos and tools such as boomerangs, spears and fish-traps. Seemingly made in a different era (as they generally appear more faded), familiar hand stencils produced by spraying ochre from the mouth share the gallery.

Mt Gundabooka is managed in close discussion with its traditional owners ensuring both the artworks and sensitive spiritual values are preserved while maintaining access to this cultural treasure.

Nearby, small rock pools and a tiny shaded stream bubbles peacefully across sandy banks – a source of valued water (especially in periods of drought) and mild refreshment from the harsh summer sunshine. The Aboriginals knew that Gundabooka has a good supply of water, even in dry times, not only supplying a source for drinking but also a source of wildlife for food. By contrast in winter, warming fires near the rock cave could provide much needed comfort and protection from the savage night cold in this unyielding environment.

Other highlights include the short but aptly named Valley of the Eagles walk as visitors may be fortunate to spot the giant raptors soaring effortlessly on the thermals while smaller birds of various kinds twitter from the tree branches. Panoramic vistas highlight the featureless but enchanting flat land for miles around in all directions.

Gundabooka has an exceptional feeling of wilderness and remoteness, providing great views perched over the surrounding landscape and a tiny window into the spirituality and harmonious relationship the indigenous Australians shared with the land.

The Unmissable Sights of London

Tweet

guest post by Central London Apartments

There’s a definite feel-good factor in and around London in 2012 as the countdown continues to this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, prompting many tourists to head to England’s capital city for a spot of sightseeing and to soak up the culture. For those looking to book short-term accommodation London has something to suit every budget located all around the following must-visit places.

London Eye

Did you know that the most popular paid-for attraction in the UK is the London Eye? Why? Well, the views from being inside one of the 32 all-glass pods are spectacular all year round and no matter what time of day or night you take a trip on it. It takes around half an hour to complete a full revolution of the giant Ferris wheel so there’s plenty of opportunities to take some special pictures of the London skyline. Book online in advance to get discounted tickets because it will cost slightly more if you just turn up on the day. With the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben Clock Tower on the opposite side of the River Thames to the London Eye, it’s perfect for seeing three of London’s most iconic landmarks all in one go, while Buckingham Palace is also a short walk away.

Greenwich

The borough of Greenwich, which is handily placed if you stay in a Canary Wharf apartment, is a great place to explore, especially in the summer months when the weather improves and you want to escape from the hustle and bustle of central London. Greenwich Park offers an oasis of calm well away from the usual assortment of popular tourist attractions, while nearby you’ll find a cluster of museums, like the National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory, on the banks of the River Thames well worth putting time aside to venture to.

The West End

As with any major city, the best way to explore London is on foot because so many of the big places of interest – like Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square – are in very close proximity to each other. While it may be very tempting to head for the nearest Tube station as you make your way from one attraction to the next, arm yourself with a map and instead pound the pavements. Do this and you’re bound to end up in London’s famous West End at some point, which is the theatre district. No trip to London is complete without taking in a show and discovering more about areas such as Covent Garden.

And don’t forget…

Portobello Market

Situated in the heart of the trendy superb of Notting Hill, Portobello Market is manna from heaven for the bargain hunters among you and is one of the most well-known street markets in the world.

The Monument

A ‘hidden’ gem of London’s many attractions, the Monument is tucked away roughly halfway between Tower Bridge and the London Eye and offers an alternative view of the city’s skyline from a different angle.

Tate Modern

Free museums in London don’t come much better than the Tate Modern, although if you have a few little ones to entertain then you’d probably be better heading to somewhere like the Science Museum.

London is a timeless city packed with a lifetime of sights and has the focus of the world as the 2012 Olympics approach.

Photo Credits: Houses of Parliament, Greenwich, theatre, Monument

Photo of the Week: Charcoal Cooler (Cobah, Australia)

Tweet

Continuing the journey in Outback Australia, the photo of the week shows an early evaporative cooler used to counter the harsh heat. This charcoal cooler and others using similar principles were used in the heat of outback Australia as a refrigerator from the late 1800s through to the mid-1900s, when electricity or generators were not around. Water in a tray under the fridge is drawn up through the charcoal by the chimney at the top cooling (and de-odourising) everything inside.

Based on the invention of the Coolgardie Safe which relies on wet hessian bags for a cooling effect, various cooler models sprang up around Australia in early times before electricity was available in many remote areas. Natives in Africa and the Australian Aborigines are known to travel with wet animal skins to help preserve their food for a few extra days using the same idea of a cooling airflow.

This model is located in the excellent Cobar Museum which captures so much of early living in outback Australia. Cobar is a mining town around 150 kilometres south of Bourke in western NSW.

Games Around the World: Pass the Pigs

Tweet

For the last two years on the first of the month, Travel Wonders has featured a drink of the month, iconic to a certain country or region. This year in a similar manner, I am going to feature games around the world identifiable with a certain place or country.

I am starting the series with a favourite game that I have owned for over twenty years that has travelled with me on most of my journeys and visited all seven continents. It is called Pass the Pigs and simply requires two rubber pigs.

It has provided many hours of simple entertainment in meeting new people in new countries, killing time on long journeys or a bit of fun over a drink. It breaks through language barriers. I’ve played Pass the Pigs in a hostel on Lofoten Islands, riding the Congo River Boat, in a tent on the Inca Trail, curled up in a sleeping bag in Gokyo near Mt Everest and in a castle in Scotland. Two small rubber pigs take almost no space in the luggage and apart from a quizzical look in a couple of African border posts, they’ve never had any travel issues.

The object of the game is to score 100 points scored by throwing the pigs and landing them in different positions – the more difficult the position, the higher the score. Landing them on opposite sides (one side is marked with a black spot) scores a single point while landing a pig on its feet (called a trotter) is worth five points (20 if they both land that way). Flat on the porker’s back (called a razorback) scores similarly scores five and 20 for twin razorbacks.

More piggy gymnastics scores greater points – a snouter (landing a pig on his nose and front legs) scores 10 points – 40 for twin snouters – while a circus-like leaning jowler where the pig is balanced on an ear, his nose and one leg scores 15 and 60 respectively. MInd you, years of play may never see the valued double leaning jowler.

A player continues to throw accumulating points for various porcine positions. At any point the player can end their turn and bank their points towards the goal of 100, as throwing the two pigs so that they land on their same sides (either both black spots up or black spots down) results in a pig out and the loss of all points scored in that turn.

As the score for each turn accumulates or one player nears 100 points, the players are torn between risking one more throw and banking their scores creating much hilarity and laughter. The game becomes surprisingly entertaining with several people and has broken the ice in many railway carriages and boats.

Even worse if the porker gods are against you is if both pigs end up touching resulting in Makin’ Bacon and the resetting of your total score to zero for the game. The most serious Pass the Pigs roll is a Piggyback where the two pigs land mounted one upon the other, considered a most undignified and unnatural position for friendly porkers and resultant banishment from that game.

The game is available at many game shops in a small hard black plastic case (with scorecards and a pencil) and in this modern age is even available as a $0.99 Pass the Pig iPhone/iPad app and as online Pass the Pigs.

Please share you favourite travelling game in the comments. Do you have a favourite travelling game story?