On Saturday evening, we returned to Hamilton, seeing for the second time this year the ‘Long White Cloud’ of New Zealand appearing before us over the Pacific Ocean. Having experienced the already significantly hot and dry Spring of New South Wales – temperatures ranged from 11 to 38 degrees C. while we were there, and reports of the 6 years of drought in the farming areas were disturbing – it was a relief to find that in New Zealand it still rains, and the land is green and luscious.
To say we visited Australia would be foolish; we saw a tiny speck of this vast continent and travelled only within 150 kilometres of Sydney. (We are un-ambitious tourists and stay pretty quiet on holiday). Nonetheless, with minimal effort, we enjoyed a concert in the sophistication of the Sydney Opera House, surrounded by water, sky and skyscrapers, wandered lazily along sun-drenched and almost deserted beaches, hiked in the rugged canyons and sheer rock faces of the Blue Mountains, tasted the wines and olives of the rolling Lower Hunter Valley and wound our way along and over the Hawkesbury River.
We were a little late for the spring flowering of the bush, but there were colours enough to feast the eyes, not only from the plant-, but equally from the bird life. My northern hemisphere upbringing still finds the sight of a parakeet or parrot flying wild exciting. Bird song and bird screeching dominated both in the city and beyond; the dawn chorus to an untrained ear was remarkable. Having flocks of large bats flying above us in the city of an evening and hanging and chattering in the trees of the Botanic Gardens by day was striking.
One evening at dusk, we spotted our first koala, munching its supper in a nearby eucalyptus tree. What a contrasting life-style from that of most humans that is! Sleep high up in the tree during the day, crawl a little way down at sunset for a nibble, then back to sleep until dawn, when it’s time for another brief repast, before snoozing again. Hmmmm… maybe something to be learned there!
Coming from New Zealand where the most to fear is a very rare black spider, we were less keen to walk in anything other than boots and long trousers! All we came across was something that resembled a slow-worm creeping across the path before us, but gave it good wide berth nonetheless. So much for intrepid explorers! I will leave that to others more courageous, (or foolhardy) than I.
Sydney offered gastronomical glimpses into almost every part of the world. In a country with almost every climate, I assume that almost every known fruit and vegetable can be grown there, and that importing eating styles is relatively easy. I certainly tasted the best Asian food outside of my Singapore experience, and the choice of restaurant seemed limitless. For those of us fortunate to have it, accustomed food is a good way to cure homesickness, so no surprise that we resurrect it whenever possible. I am unashamedly attached to the importance of food at many levels, and also appreciate it as one of man’s creative expressions. It seems that we live in an age of culinary design, and I confess to a delight in dismantling the architectural works of art that appear on my plates, wanting what for me is the more important experience, the taste. No disrespect to architects, the Sydney Opera House had my eyes enthralled, but I wonder if design in food is a simply a sign of affluence or sometimes a disguise for the lack of more subtle culinary skills.
After that little digression, it is probably time for tea.