When one spends most of his life in Northern hemisphere certain things get ingrained in his head. For example when I think of heading South, I instantly have a feeling of warmth. And while it is logically obvious that in the Southern hemisphere the effect of South would more likely be colder than warmer, it still came as a shock to me. As I boarded the bus from Canberra to Melbourne (yeah for last bus ride in land of Oz) I longed for the warm temperatures of Cairns and even the mild ones of Sydney. Once I got to Melbourne, the unpredictable days and chilly nights caused me to seek the comfort of a heater in my room, which my hosts were amazingly kind to provide. Kent, my host in Melbourne pointed out that it often felt colder inside the home than outside. And Melbourne weather in general was unpredictable, in fact reminding me of an old San Francisco saying – “don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes – it will change.” In fact the day before I left Melbourne it was subjected to one of the single largest rainfall days in history.

Melbourne as a city does not have any inferiority complex to Sydney.Melbourne as a city does not have any inferiority complex to Sydney. Yes, Melbourne is the second largest city in the country, but it is the fashion, sport, and probably cultural capital. There is a unique charm to the city’s CBD (Central Business District) with many older buildings and street trams, including a loop line of older trams that is completely free and allows tourists to get a feel for the city. There are many alleyways with shops and cafes. While there did not seem to be a central spot like the harbor or opera house in Sydney, historic Flinders station did offer a cool sight. In fact one of my favorite photos from Melbourne came from there (but to see it, I will make you got to my flickr page

I met some amazing folks in my 3+ weeks in Melbourne. Kent, Crystal and their four children who hosted me showed amazing hospitality and went out of the way to help me experience the city and its surroundings from cuisine to detouring to a park so I can find some Roos. Ian, a fellow shutterbug who weathered the cool evening with Kent and I to get a good look at the fairy penguins and more importantly capture great skyline shots (one in gallery, more on flickr). Eric, another American and an NFL fan (who is enjoying his still undefeated Packers) joined me for a AFL playoff game at the historic MCG (more about sports in another post, coming soon). I also reconnected with a new friend from Sydney, Yamini who in turn introduced me to Kallika, an introduction which led to one of my several out of town excursions.

Yes, in between several photo shoots, web work, even Russian language translation for an IPhone app (there is something I never thought I would do) I found a chance for 3 wonderful trips around Victoria. I ventured to a town of Ballarat to a photo exhibition. Following weekend two new friends – Amanda (from the office where I was working) and Ivan (a Chinese guy who has lived in New Zealand and was now living in Melbourne and whom I met via a CouchSurfing meetup) headed down the Great Ocean road. The drive was beautiful, in some ways reminding me of the Pacific Coast Highway, but unique in its own way. We made a few scenic stops and made it to the 12 Apostles, a spot where once 12 rocks stood out in the ocean. Currently only 8 are still standing. While the sun did not allow for the best photo at that spot, the memory of a great full-day trip will remain.

My other out of town trip was to the “bush” aka Australian country. Kallika recently moved out there from Melbourne and graciously invited me for a visit stating that I can not say I experienced Australia without experiencing the bush. The trip was pure joy – from an exciting back road ride that took a bit longer than planned yet was filled with load of smiles, to providential meetings and even doing a little web trouble shooting while in a small cafe, to sampling a few local brews at an award winning small Victoria brewery.

As I am traveling, I do not want to loose the joy for making delicious food for friends, old and new.In addition to experiences I have appreciated people opening up their homes and lives to me. And on a smaller things, I also loved that several of my hosts have allowed me to cook for them. As I am traveling, I do not want to loose the joy for making delicious food for friends, old and new.

So, after just over three very full and busy weeks in Melbourne I decided to test myself and headed to the island of Tasmania. For those who slept through that part of geography, it is the little island just south of the big island that happens to be Australia. In addition to the challenge of even cooler weather (see photo of ice on the bush in gallery) I dared to attempt to drive. After a short flight to Launceston, the second largest town in the northern part of the state I picked up my rental car which was not exactly what I expected. I did get used to my Suzuki Swift, even though it was by no means roomy. The first day of driving, with loads of rain on the way to and from Cradle Mountain was definitely challenging. I can only imagine the looks on some of the drivers faces wondering about a large man in a small car going slower than many, possibly a little too close to the line. After one day of driving I felt well adjusted and only made one error, ironically while driving with my CouchSurfing host Daynis (a Russian born college student), when turning out of the right lane on a one way street I turned into a right lane of a two way street, but quickly corrected. Daynis introduced me to beautiful spot called Cataract Gorge which is just minutes away from CBD. Then I continued to the rugged East Coast and down to Wineglass bay.

Following day, I returned to the middle of the island and drove through a few older small towns, many if which where built by prisoners who were the initial residents of the Island. In the town of Ross I found a beautiful old bridge and a lovely cafe which claimed to have “worlds best vanilla slice” (Aussie version of cheesecake of sorts). I then headed down to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. There I met up with Celia, of Celia and Alex my CouchSurfing hosts, at the Salamanca Market in Hobart CBD. Salamanca is an open air street market with vendors of food, art, and even clothing. Celia was there for a salsa group dance meeting which was one of several artsy gatherings in the area.

Celia, who is heading out on her own international adventure soon, and Alex helped me with some sight seeing ideas and shared a few wonderful regional brews at a favorite pub. I loved the fact that that you can drive all the way to the top of Mt. Wellington which gave a great scenic view of the entire city of Hobart.

Additionally I took a day trip to Port Arthur, a historical site of a former prison.Additionally I took a day trip to Port Arthur, a historical site of a former prison. This is where repeat offenders where sent when the sentence of simply being relocated to Australia or even confined in an Australia prison was not enough. The day spent at Port Arthur was definitely educational and challenged me to think about the history of the penal systems and punishment and the contrast that exists today. One of the interesting historical lessons I learned had more to do with US and to my recollection seemed abscent in the American history books. When talking about the British prisoner relocation program the numbers showed that thousands of prisoners where being transported to North America. While Australia is known for the prisoner history the US history does not seem to acknowledge it much.

The Port Arthur prison demonstrated methods and techniques that we can hardly even imagine, especially in the severity of punishment and psychological manipulation. Many of the men sent there were hardened criminals, but some committed multiple petty crimes (e.g. stealing a loaf of bread and later a pair of shoes). One interesting story was of a group of soldiers who were sent to be guards at the jail and encountered one of the prisoners who used to serve in their regiment. Upon completion of his duty he had no chance of finding a job as much of England was in economic crisis and stole to feed his family. Later he assaulted a warden of another prison for denying him the right to see his wife and son. It was definitely a challenge for the guards to reconcile one of their comrades being a prisoner as they probably saw that any of them could have been in his shoes.

The example of psychological manipulations is seen in the second prison building, built especially for hardest criminals. The entire prison dehumanized the prisoners. Names were stripped out, no communication was allowed (something prisoners got around by learning to talk to the tunes of the hymns sung at the chapel to fool the guards), even guards wore padded shoes to keep the prison almost silent. There were also sensory deprivation cells built with no light, extra padding and unparalleled walls and uneven floor. The results were so intense that next to the second prison stands an asylum where those whose minds were broken stayed, even after their sentences were served.

The other interesting historical side note is that Port Arthur historical site is itself a place infamous for a horrible crime – a 1996 Port Arthur Massacre when a local man killed 35 people, mostly tourists and strangers, many at the site of the cafe on the museum grounds. The man who committed the crime is still alive serving life sentence in Melbourne.

Still, despite the gruesome history, Port Arthur is a beautiful site that provokes thoughts and challenges one to ask questions.

As I wrapped up my short stint in Tasmania, I was reminded that despite the chilly weather in the air I was once again blessed by the warmth and generosity of others.

 

Thank you for reading, commenting and sharing. Stay tuned for more. Next stop – New Zealand!