Cadbury Backflip

Readers may be aware that Cadbury recently "dumbed down" their chocolate products by replacing cocoa butter with palm oil and reducing the block size. The paper wrap packaging was increased to a cardboard package to disguise the 10% decrease in size - whilst keeping the retail price the same.
The inclusion of palm oil has infuriated conservationists, particulary those concerned with orangutangs losing their rainforst habitat in South-East Asia to palm oil plantations. Cadbury claims the palm oil is from some sort of "eco-friendly" palm oil source.
Cadbury's lame and insulting excuse for the reduced block size is that it reduces one's "DI" or daily intake of a calorie laden food.
Needless to say all of the above has whipped up a storm amongst Cadbury consumers and today's press reports that Cadbury has backed away from using palm oil.
Picture above is a scan of an old paper wrap.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

One of Marc's colleagues tragically lost his beloved pet cat this week. Due to the cooler weather the cat had taken a liking to climbing onto the roof of the house to sun itself. One morning colleague heard some commotion on the roof and raced out to investigate. He was completely taken aback to see a hawk carrying off kitty. Colleague was completely helpless and unable to do anything. Unbelievable but true!

Peter & His Droughtmasters

MB, plus 4 female friends who were visiting from Japan, were very lucky to visit Peter & Maureen at their sugarcane farm near Mossman on 23 July. Peter & Maureen are growing many acres of sugarcane not only in Mossman but also at their second property in Julatten, just up on the tablelands behind Mossman. After a lunch feast prepared by Maureen, Peter took the 5 girls on a tour to the Julatten property, over one hundred acres with 3 creeks and a beautiful rainforest backdrop. Peter also has a herd of Droughtmaster cattle there which he started in 1979. When the cattle realised Peter had arrived they bounded up quite happily to the gate and Peter gave them all a treat of molasses to slurp on.
Peter is a great racontuer and had the girls giggling all afternoon.

Food Hero Discovery

MB was pretty chuffed when she stumbled upon a stall at the Cairns' Rusty's Markets selling locally grown organic vanilla. She had quite a chinwag with the grower, Russell Spanton, who with his wife, Mary, grows the vanilla in Port Douglas and are the first commercial vanilla growers in Australia.
Russell has had the vanilla tested by the CSIRO and was told it has 4 times more vanilla content than any other beans tested, including beans from Tonga, Tahiti, PNG and Madagascar.
Russell also shared some of his colourful experiences with other local vanilla growers, lots of argy bargy going on. Up until encountering Vanilla Australia (vanillaaustralia@bigpond.com) at Rustys Markets MB had no idea any vanilla beans for commercial sale were even being grown in FNQ.
MB did of course purchase some beans but as yet hasn't used them. She's planning to make some crème brûlée soon and will report back.

Cairns - New Ukulele Capital

If Val has her way (Mayoress of Cairns) her city will be the festival capital of the world with a film festival to rival Cannes.
The similarity in names may just work in favour of Cairns. If the Cairns Film Festival was convened on exactly the same dates as the one in Cannes, MB could easily imagine some literacy challenged travel agents booking travel for festival goers to Cairns, rather than Cannes.
The gutsy 10 year old MB spotted busking with her ukulele at Redlynch Shopping Centre recently would no doubt be happy to hear about a possible ukulele festival in her hometown.
The festival would have real credibility if Val has lined up Jake Shimabukuro, ukulele virtuoso, to perform. He is a true master of the ukulele.

Atherton Poultry Show

After visiting the Atherton Orchid Show at the Atherton Showgrounds MDR spotted another event in the nearby poultry pavilion. Turned out the local bird fanciers had also put on a show of their poultry. MB is a bit of a closet poultry fancier herself so the pair decided to inspect Atherton's finest.
This show was just wrapping too, so the pair did a quick tour. MB's favourite was the White Pekin which the owner happily took out of his cage so she could take a photo. MB thought this lovely looking bird with silky feathers was a "she" but the owner, trying to hide his smirk, told her the fowl was a "he". MB asked how did he keep him so clean, apparently Dynamo does the trick, as does keeping the fowl on clean wood shavings.
MDR is pictured above next to a cage containing two of the biggest fowl the pair had ever seen, unfortunately couldn't find out what breed they were. The diversity of poultry is truly amazing and never fails to fascinate MB.
Where would mankind be without such an easily and quickly raised source of protein?

Atherton Orchid Show

Queen's Birthday long weekend saw MDR & MB make their annual pilgrimage to Lake Tinaroo for the Wooden Boat Assoc. of Cairns' annual "Tinaroo Raid".
This is a fun event which is beautifully organised and very relaxed. Weather was superb and the company great.
After the Raid finished early Sunday afternoon the pair made a dash for nearby Atherton to visit the 44th Tropical Queensland Orchid Council Conference & Show at the local showgrounds. The conference was just wrapping up but the floral displays were still in place and MB wasn't disappointed, the orchids were enchanting.

Lake Tinaroo Terraces - Thumbs Down

MB & MDR were really disappointed with the 2 nights in their 2 bedroom lake view lodge at Lake Tinaroo Terraces.
On arrival they report to reception, which looks like a radioactive waste dump, but it's unattended. Eventually a slovenly looking man who bears an amazing resemblance to Jabba the Hutt, waddles in, apparently from a house across the road. He grunts, we supply our name and he can’t find the booking, even though MB phoned twice and emailed once (no reply to the email). Jabba swipes our visa card and with a huge sigh, forces himself upright & waddles out to show us where the lake view unit is.
The "lodge" turns out to be a tiny painted corrugated iron tin shed that shakes & groans every time you walk in it. The "lake view" is actually the back of two tin sheds immediately in front of the tin shed.
Not long after arrival MB boils the jug for a cuppa. MDR had bought Danish pastries from his favourite patisserie in Redlynch so MB grabbed a plate. When she picked up the plate it was stuck to the plate beneath it and on closer inspection she noticed it hadn’t been cleaned. She checked the crockery and noticed many items were dirty, so of course she had to clean all of the dishes! There was not a drop of milk in the fridge, not even some little UHT packs.
One of the light fittings on the lounge wall was missing its cover and didn’t have a light bulb in it. Great if you have kiddies with you!
Cleaning and upkeep of the tin shed was rudimentary to say the least, filthy crockery, musty soft furnishings, coating of dust on everything and grimy windows. God knows when the bedding was last washed..
The master bedroom was in a loft and was the most spacious room. Only 1 light bulb missing there. The bed lamp was a doozy, looked like it had been dropped as the base was cracked and a large opening revealed internal workings. The clock radio was helpfully switched off at the power point
First night in MB & MDR settled down to watch a DVD (French Classic Cinema bought from home) but of course the remote didn’t work, checked the batteries and find none in the remote, just a rusted out cavity where batteries are meant to be go.
The second bedroom had a bunk bed squeezed into a room not much bigger then the bunk itself. Again the clock radio was helpfully switched off at the wall.
Any chance of a hair dryer in the bathroom? No way, that would be far too generous.
On day 2 when MB walked past the unattended reception there was a sign advising the office was closed as there were no vacancies. No details on how one can contact the manager and no emergency contact details.
Also in the tin shed there is no information and no way to contact the "on-site" manager as there are no internal telephones, just a bare phone point on the nano-kitchenette wall. Can't have pesky guests bothering the management.
Of course one could just call Lake Tinaroo Terraces on the mobile. That is if there is mobile phone coverage. MB has a Vodafone and MDR has a Telstra mobile, both of these did not have a signal there. MB is sure Jabba would gleefully let guests know there is a public phone booth about one kilometer away, if you could track him down that is.
Needless to say hospitality at Lake Tinaroo Terraces is absolutely zero and it was one of the most unpleasant stays MB has ever experienced. Accommodation standards do not merit the tariff charged by a long shot.
MB's advice - give this place a very wide berth.

Biltong at Yeronga

Check out VT's super home made biltong dryer.
Whilst in Brisbane on Monday MB had few hours to spare before flying back to Cairns so dropped in for a quick visit. Hana whipped up a great dinner in no time which was very much appreciated, and much nicer than eating at the airport!
VT has constructed a plywood biltong dryer which uses 1 x 100 watt lamp to dry out strips of marinated beef in approximately one week. The beef strips are marinated in a vinegar and spice mix beforehand.
Hopefully next visit a small sample will be ready...

Adelaide Central Markets

The two chocolate fountains pictured above were almost irresistible to MB & MDR. The perfect combination - melted Belgian chocolate and fresh strawberries. MB & MDR reluctantly settled for a photo rather than the calories....

Coffin Bay National Park

Approx. 30k from Port Lincoln is the Coffin Bay National Park, well worth a visit to see the rugged coastline and amazing sand dunes. MB & MDR lucked out with the weather with a warm northerly wind so nearly t-shirt weather. Pictured above is Almonta Beach, just near Point Avoid. More pics on Flickr.

Port Lincoln

View of Port Lincoln from our B&B, The Yardarm, which turned out to be a wonderful spot to stay. Our hosts, Judy & Ken have thought of everything ensuring a stay in the fully self-contained studio is incredibly comfortable. Plenty of hot water too, unlike MB & MDR's city digs, Walter St Mews! Port Lincoln is a small and very prosperous city centered in what appears to be a thriving wheat growing area, judging by the massive silo & grain handling complex which dominates the waterfront. Of course Port Lincoln is famous for white pointer sharks, tuna and seafood and has many wealthy fisherman, including Tony Santic the owner of Makybe Diva. This famous racehorse has been immortalised on the Port Lincoln foreshore reserve in the form of a bronze statue.

Adelaide to Port Lincoln

The duo made a short side trip to Port Lincoln which was a three stage journey:
Adelaide to Wallaroo, Yorke Peninsula - approx. 1hr 45mins
Ferry across the Spencer Gulf from Wallaroo to Lucky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula - approx 2hrs
Lucky Bay to Port Lincoln - just over 2 hours by car.
The ferry shaves about 2 hours off the car trip which would necessitate driving north to Port Augusta which is at the top of the Spencer Gulf and then south down to Port Lincoln.
The ferry was excellent, very comfortable with a snack bar, drinks and even wireless internet. MDR spotted an historical SA Ketches doco on one of the big plasma screens dotted around the cabin so sat down to watch it and was snoozing away in no time.
As the weather was pretty good, MB went up to the top deck to get some photos and had a chat to some of SA's finest from Moonta (near Wallaroo) on their annual pilgrimage, sans wives, to their shack at Lucky Bay. These chaps very kindly invited MB & MDR to their cabin number 16 for drinks, directions from one of the guys were "you'll be able to find the cabin easily, just look for the spew!" Due to time constraints the pair had to decline.
Stop Press from SeaSA website: All ferry services have been temporarily suspended until October 2009. Sea SA apologises to customers for this unavoidable disruption.

Oysters

One dozen fresh Spencer Gulf oysters - picked 'em up at the Caltex Servo in Cowell, on the Eyre Peninsula. MDR remembered to pack his oyster shucker this trip.
MB was intrigued to learn that Cowell is also home to a Jade deposit, so she bought herself a jade pendant at the Jade Motel.
From SMH 08 Feb 2004 - Cowell Jade Factory
"The history of jade in the Cowell area is a recent development. In 1965, Harry Schiller, a local farmer first discovered significant deposits of nephrite jade near Cowell. The next decade saw little real development and it wasn't until 1974, when the South Australian government became involved, that the potential of the area was realised. A geological assessment found a total of 91 separate jade outcrops (this has subsequently been increased to 115) in a small 10 sq km area which is now known as the Cowell Jade Province. The deposit is recognised as containing about 80 000 tonnes which means that it represents about 90 per cent of the world's known jade reserves (this excludes China for which figures are not available). In the decade to 1987 over 1500 tonnes of jade had been extracted of which 40 per cent was either dark green or black. Cowell jade is now exported to countries as diverse as India, West Germany, USA, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Italy and New Zealand."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/South-Australia/Cowell/2005/02/17/1108500204228.html

Walter St Mews

Our accommodation in North Adelaide, has it all - location, location, location.

Barossa

Wednesday the pair decided to take a run up to Rosesale in the Barossa to see if their 1.5ha of vines were still extant (it's one of those MIS investments).

The vineyards looked pretty healthy and well tended so that was a relief. The pair visited the office to find two farmhands who told us that the office had moved to "Waltons" in Seppeltsfield. One of the guys generously offered to show us the way. The new office is an old bluestone farmhouse and it turns out Barossa Vines has set up a wine making operation, Rosedale Wines, with the actual winemaking contracted out to Martincellars and Barossa Valley Estate. The duo met with Rosedale Wine's winemaker Matt and sales manager Chris and sampled the 2007 Shiraz & Shiraz Grenache which were pretty damn good.

Had a stopover in very picturesque Tanunda and found a little cafe doing steak wraps which were delicious.

Made a nice coq au vin for dinner with a bottle of Rosedale Shiraz Grenache, Mt Lofty thyme and beautiful fresh swiss brown button mushrooms from Adelaide Central markets.

Mt Lofty

Tuesday dawned clear and sunny so the pair headed for the hills to visit Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens. The autumn colours were delightful and MDR & MB got a quite a workout walking up to the lookout, via some quite steep tracks.
Stopped in at nearby Hahndorf for lunch and spotted little cafe offering minestrone. Weren't disappointed either, it was lovely, hot home made soup, just the ticket for such a cold day. The Adelaide Hills are such a contrast to Adelaide, rolling green hills rather than flat desert.

Urbanised

Landed in Adelaide Mon. morning, a very grey day, cold and wet so headed straight for the Central Markets in the city, but not open on a Monday. Not to worry went to Chinatown next door and found an Asian food hall, MB opted for some Vietnamese Pho Po (beef broth) and MDR got a trayful of Yum Cha, a nice, cheap and cheerful lunch.

Lodgings are called Walter St Mews, just off O'Connell Rd in North Adelaide. Not a bad location, lots of pubs, restaurants & shops within walking distance. The Mews is a heritage listed cottage which is very quaint indeed, looks a lot better from the outside. Interior is a mix of seventies vogue and op shop shabby. Our first night there was freezing, got down to 9C and we didn't realise there was heating in the bedroom until the next day!

Picked up a fantastic takeaway dinner from a nearby Thai restaurant, "Basil & Lemongrass", one of the best Thai curries we've had.

Move over Hills Hoist

Browsing today's Google news MB stumbled on this headline: "Australia's CSIRO wins big Wi-Fi patent battle". Turns out the CSIRO registered a patent over wi-fi way back in 1993 and have successfully claimed royalties from many of the major technology giants.
This is sensational news but MB has not seen anything in the mainstream media, guess it's too positive!
Just last week an Aussie successfully sued Microsoft for using software he developed to lock software programs. The gist of the story was that he took his software to Microsoft in the 1990's, Microsoft declined to purchase it but then started using it in all of their software shortly thereafter. The judgment amount (which is being appealed) was around $500 million dollars, a great result for the Aussie battler.

If I had a week in Melbourne

Apart from eating herself silly, drinking lots of latte and reading The Age everyday MB would:

View the iconic photographs of Max Dupain on exhibition at the Victorian Archives - http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/online/dupain2009.asp

Visit the National Gallery on St Kilda Rd: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvinternational/

At least one visit to the Queen Victoria Market is mandatory: http://www.qvm.com.au/ Jam donuts there are the best. Prahran & South Melbourne markets are worth a visit too.

Take a stroll through the Botanic Gardens: http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/

On Mothers Day - 10 May: MB would head out to Langwarrin to check out Lady Elisabeth Murdoch's gardens which will be open to public - http://www.opengarden.org.au/regions/vic_calendar.html

MDR would love to do Foster's Brewery Tour in Abbotsford: http://brewhouse.melbourneaustralia.com.au/

MB would definitely catch some Cuban music http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/The-Bar-At-Buena-Vista-tickets/artist/1293942?tm_link=tm_homeA_music_header_r3

Browsing in Chapel Street, eating in Brunswick Street and at little Vietnam in Richmond. A kebab at Alasya always goes down well too.

Of course this is only the tip of the iceberg....

The Fat Controller

To keep little grandson LJ entertained during his frequent visits with the oldies MB bought a DVD of Thomas the Tank Engine which he enjoys very much, so much so he wants go to the Island of Sodor.
MB & MDR thought TtT, which is written by a Rev. W.V. Awdrey, was a very conservative, safe program suitable for very young children, so they were pretty surprised when the narrator, in his very best children's program voice, referred to the "Fat Controller". At first they thought they had misheard the narrator but it turns out to be correct and he's the manager of the railway company. The Rev. Awdrey has a very dry sense of humour indeed.

British Tories on Fire

This would be perfect for the current Queensland state elections, much more entertaining than watching a bunch of mediocre candidates from both sides of the political spectrum pork barreling their way around the state:

"In his speech to Congress, Gordon Brown yet again bottled out of saying sorry for taking Britain to the brink of bankruptcy. So we have set up www.sorryfromgordon.com where you can write an apology note from Gordon Brown and send it on to everyone you think the Prime Minister should say sorry to. Jeremy Hunt, our Spokesman for Online Campaigning, said, "If Gordon Brown is struggling to spit the words out, hopefully our online viral will give him a few ideas."

Another Gourmet Delight

A lovely gift of Marzipan from the Stumpf's in Germany was had by MB via VT en-route to Brisbane in Janauary. This is a most delicious marzipan, not too sweet. A truly delightful, and much appreciated, gift.

Bush Fire Tragedy in Victoria

Keenie

MB was forced to buy the Cairns Post yesterday as she had a long wait at the Doctor's (she may have Dengue Fever).
The Cairns Post doesn't appear to hold to any rigorous standards with regard to factual reporting, literacy and grammar but it seems the good folks at the CP are trail blazing the use of a new word, "Keenie". An enraged husband* from Machans Beach accused his female neighbour of having a lesbian affair with his wife and stated "She was denying the fact that she had a keenie on my wife."
Apparently this came about when the hapless neighbour sent a thank you card to Mrs & Mrs Enraged Husband and failed to write His name in the card.
Naturally MB googled "keenie" as she hadn't come across this before and came up with the following at: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=keenie
It appears the Urban Dictionary editors may have to add a second definition. BTW this site has an hilarious definition of "AFL"

*Husband Attacks Lesbian Love Rival, Cairns Post 3 Feb 09

Banana Fritter Day

The MB family got to enjoy some calorie laden banana fritters and ice cream today as it's JB's birthday (MB's late father). You guessed it, JB's favourite dessert was banana fritters. His favourite meal was a couple of lamb chops cooked in lots of extra fat, a real Aussie classic. He was also a huge fan of freshly shucked natural oysters. A more formal commemoration would have to include all of the above food items (in a room filled with "Drum" cigarette smoke of course!)
MB always has a chuckle when she remembers her Dad returning to Oz after his first trip to Hong Kong and exclaiming that none of the Chinese restaurants there had banana fritter on the menu, he was awfully taken aback. MB could just imagine him winging his way to Hong Kong and dreaming of banana fritters every time he ate out in HK.

Movie Reviews

MB has endured a longish podcast drought due to her Creative Zen MP3 player packing it in last year.
On learning that digital radio broadcasting is being introduced this year she decided to try to future-proof herself by buying an MP3/MP4 player with DAB radio but after lots of googling it seems that there are hardly any portable DAB MP3 players anywhere in the world.
MB has settled instead for a basic Philips 2gb MP3 with FM radio (thanks to her Mum who sent her a Dick Smith voucher for her birthday).
After downloading over three months' worth of podcasts MB is enjoying a feast of Jonathon Dawson film reviews. JD bounces his movie reviews off Tim Cox on ABC radio in Hobart, presenting remarkably funny and entertaining reviews. This program is a real treat if you like dry humour from two unpretentious guys who don't really take anything too seriously.

Fatwa against Smoking

MB congratulates the Ulemas Council in Indonesia for proclaiming a Fatwa prohibiting smoking in public places and also prohibiting children and pregnant women smoking. 
Indonesia must have one of the highest smoking rates in the world and this Fatwa is certainly a novel way to deal with such a serious health issue.

ABC Style Guide

Browsing on the ABC Radio National website MB stumbled on this excellent online style guide.
When writing MB often trips up on grammatical challenges such as accents over the "e" in French words, ie café or résumé.
Buying an Australian style guide sets you back a quite a few dollars, so this online guide is an excellent resource for writers and bloggers.
Well done Aunty.

Veronica Loop Track, Mt Taranaki

As you can see in the photo, MB & MDR managed to do a walk on Mt Taranaki. The pair opted for the 2 hour Veronica Loop track from the North Egmont Visitor Centre in the Egmont National Park. They also detoured to a lookout a bit higher up and met some locals who showed them a better lookout site further up - this is where the photo of the pair was taken.
The weather turned out to be absolutely perfect with not a cloud in the sky to block the view of the cone. The walking tracks are excellent, albeit lots of steps and the National Park is only an easy 30klm from New Plymouth. MB is looking forward to returning some day to tackle some more tracks.
On the way back to NP the duo visited Lake Mangamahoe and were surrounded by a posse of hungry ducks, quacking for some food (shades of the "Penang Botanical Gardens Monkey Incident"). The not so shy ducks really enjoyed the sesame crackers MB & MDR shared with them.
This was also another good spot for yet another photo opportunity...

Wilderness in the 'Burbs

This beautiful stream is just down from the Timandra Lodge in New Plymouth where MDR & MB are staying, apparently trout can be caught in this stream too. There is a rather steep track down through the reserve and at night you can spot glow worms with a torch. There are quite a few trails in the reserve and they are really well signposted, a delightful reserve to have on one's doorstep.

Capt'n Chaddy

First full day in New Plymouth and the weather is superb, a great day for a harbour cruise on Happy Chaddy's harbour tour, in his 1953 built British lifeboat. This is a one hour tour that starts with the boat free falling down a slipway into the water, bit like a theme park (Tip: Do this tour on the low tide as the slide will be longer).
Captain Chaddy is a real identity and full of amazing stories, a real old sea salt, during the tour he plays some cheesy sea shanties and takes the boat around some sugarloaf rocks where you can play spot the seal.
The passengers down the back can put out a fishing line and tinny MDR's line picked up a nice sized Pacific Salmon, which the pair cooked up for dinner that night after handing over $2 to have it filleted.
Before the tour the pair dropped into the Govett Brewster Art Gallery which is hailed as the best regional gallery in NZ. It's a very nice venue but the modern "installation" type of art doesn't really do a lot for MB. The coffee shop was pretty good, apart from the snooty harridan at the counter.
MB overindulged the night before at Andre's L'Escargot and had to have an afternoon nap, which severely cut into the touring. Andre's L'Escargot should be added to the NZ Foodie's Hall of Fame, a wonderful restaurant, superb service and a really lovely dinner, venison for MB & duck confit for MDR.

Pukekohe to New Plymouth

The duo set out at 8:45am today from Puke for a few days down in New Plymouth. Back in Pukekohe Mike recommended we visit the Waitomo Caves en-route and of course do some hiking around Mt Teriyaki near New Plymouth. As Hamilton is also on the route MB insisted on visting the Hamilton Gardens, with a perfect sunny day for strolling through gardens.
The 120 acre gardens turned out to be the best MB has ever seen in the southern hemisphere with MDR seconding that opinion. There are a series of "paradise" gardens, with themes from Japan, China, India, Italian Renaissance etc. which are stunning. MB also enjoyed the herb garden and the "sustainable backyard" food garden, she also saw for the first time a Chinese gooseberry (kiwifruit) plant, in fruit too. The on-site Cafe was excellent as well. The pair plan to visit again on the way back north as time didn't allow them to explore more.
Next stop was the Piopio berry farm for a picnic lunch on their shady lawn with fresh strawberries and blueberries for dessert, doesn't get much better than this, although pick your own berries would have been fun.
At about 4pm just before New Plymouth is White Cliffs Organic Brewery, dropped in there as well for a taste. MDR inquired as to where the ingredients are sourced and learnt that the hops are bought from Motueka on the South Island and the grain comes all the way from Germany. MB was interested to see that they were selling two litre plastic bottles of beer, just like a big bottles of soft drink.
Arrived in NP not long after and after a bit of tooing and froing (sans Tomtom) found the Timandra Lodge and checked into a little cottage which has turned out to be delightful. The lodge is actually an old mansion set in bushland and boasts a tennis court and outdoor BBQ, no spa though. MDR has his cable TV sports channel and MB has a wireless internet connection, plus a bunch of walking trails at their doorstep.
MDR has found a local acquatic centre and is off doing laps. Dinner tonight at Andre's L'escargot, which has pavlova on the menu - MB figures as it's her birthday she can indulge in her favourite dessert.
Haven't seen the volcano yet, it's shrouded in cloud today. MB can't wait to see it, as volcanoes go it probably rivals Mt Fuji for scenic value.

Walking Mt Treppass in Pukekohe

Just behind Philip & Emma's house is an excellent walk which starts as a boardwalk over some swampy land, then rises steeply through a little patch of forest. The path then switchbacks up to the summit of Mt Treppass where one can enjoy 360 degree views of Pukekohe from the rotunda there. MB is now just about able to do the whole walk up without stopping, good practice for walking Mt Taranaki, near New Plymouth, where the pair are heading to tomorrow for a few days.

Yum Cha at Sunshine, Auckland

MDR & MB visited the concrete jungle (Auckland) yesterday for some retail therapy, a visit to the Maritime Museum and the movies. The pair had one of the best Yum Cha meals they had ever experienced at Sunshine Restaurant in Market Place, just near the waterfront in Auckland CBD. Sunshine was recommended by Lonely Planet and didn't disappoint.
The portions were large, the buns were full of meat and the service was super fast and reasonably priced, 10 out of 10.

Spearfishing in Crayfish Bay, Coromandel

MDR taking advantage of local knowledge. These three young chaps took him to nearby Crayfish Bay where he speared 9 fish.
The young chaps had just bought spearguns that morning and speared 3 fish between them.
Getting to the bay involved a walk up to the southern of the beach at Opito Bay, then a hike over some hilly private farmland to the small cove called "Crayfish Bay". Didn't spot any crays. MDR dubbed the outing the "Biathlon".

Otama Beach, Coromandel Peninsula

MDR & MB visited the very large contingent from Pukekohe making a two week camp at the Otama Beach Summer Campground. This site is a lovely grassy area with very basic facilities - long drop dunnies and water fed to parts of the campground from an adjacent dam. It's a true getaway with no power and no mobile phone access.
The beach is stunning, bordered by a very large sand dune and one never tires of the view to the outlying islands off the beach. Walking over the dune is something else, the sand is white, silky and feels almost sensuous.
The Pukekohe crew are great fun, incredibly generous and could not have made MDR & MB more welcome. A spare tent and airbed was available so MDR & MB could stay a couple of nights. The pair abided by the camp rules and did the dishes that night with the other new arrival, Janine. Dinner numbers on the first night were 21 and the next night increased to 28.
Philip was pretty chuffed with his new speargun, he had speared a fish without even diving underwater, just merely floated on the surface in a life jacket. He was giving MDR a hard time about it and challenging him to an Aussie v NZ competition and pressing neat tequila on MDR to give him a hangover. This spurred MDR the next day to head out with Philip's speargun and spear 9 fish. Yet to hear of Philip's latest catches as he is still there and out of phone range.
MDR & MB happened to be there while NZ was having a heatwave and did catch a bit of sunburn, but it still wasn't as hot as home in Cairns.
Lots of holiday homes in this area and MB would love to go back for a longer stay some other time.

Fruits of the Sea at "Club Med" Otama Beach

A bucket of NZ Greenlip Mussels harvested by Jeremy, Janine & MDR at low tide on Otama Beach.
Jeremy cooked up a storm with these mussels, they were absolutely superb and went down a treat with the 28 guests at the campsite!

First day at Otama Beach

Took this pic during the "heatwave". More pics on flickr.

Coromandel Oysters

MB & MDR spotted this shop on the road just in front of the oyster beds in a large bay south of Coromandel township. Naturally the pair visited so that MDR could get a fresh oyster fix.

NZ-lish

If you heard an advertisement on the radio in Australia offering security services from a company called "Cactus Security" would you take it seriously? MB heard just such an ad. yesterday on the radio whilst driving into Auckland. This company really exists. Not long after that she spotted a "Gull" service station. She wouldn't go near that servo with a bargepole. A few days before in a fashion boutique in Whitianga (pronounced "Fitianga") browsing for a hat, MB was told to try the "Show Shop" further down the street. MB was a bit perplexed as she wasn't sure what a "Show Shop" could be. The sales assistant repeated it again a bit more slowly and was actually saying "Shoe Shop". MB never ceases to be amazed at the never ending variations of the English language that develop between disparate groups.

Rooseville Reserve, Pukekohe

MDR & MB didn't do their after dinner hilltop walk (just behind Philip's house) last night, got carried away watching episodes of Kenny on DVD. So today they went to a large reserve in Pukekohe which is cris-crossed with walking tracks. Today is another picture perfect day, again with just a hint of a cool breeze.
The reserve resembles a mini rainforest, filled with Totara trees and native palms, even found some indigenous art! Reminds MB of Summer Heights High. Graffiti appears to be a big problem in NZ, it's absolutely everywhere. MB even noticed some of the orange direction tags nailed to trees on the walking trail had been painted over with black spray paint.

Downtown Pukekohe

Nice olde worlde shop in main street of Pukekohe. This lovely old sign is a classic.

Cafe Berne, Pukekohe

Another addition to the Food Hero list. MDR & MB dropped in here yesterday (& today) for a coffee and were very pleasantly surprised when they were told on ordering a double shot coffee that all their coffee was made double shot! Pleased to report the coffee was good and strong and also really hot. Tops marks to Cafe Berne.

Kawakawa Bay, North Island, NZ

This lovely vista is Kawakawa Bay, the first ocean sighting for MB & MDR since they arrived.
After some web surfing MB found an oyster farm outside the pretty village of Clevedon, about 40 minutes from Pukekohe, so the pair headed over there today. Pity MB didn't call first as the oyster farm was closed until Tue 6 Jan 09. Foolishly MB relied on the oyster farm's advertised opening hours on their website.
Not to be deterred the pair did some touring around the coastline and stopped at Orewa Point for a mini picnic (minus the oysters which were going to be starring attraction). The sea around these parts is a beautiful turquoise blue and according to MDR quite warm.
On the way back the duo spotted the Italian Country Market (between Clevedon & Papakura). This deli was a real find with some seriously good produce. It's run by Bart from New York who comes from a long line of Italian stone masons, but it wasn't a calling he aspired to. This shop is a real food lovers' haven with the duo stocking up on some local Olive oil plus the most delicious, huge South Island cherries.
Driving to Clevedon wasn't without incident, MB & MDR are sans Le Tomtom relying on foldout maps and road signs to get around. The pair got lost in Papakura both times, however the signage to Clevedon, after Papakura, was fantastic. MB is wishing they'd gone to the trouble of buying and downloading an NZ map and bought the tomtom with them, maybe one can be hired? Otherwise the "cordial relations" are going to be stretched to the limit....

Wright's Water Gardens

Sunday dawned clear and sunny, a good omen for Philip's camping trip. After an early morning spearsfishing lesson on the driveway with MDR, the guys packed the trailer, with MDR showing off his very nautical knot tying skills. The Pukekohe crew finally got away at 9:30am, not too far behind schedule at all. MDR & MB are now home alone and for their first outing decided to visit the nearby Wright's Water Garden, which is only about 15 mins from Pukekohe.
This is a beautiful garden established in an abandoned quarry next to the Wauku Waterfall and features spectacular water lilies and lotus flowers. Being summer the lilies are all in glorious flower, creating a wonderful multi coloured display, well worth a visit.

Saturday Night in Pukekohe

Philip's parents cooked up a storm on Saturday night.  Mike diligently sought out the best fresh produce that morning and that night with Jacquie produced a gorgeous dinner.  Jacquie's vinaigrette was particularly good and the dessert was superb, strawberries are grown locally and are at their best right now.
Dinner was at Philip's sister's house and after a few glasses of NZ pinot noir, the grown ups all loosened up and got into some lively discussions, expecially with regard to the planning for the upcoming camping trip.
Maddie, Monica's youngest produced an itinerary for the first day of the camping trip which got everyone chuckling.

Maddie's Itinerary

A little travel agent in the making!

Pukekohe, New Zealand

MDR & MB landed in Auckland at 00:30am on the second day of the year after a comfortable flight on PacificBlue (VirginBlue NZ carrier). Philip & Emma met the pair at the airport which is about 20 minutes drive from their home in Pukekohe - exceptionally nice of them to do an airport run at such a late hour.
First thing next morning, Philip was in boot camp mode and had us walking up the hill, in the rain, to his swank new home, the "Citadel", where he and Emma will live while they build their dream home on a nearby acreage.
Philip & Emma showed the duo around Pukekohe, however MB is totally confused as each time they go somewhere, it's via different route. The team also went to nearby Tuakau, birthplace of Sir Edmund Hillary, after a hearty lunch at the Autobahn when finding that just about everything is closed on 2nd Jan due to it being a public holiday. Tuakau is known locally as solo mum town and there is no signage or monument commemorating the town as the birthplace of Hillary. This struck MB has pretty remiss as it would be quite a tourist drawcard.
First night into the trip and MDR & MB cooked a coq-au-vin for dinner with a free range chicken which was very tasty.
After dinner another walk was had by the team, this time in the reserve behind Philip's place which has recently been re-vegetated with NZ natives and looks spectacular.
Wine is pretty cheap, bought a Pinot Noir from France for the princely sum of $7.99. Fresh beans on the other hand were $17.90 per kg (at the local supermarket). Pukekohe by the way is located in the market garden hub of NZ.
Luckily MB found out about the local farmers' market on Saturday morning which was great for fresh greens, beans were only $2.50 and beautifullly fresh.
Breakfast today for MDR & MB at the Farmers' Market was some delicious fried pork dumplings from the Fongs. When Philip turned up a bit later turns out he knew the Fongs and was given a big serve of Fried Rice on the house. Everywhere Philip goes, he knows someone and always has time for a chinwag.
Philip & Emma head off to the Coromandel for a camping trip with the extended family tomorrow and preparations have been pretty feverish. MDR helped Philip find a speargun today at a spearfishing shop in Auckland. MB whispered to Philip on their way into the shop that MDR wouldn't leave without buying something. Sure enough just as the team were about to leave, after having quite a chat with the owner, MDR spotted some good dive belts and bought one. MDR couldn't understand what the rest of the team found so amusing about him buying something....

Flickr

MB is puzzled by the popularity on her Flickr site of a rather obscure photo of a pavement tile she spotted in Tokyo illustrated with a Panda Bear.  This photo was uploaded in May 2005 and is now the most viewed photo her Flickr site, just trumping her photo of Norm's Coolie Dogs taken in Tanunda, South Australia.
MB finds that collecting photos of things she loves, ie Panda Bears, is much easier than cluttering up her life with panda toys and other panda ephemera. 
One would be hard pressed to predict the popularity of these photos.

That1Guy

Mike Silverman, aka That1Guy, was in town last week and did a show at the Tanks last Friday night.  MDR spotted a newspaper article about the show and remembered seeing this guy on Spicks & Specks.
Mike is a one man band, a classically trained bassist who has developed a home made pipe and string instrument/synthesiser, shaped a bit like a harp, he calls it his magic pipe.
The Tanks is as the name suggests, an old water storage tank, converted to a very funky venue, only downside is there is no air conditioning, so That1Guy performed in what must have been 30c and 95% humidity.  He put on an amazing, energetic and intriguing show, his music covers the whole spectrum from classical to techno, using his magic pipe as well as a cowboy boot, and a carpenters saw (both of these were plugged into the amplifier by the way). 
A really good show, amazing music and the lyrics of some of the stuff he has written are crazy, reminiscent of Frank Zappa.

DVD Rulz

Flicking through today's Weekend Australian Magazine MB was struck by the many advertisements for DVDs, 9 large adverts in total, compared to 4 adverts for books. She then read in the The Australian Review that Aussies are bigger consumers of DVDs than Americans & Brits (Michael Bodey "DVD Letterbox"). MB thinks she knows at least one of the major reasons why this is so, both free to air and pay TV push so many damn ads on us the viewing public that we now prefer to watch our favourite series on DVD.
I noticed on free to air TV in the UK that ads were infrequent and limited to 2 or perhaps 3 ads per ad break, I found out the reason for this some time later when I was looking at the BBC website, TV licensing. Every TV in the UK must be licensed with the annual cost per TV being £139.50 per annum. This funds the great tv programming being produced in the UK.
There is also some wonderful TV being produced in Australia, albeit on a much smaller scale, mostly by the ABC. I notice Channel Nine's latest local offering is "The Waiting Room" a reality series made in a hospital waiting room. The think tank must've been working overtime to dream that one up. To give them credit though they did produce Underbelly which was sensational, all the better too as a lot of unknown talent starred, giving the series a really fresh appeal. Due to the aforementioned advertising down your throat issue, the MB family only watched Underbelly on DVD and is looking forward to the next series - on DVD of course!
Even good ol' SBS is running advertising during programs which is such a dreadful shame. It won't be long before someone puts a subscription only ad-free channel on air, MB for one would happily pay a couple of bucks a week for the privilege of not having to endure inane advertising during her TV viewing.

£1,000,000 Prize for 100% Chemical Free Material

Some very frustrated boffins at the Royal Society of Chemistry have become incensed that the word "chemical" now more or less means "poisonous", and have offered one million pounds to "the first member of the public who can place in the hands of the director of the RSC any material considered 100% chemical free".

Red Pen Detrimental to Mental Health

Queensland teachers are being advised not to use red pen to mark students' work as it may affect their mental health.
Apparently red "can be seen as aggressive". See the full article at http://tinyurl.com/5byzpb
Might be time to get into Bubblewrap Futures it will no doubt become a growth industry!

Asper Park Open Garden, 30 November 2008

One couldn't find nicer and more convivial hosts than Viv & Susan Stephens, pioneers of bamboo shoot farming on the Atherton Tablelands who opened up their property to the public yesterday under the banner of the excellent Australian Open Garden scheme.
Asper Park is little gem of an acreage just outside of Atherton on the Ravenshoe road which the Stephens have converted from bare farming land to an oasis of European style gardens with an adjoining bamboo grove.
The farm is named for the variety of Indonesian Bamboo the Stephens are growing for it's shoots, Dendrocalamus Asper, a large clumping variety that grows to 30m tall.
A group of about 20 visitors from all sorts of backgrounds, farmers, retirees and urban types with dreams of farmlets, turned up at 9:30am on an overcast and humid Sunday morning for a 2 hour tour of the property and learnt just about everything there is to know about cultivating and harvesting bamboo shoots.
The Stephens are passionate about bamboo and were unstintingly generous in sharing their extensive knowledge and experience of bamboo farming since 2000 when they first planted their bamboo culms.
Not only is the bamboo grove an incoming producing farm, it is incredibly peaceful with a stillness and serenity that feels other worldly, it would be a wonderful place for contemplation and meditation.
Viv & Susan's gamble to grow a food crop that is barely known in Australia has been spectacularly successful with all of their bamboo shoots pre-sold to mostly Asian restaurants in Sydney. Viv explained the myriad other uses for bamboo which have not taken off in Australia; pulping of bamboo cane for fibre which can be used for flooring, fabric and paper, activated charcoal products - bamboo produces very high quality carbon and the obvious other bamboo appications fencing, screening and furniture making. Amazingly enough this is only scratching the surface as the uses for bamboo in Asia are even more surprising; bamboo is trained and grown into specific shapes to make musical instruments, such as saxophones and horns, as well as the better known flutes. MB saw for sale in China bamboo sleeping mats which were made of very small bamboo "tiles" woven together. Didn't look very comfortable but millions of Chinese can't be wrong!
MDR has been looking for some bamboo poles for some time to build a fence and Viv was kind enough to offer him some bamboo poles when the next thinning is done in about a month's time.
MDR & MB did also get to taste fresh bamboo shoot, and some of Susan's pickled bamboo shoot, which is very popular with corned beef at Olivera's deli in Innisfail. The fresh shoot was very refreshing and juicy with a slight nutty flavour, would be absolutely delicious in a stir-fry dish. Alas the shoots are only just coming into season, perhaps later in the month MB can get her hands on some fresh shoots to experiment with at home.

Leapin' Leeches

A hot summer's day on the Atherton Tablelands wouldn't be complete without a waterfall visit.
After visiting Asper Park MDR & MB went for a dip at Elinjaa Falls near Millaa Millaa which has a beautiful deep rockpool at it's base, just the ticket for a hot and humid day.
MB was trying to photograph some gorgeous irredescent blue dragonflies (unsuccessfully!) on the creek and noticed when she got back to the shore that a leech had attached itself to her arm, the ruddy thing was sucking her blood.
With some difficulty she pulled the little critter off then horrified some tourists that had just arrived at the falls with her leech story. The poor tourists looked a bit nervous about staying there when they realised there were leeches lurking!