Bent Wing Bats

Friday night the skies stayed clear so we were able to venture over to Mount Etna (named after the one in Sicily, but no, not a volcano) to the bat cleft. The bats arrive every November to have their young and depart near the end of February once they are able to fend for themselves. According to our guide, we were hitting it at the perfect time...mums were still there and bubs were starting to venture out in the evenings to test out their wings.

We made the trek up the 1.2k trail to the top gradually with our guide who would stop to give us a bit of the history of the fight to protect the bat cleft and other nearby caves from mining and to point out different plants and insects native to the variable dry rainforest that we were in. She educated on how the different plants would have been used by the aboriginals. One of the tree leaves contained a substance that could be used as soap, another could be used for cooking and others contained poisons used for fishing. There were a number of butterflies along the way. We even saw an Echidna (see below).


Once we made it to the cleft (which was like a vertical crack in a wall of rock) we donned harnesses that would allow us to clip ourselves into the rock face so we could safely lean over the cleft to watch the bats as they departed for the night. It was then that she mentioned the snakes (there wasn't anything about snakes in the brochure)! Two types of python and the brown tree snake hunt bats. Lovely.

Now it was getting dark and the bats were starting to emerge, so one at a time we clipped into the rock and leaned over into the cave. Bats swirled their way up the shaft and out into the night flying right past us and sometimes, especially the less skilled new fliers, into us. They felt like getting brushed by a feather they were so light and soft. Sure enough after only a short time the snakes began to make their way into the opening to hunt for dinner. We had the privilege (ha ha) of seeing a spotted python and a brown tree snake. Lucky me! The spotted python (below) is supposed to be harmless to humans and the brown tree snake was said to prefer bats over people any day, but I was still a little uneasy. I do have to admit it was kind of interesting watching them lunge out from the rock to catch a bat, but as soon at one was remotely close, I was ready to leave.



We travelled much quicker down the hill stopping only now to learn a little about the geology of the region. A number of frogs had come out at this point and we were introduced to a few different varieties. A few wallabies hung out for long enough for us to see them under our flashlights. We also ran into a fair number of moths and spiders as well. By the time we were back to our cars, the mozzies were out in full force...too bad there weren't any bats around now!

Koorana Crocodile Farm

Today we did not have to venture far from Rocky to get to the Koorana Crocodile Farm. This facility has been around since 1981 and started out at a "removal service" for the area. Once the crocodile was protected in Australia, they began flourishing and locals needed a way to get rid of the trouble makers. So that is when the Lever's stepped in to offer their services. Over the years the farm has grown and now they give 2 tours a day to the public. While we were there we were able to see 2 newborn crocs that had just hatched that morning. We also had the opportunity to hold the "runt of the litter" croc that had become a mascot for our tour guide. He only stood up to my knee standing tail to tip of nose! The facility houses a number of saltwater crocs and a pair of alligators (just for comparison). The largest of the crocodiles was over 850kilos.

Jasper

We have a new addition to the family.  My sister had a boy on Jan 19th.  Little Jasper was 8lbs 5oz.

5K of Pain

Today I got around to riding up to the top of Mt. Archer. It is the best climb around here, I have been meaning to ride up there for a while now, but today became the day when I went to the track and no one was there. I guess they were scared away by the threat of rain.
I don't have the official numbers, but I was told that it is 10-11% grade. It was almost exactly 5K from the base to the top. This was one hell of a climb, I am pretty sure I have not climbed a mountain this long at this steady of a grade. When I cycled through Colorado, I defiantly did longer climbs, but never this steep. It was a narrow 2 lane road, reminded me of the roads you see on the tour de france. I knew I was screwed when I clicked into my lowest gear and I was still having trouble turning over the pedals. I wished I had taken off the 11-23 cassette and switched it over to a 11-25 or 11-28 prior to leaving CA, but those are all in a box somewhere in storage.
So I slogged on up the hill, it was the presence of a guy behind me somewhere that kept me going, otherwise I think I may have turned around a few times on the way up. I was sweating so much (I do live in the tropics) that I was having trouble holding on to my wet handle bars. As I neared the top I came into the cloud cover and some rain. It was sort of neat to climb out of the sunshine and into the clouds. I finished in just over 30 min, not bad considering the fastest time up the hill was 24 min (the other cyclist told me this, not verified).
I realized how steep it was on the way back down. The roads were now slick because of the rain so I kept my speed down, I didn't really want any broken bones. My hands actually hurt holding onto the brake levers. I was able to use my new HR monitor for the ride and I averaged 168 on the way up, not bad. I am looking forward to trying the hill again next week. I am going to steal the cassette off Laura's bike first though.

Race Night

I am starting to get the hang of cycling on the track.  Last night was another club race, I raced 4 events in the B grade.  My legs are getting faster when spinning up the pedals and I am learning some of the race tactics.  We raced a scratch race, a 2 lap handicap, an elimination race and finally another scratch.  The handicap was an exercise in pain, I just went for it from the gun as I was almost at the front with the start.  I took the lead quickly and just buried myself.  I was holding a 10 meter lead with 300 meters to go, but at about 150m to go I felt my leg speed coming down, and I was just about out of gas.  In the final corner I was caught and the race blew by me. 
The elimination was my best race, I manage to do pretty well in these races, even though sprinting every lap is painful.  I rode the race from the back and tried to do only as much as I had to to be ahead of the one rider that was eliminated.  One time I was boxed in on the sprint line and had to punch my way up through the center of the group.  After that I made sure I had room to go around up on the outside of the track.  When it got down 3 of us left the sprint was full out and it took a lot out of me, I managed to stay alive for the final lap, but was no competition for the end of the race.
The final scratch race was fun I think we did 18 laps.  I finally felt like I had some power in my legs and I was able to jump on attacks and stay in the race.  I was in poor position for the finish sprint, but I still came out in 5th place.  I am already looking forward to next week.

Adelaide: Day 5

Sunday morning finally arrived. The final day of the Tour was to be a Criterium race through North Adelaide, just on the other side of the river. Conveniently it was across the street from our hotel. After breakfast we grabbed the paper and a coffee and headed to the river bank to check out the set up for the day’s event. The sun was bright and strong so once we got the lay of the land we wandered around looking for some shade to sit and wait. We found a nice patch of grass in the park under a tree not far from the course, so we spread out the paper and read to pass the time.

The race was a 20 lap circuit and there were a number of contenders to take the stage. It took about 2 hours to complete the race and the Sky team pulled ahead to win. We stayed to watch the first of the awards and then went to the bar to award ourselves with a cold James Squire (our new favorite beer).

Adelaide: Day 4

We were ready for a more relaxed day after all of the running around we did for the past two days. So, this morning we headed to the Botanic Gardens and spent some time wandering around there. This region is one of only 5 Mediterranean climates in the world, so the gardens featured some of the unique species that grow only in this climate. Afterward we went to the South Australian Museum where they have the largest exhibit on Aboriginal culture in the world. They displayed tools of hunting and daily life of the Aborigines and other relevant artifacts. Also on exhibit were many fossils of marine life and a model of a giant squid measuring 11meters long (the largest ever found). You had to climb 4 stories just to see the whole thing!

The Central Market was our lunch stop for the day. After meandering up and down the aisles we sat at one of the coffee shops and had a bite and watched all of the commotion. That day’s Tour Stage was proving to be an interesting one, so we went back to our room to watch the tail end of it, which proved to be an exciting finish. Afterward we managed to arrive at the Ayers House Museum just in time for the final tour of the day. This house is one of the few 19^th century structures remaining and belonged to an Adelaide entrepreneur. The tour was very informative in giving you an idea of what life was like for early Australians (South Australia was one of the only non-convict states established). It also told some interesting facts such as they imported their ice for 10 years from Boston!

Adelaide: Day 2

We woke early this morning to pick up our rental car. We headed out to wine country where the riders would be traveling today. We went through McLaren Vale (one of the wine regions) and into McLaren Flat where the king of the hill stage was today. Parking our car on the side of the road, just about 100m down from the top we had a perfect viewing spot. All we had to do was wait. So, we waited, read the paper, took some pictures and waited some more. As it got closer to the time more and more cyclists and cars full of fans arrived. Finally the publicity train came through (all the cars with bigger than life-size riders and Oppy the Kangaroo on top). They jumped out of the cars and handed out water bottles, signs, cow bells, and hats to all the spectators. The riders wouldn’t be long now. Once they did arrive, they came flying past us racing up to the top of the hill. Even on the steep uphill they were going so fast it was hard to see who was who. After they went past, it was back in the car to see if we could make it to the finish.

We raced over to Stirling (after a brief stop for ice cream...hey it was hot!) where the day's finish was in hopes of seeing all 3 laps around the town. They had already started closing the roads, so we pulled off and watched the first loop from just outside the town. After they came by the re-opened that segment and we were able to get down to Stirling, park and walk up to the course with plenty of time to see the second lap. Then we headed to the finish line and wiggled our way into a viewing spot about 50m from the finish. It was a slight uphill, but again, not steep enough to slow the riders down so that you didn't get dizzy watching them go by. After the last of the pack came in we were hot and worn out from all our running around, so we rewarded ourselves for all of our hard work with a cold beer, a James Squire Golden, after the race was done.

Adelaide: Day 1

We headed out early this morning to see some of the city. We followed a walking tour that led us north just across the river and wound its way along the river on the biking path. It was surrounded by parks and was well shaded making it a very pleasant stroll. The zoo was next on our list. Two pandas, Wang Wang and Funi had just arrived from China less than 2 months ago. So we were able to see the pandas hanging out in their new home. Funi was pretty shy and slept most of the time while Wang Wang was enjoying some bamboo. We also saw giraffe, tapir (see below), hippo and a Tasmanian devil!


After lunch at a café, we made our way down to the Tour expo to check out what was on display. Since there wasn’t too much going on and we had the whole evening ahead, we hopped the tram to Glenelg, the coastal town. It was about a 20 minute ride and we were on the beach. We wandered along the path seeing some of the Victorian style beach homes and some of the historic buildings. After some fish and chips on the beach watching the sunset, we headed back to the city.

Adelaide - Food

We had 2 of the best meals that we have had in a long time while in Adelaide. Not that the food in New Zealand was bad, but how much lamb can you eat?  The first meal was our first night in town at Nu Thai.  This was superb, probably the best Thai we have had in the last few years.   The dish that put it over the top was the chili Barramundi.  It was simply fish fillets in an incredible sauce, or as the menu says thin slices of barramundi fillet fried then tossed through a homemade chilli paste with thai water spinach and lime leaves.

 Our second culinary delight was at a place called Good Life - modern organic pizza.  Maybe it was because we had to walk miles across the city to get there or maybe it was the wine that made it so delectable.  The wine by the way was a local red wine called K1, a tempranillo-cabernet mix.  We ordered a roasted vegetable pizza and this was the best pizza we have had since leaving NY.  Nothing against CA, but they just don't do a good pizza.  The crust was incredible and the sauce added a subtle bit to the taste.  The cheese was minimal, as it should be (I learned this in my pizza making days back in HS) and the roasted vegs added an interesting touch.  Who would have thought beets, yams and string beans would be good on a pizza?  They didn't get our order in right away, not that we noticed as we were enjoying the wine while sitting at a corner table by the window looking at the traffic on the sidewalk, but because it took a while we received a desert for free.  Laura opted for the Filthy Rich, a chocolate brownie served warm with a scoop of Clare valley vanilla ice cream and organic chocolate sauce.  She devoured it, which is unusual as she doesn't usually eat dessert, good thing we had a long walk back to the hotel!