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7/30/2019 south east australia newsletter.pdf
1/6
Garrett Kearns
October/November 2012 Australia
The original pen for Wilbur from th
movie set in Charlottes Web was at th
farm we stayed at.
About to have surgery on my elbow after Idislocated it falling out of a coconut tree in Fiji.
Parrots on my head at a little town
called Apollo Bay. (Is this what they
mean by parrot head)
Ellory trying on hats for the Melbourn
cup.We saw many Kolas including this
baby Koala hanging on its mothers
back at the Otway Light Station.
7/30/2019 south east australia newsletter.pdf
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Ourfirst week in Australia was in Melbourne. We had an
unexpected twist when I found out I had to have surgery for
my dislocated elbow, we stayed in Melbourne a week longer
than we had intended.. This turned out great because we took
hold of some great city exploring. We stayed in a suburb of the city called South Yarra,which was a very comfortable neighborhood. South Yarra has
the Royal Botanical Garden in it and we spent an afternoon
walking around in quite a state of amazement. There weremany new species of birds and plants that we had never seen
before. It felt really weird because we realized it was Spring in
October, there were many familiar Spring blooming plants and
flowers and it took a while to get used to the fact we were going
to miss Fall this year. We ventured into the Central District of downtownMelbourne almost every day and did some great exploring,
like going to the Aboriginal Cultural Center, the Aquarium,
walking along the Yarra River, going to Federation Square,
and just wandering around. When we arrived we very soon
realized it was extremely crowded, upon asking we found out
there was a major horse racing event going on.
An interesting part of getting around the city wasriding on the trams.The trams are like cable cars , on tracks in
the middle of the streets. Melbourne is also known as the tram
city, it has over one hundred trams taking people from their
offices to their houses or to restaurants or ball games or
anywhere you need to go. The trams are like cable cars and go
all over the city including all the suburbs. I felt like it was a
great form of pubic transportation, and lots of fun. The Yarra River runs straight through the center ofthe city. It holds large water events such as rowing and
outrigger races, yet it also beckons other, more subtile sports
such as fishing and kayaking. The restaurant district is located
on the waterfront so no matter where you go, whether it be a
cafeteria or a fine dining restaurant, you will have amazing
views of the river.
Even though Melbourne was a big city, when ourtime there had ended I felt like the city was really easy to get
around in and that I felt comfortable and familiar with. The
city is very friendly, beautiful and full of life.
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Itwas really cool that we were
in Melbourne for the horse racing
season. The Melbourne Cup is one
of the most impor tant andprestigious horse races in the
world, comparing to the Kentucky
Derby. in was founded in 1861. I
was amazed that thousands of
people from around the world come
to watch the race and pay hundreds
of dollars to see it and it only lasts
about three minutes. The amount
of gambling the Aussies do during
the race season is tremendous. On
Melbourne Cup day it almost
seems that normal life stops. Everytown and village has a huge party
going on where the people are all
totally mesmerized by the lead up
to the race. At the race grounds,
horses parade for the crowds who
are dressed in their finest clothes,
especially fascinating are their
unique and funky hats.
We were driving North up theWestern Coast and stopped in a
little wind blown fishing town and
went in a pub. The people were all
dressed up in party mode with
noisemakers, watching the pre race
show on a stupendous big screen
with surround sound, it made you
feel like you were really there. The
people were really nice to us and
asked us if we wanted to bet, we all
got to place a little bet and it madethe race really exciting.The race
began and everyone in the room
started cheering, the horses
seemed really clumped together
and I was amazed the jockeys
could even stay on going full speed
and standing up, in the end the
horse I bet on, Jackleberry, placed
third out of twenty four horses.
After watching the race ithelped me recognize how
important a part horses play in the
history and cultural of Australia.
Since the settling of Australia
horses have been a necessity for
the people, From the work horses
in the the cities to the stations in the
far reaches of of the outback,
horses have been part of the spirit
of Australia. They estimate that
there are up to a million wild horsescalled Brumbies. It makes me feel
ecstatic that the wild horses are
thriving in a harsh yet beautiful
landscape.
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The Shipwreck Coast ofVictoria, Australia is considered the
one deadliest coasts in the world. Filled
with massive reefs and rocks jutting out
from the ocean, few people venture into
these unforgiving waters. Since the
mid1800s, immigrants, travelled from
England and other parts of Europe to
Australia in hopes of finding a new
promising land. Many made it to
Melbourne the main destination for
most of the voyages, but many lost
their lives on the long and difficult
journey.
They say if you drained thesea waters from this shoreline you
would find the remains of up to 1,200
ships that were lost to the sea forever.
The trip from England or
Europe took from 80 to 100 days.
The journey took them through the
blazing heat of the tropics as they
crossed the equator, then down into the
frozen seas around Antarctica. One of
the most perilous parts of the journey
was when they could smell the flowers
and glimpse shores of Otway Point,
knowing their loved ones were waiting
only one more days sail away.. Bass
Strait was a narrow channel going
between the reefs on one side and the
looming cliffs of the South Coast on
the other. As they did not have reliable
compasses and charts, they had to
depend on sight, at night and in
storms or fog this was close to
impossible. Their only guide through
the deadly channel was Otway
Lighthouse; with morse code, flags, and
a light that could be seen 36 miles out
into the foaming sea.The lighthouse
keepers had a huge responsibility to
help these ships be guided through these
perilous waters.
In these modern times we arefortunate that almost all ships have
radar, sonar, GPS, and many other
sophisticated electronics that help them
navigate the seas and treacherous
coastlines.
It was amazing to stand onthe coastline and imagine what it
would have been like to be a part of
one of these horrific or successful
journeys.
Otway Light Station
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Lifeon a dairy farm is a job that is veryunique and fulfilling. It requires a immenseamount of work yet the rewards of living in the
countryside, working outdoors and making aliving in this environment are worth the hardwork.
The primary responsibility of a dairyfarmer is milking and caring for the cows. Thecows have to be milked twice a day seven daysa week. Unlike in the past, the farmers nowhave machines that they milk the cows with, themachines are cleaned and assembled to attachto the cows each day by hand. As the cows arebeing milked the milk is sent through stainless
pipes to a large tank where the milk is turbospeed cooled to take it from 98 degrees downto 40 degrees in seconds. A truck then comes tothe farm every day to take the milk to the localcheese, butter and milk plant.
Since only the females can produce milkthe farmers don't keep any of the young malecalves except a couple of chosen ones theymay believe may be good for breeding. Theyoung female calves are kept in the barn andbottle fed milk until they are a couple weeks old.
The young females will not produce milk until
they have a calf of their own, at about two yearsold.
The farm also had many other animals.
Since it was spring, most the babies had justbeen born. They ranged from just a few weeksold to a coupe calves that were born while wewere there. There were pigs, sheep, cats,alpaca, goat, chickens, ducks, and dogs. Manyof the babies had to be bottle fed twice daily, wewere fortunate that we got to be a part of this.
Living on the farm was intriguing andawesome experience. I learned there are manyskills you must have in order to successfully runa farm. You must have good veterinarian skills
and be able to handle animals to help them incase of emergency. You also must be able togrow hundreds of acres of hay or feed for theanimals, so knowing how to do this is anotherfarming skill in agriculture. This is what Mackastudied in school.! It is a tough lifestyle that requires atremendous amount of work, it therefore leaveslittle for days off or holidays. It was great beingaround the animals, but the job is not foreveryone it would be an huge commitment for
anyone signing up.
Mackas Dairy
Farm
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Garrett Kearns
Mutant Message Down Under / 187
Pages / Marlo Morgan
Mutant message down
under is a true story about a
women who has a career of a
psychiatrist in the states who is
asked to go on a four month long
walk with the aboriginals of
Australia through the heart of the
outback. If she had be given a
choice she would have said no but
she did not why she was invited to
Australia until the last moment and
by then it was to late to go back.
During the walkabout, as the
aboriginals call it they taught her
the ways of their people and in
return she taught them about the
modern world as we know it. As the
walkabout ends she comes into
civilization a new person who will
teach future generations about the
native people of Australia and other
third world cultures around the
world.
I love her writing style
immensely because she is so detail
with her work and she paints a
wonderful picture in my mind of the
aboriginal culture and what they are
all about. Even though there are
very few characters in the book,
she really brings out all that she
can in them and she exposes
everything from physical build to
emotions. She really touches with
every charter individually and it is
amazing how she remembered all
that with no journal or anything to
write on. She went through many
hardships on the journey and she
found many thing that made all of
life a whole lot easier. Everywhere
around the world cultures and
people are being treated poorly and
they will continue to be unless we
can stop it. It's book really show
how undies turned some cultures
are and will the advancing modern
civilisation they are becoming less
and less that way. It was an exciting
book and I would recommend it to
anyone.
"Perhaps I started as a
reluctant urban student, but now it
seemed right for me to have this
experience here in the outback
where only earth, sky, and ancient
life exists, where prehistoric scales,
fangs, and claws are ever present,
yet are dominated by fearless
people. I felt I was finally ready for
the life I had apparently chosen to
inherit." To me this quote
symbolizes how people can make
adjustments in life and how it is ok
to change the way you are.
"After the torrential rain, the flowers
appeared out of nowhere. The
landscape went from barren
nothingness to a carpet of Color.
We walked on flowers, ate them,
and wore garlands if flowers all
over our bodies. It was wonderful."
To me, this article show how in the
barren land, it can all of a sudden
change to beautifulness. and
splendor.