she’s a laughing giggly whirlybird

Posted on March 7, 2012 by waggadventure

When we moved from downtown Edmonton to Terwillegar Towne several years ago,
it took us weeks to notice what was missing from our lives…and it was a strange thing: noise.We had moved to a suburb that was under construction, so there were very few houses. And when the construction crews went home at night, it got quiet. Too quiet! We had been used to traffic sounds, but what we eventually realized we were really missing was the sound of sirens. Being at the east end of Jasper Ave, they were pretty common. And then one night, when we heard one in T-Towne, we went “Ahh, that’s what’s wrong here!” Eventually, T-Towne grew, and though it was still a pretty quiet place we regularly heard ambulances, and firetrucks, and police (in various modes of transport…particularly Edmonton’s hotly debated Police One helicopter) nearby, just like any other city.

This became a normal sight over the city for a few days...but now they seem to have moved down river to places like Griffith as they prepare for the water to reach those towns. The last one over the city was probably the one touring Prime Minister Julia Gillard over the flood zone today.

Kooringal, our Wagga suburb, is pretty quiet too. We are at the end of a cul-de-sac, so there is little traffic. And even though our rental house backs onto Kooringal Road, a  major thoroughfare, it isn’t ‘major’ in the bigger picture; a busy road here is still pretty quiet. But with the floods here this week, traffic got heavier. Not road traffic really, because Kooringal Road was closed at the north end; other than trucks bringing in sand bags, there wasn’t much ground traffic. What we had was air traffic: there were helicopters over Wagga! Might not seem like a big thing, but the first ones we heard made us realize how quiet the skies are here. We were used to the Edmonton police chopper, the media traffic choppers, corporate helicopters, and air ambulances (the latter more for Dan, who worked right near the hospital). They were just normal. But when the first one cut through the silence here, it startled us. As the crisis continued, it became commonplace again – maybe even comforting.

We’re not sure exactly whose helicopters they were; some were SES, maybe the Rural Fire Service had some, maybe military…all these groups have banded together to various degrees to go a great job protecting the people of Wagga. Some might have also been media, as the floods have been getting a lot of coverage around the country.

We used to drive past this pub daily on our way to work. And our friends in North Wagga live about 2 blocks from it; they and their animals were evacuated, but their house is now under water.

And while we found the helicopters commonplace, they were also a constant reminder of what was happening. Our city was under siege from the river. We were never in danger, as our house is on a hill. But a huge portion of it – North Wagga – is currently under 3 feet of water. We know people who live there, who will probably return to a nightmare when the water subsides. Their house is two storeys high, and their main living area is upstairs. But the ground floor will be muddy, their pool table will be ruined (hopefully they got the stereo and some really rare vinyl upstairs before they left!), their swimming pool will be full of sludge…we assume they have their dogs with them, and we know they have boarded their horses somewhere safe…their chooks…we don’t know.

Other people we know in central Wagga fared better. Few were in the evacuation zone, and the ones who were had somewhere to go (including our house). And after only 2 nights away, they could go home, whereas the people from North Wagga are in limbo. The water level in the river reached 10.56 metres, which is about 24 cm lower than predicted. And the levee held. There was fear that the levee would be overtopped, but more fear that it would be breached – that it would collapse. If that happened, it would send a wave into central Wagga, probably wiping out more of the levee as it went, and flooding a lot of land really quickly. The pre-emptive evacuation was because the SES thought if the levee broke, the city would be flooded in 3o minutes.

A bit of a geography lesson here: There is a river, a levee (with a walking/cycling track) and then the main part of the city. The Lawson, the motel we lived in for our first 2 weeks here, is right at that levee – our back door went to a set of steps up to the top of the bank. A lot of good restaurants back onto it. Knights Meats is right at it. Within a block are many of the small independent shops and restaurants we frequent.  This first image is how things normally look (well, in general, though definitely not exact). [Lisa edit: Dan isn’t known for his artistic skills, but he’s done a pretty good job here… just for you!]

From the bottom of the river to the top of the levee is 11 metres. In the 3 or 4 blocks up to Baylis Street, the main street in the east side of downtown, it is a 3 metre rise. So think about what would happen in the situation below, as things were yesterday, if the levee gave way: Yes, a lot of water would rush into the city. We don’t know the height difference between the top of the levee and the level of Baylis, but our ‘flood refugees’ said that if the levee were to give way, their house 2 blocks south of Baylis would probably get about 60 cm of water. That means that the lower part of central Wagga would be under almost 4 metres of water. In that low spot, just south of the levee, are places like Wagga Thai, a great little restaurant. And Duffy Brothers fruit and veggie shop, and Blake Street Meats. Think about it…almost 4 metres of water…Wagga Thai would be full to the ceiling and then some. There would be water on the second floor of hotel rooms at The Lawson.

There were photos in local media of farmers rounding up sheep in their boats and ferrying them to this deck. We assume it is the back of their house.

These are the things that we couldn’t help but think about early this week. We knew that physically, we were fine. But our city could have been…well, to put it bluntly, it could have been fucked up real good. These places that we go are the great little independent businesses that make us like the city. But they are also the ones that would really suffer: if a small, family-run Thai restaurant gets flooded out, can they afford to spend weeks or months rebuilding or do they just move away? And that is just one example. Farms are under water, sheep and horses and cattle have nowhere to go. Around the region, vineyards should be starting harvest soon, but the sheer amount of rain, not to mention the flooding, can be catastrophic to the grapes.  The economic impact of this rain and its aftermath might be devastating, but not as devastating as the social and psychological impact on those who are severely affected. It is bad, but it could have been a lot worse…

When we see pictures like this, it is hard to even understand what we are looking at. Landmarks like roads and the river no longer exist...it is just a blur of water and rooftops.

And then there is the really really really (really) weird aftermath: how the flood has affected the spider population. Yes, the spider population in Wagga has reacted to the flood by…well, we can’t even describe it so we will just suggest you read this. Please do read it (apologies to those who are squeamish). It is fascinating! We’ve seen a bit of this phenomenon, but nowhere near as much as the photographer for the story.

Posted in farming, floods, rural life, spiders, Uncategorized, wagga, wagga wagga, wineries | 3 Comments

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan

Posted on March 6, 2012 by waggadventure

Continuing the musical theme from last post, in the  words of Johnny Cash: “How high’s the water, Mama? 5 feet high and rising.” But to be more precise, it is 34 feet (10.4 m as we write, at 10 o’clock on Tuesday morning) and rising, which is pretty bloody scary.

This photo is from the December 2010 flood, showing how high the water was then and its record peak in 1974. They are predicting a higher level this year.

Some stats: at Wagga, the Murrumbidgee is normally around 2 m deep. The minor flooding level of 7.3 m was reached at 6 pm on Saturday. The moderate flooding level of  9 m was reached Sunday night at about 9:30. The major flood level of 9.6 m happened at about 10 am on Monday morning.  At this level, much of North Wagga – the area of the city north of the river – is under water and cut off. It was evacuated over the weekend, with most people and their pets and livestock having left. But it is still pretty devastating for people who live there, to see their property covered in several feet of muddy water.

But now, the New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSWSES) is predicting that the peak will happen in the next few hours at 10.9 m.  And the most important statistic in this is that levee on the south side of the riverbank, the one that separates the river from the main part of the city, from the central business district, is 11 m high. So last night, at about 9 o’clock, the SES ordered evacuation of central Wagga! They say it is precautionary – that the water won’t go over the levee, but are getting people out just in case. And the bigger issue seems to be that they are worried more about a ‘breach’ – about the levee breaking – than it being ‘overtopped’. And a breach, though the water level is lower, is more devastating because instead of a few inches of water pouring over the edge it will be a few feet of water pouring through a hole – probably eroding the bank as it goes, causing havoc to the levee and inundating the downtown.

This is the area that was evacuated last night - it doesn't account for the huge, though less populated, area north of the river that was put on notice on Saturday. We live at the bottom edge.

We are SAFE! We aren’t in the evacuation zone. We are a couple of kilometres south of the river, and our house is on a hill. Our neighbourhood is actually one of the ones the SES notice told people to go to for safety! But some of the roads around us are closed, and we don’t actually know right now what the roads through the city are like. We are getting what in Canada we called a ‘snow day’ – CSU closed the Wagga campus! Some of the roads going to campus are already closed, and that means that yesterday there was a lot of traffic on the main bridge out of town, so to take pressure off the roads (and quite possibly the people!) they shut down. So for now, we are watching the news, texting with friends and colleagues, and monitoring Twitter and Facebook to see what is happening.

One of Lisa’s colleagues was evacuated and spent last night in a church. She and her housemate have just arrived here at the house, as a more comfortable safe haven, as we write this. Dan is out at Woolies, scavenging the grocery store shelves among the other “panic” shoppers. Gas stations are lined up around the city, with rumours of $2.50 per liter petrol. As the centre of town is evacuated, grocery stores are also now closed, so our neighbourhood is one of a few that is now feeding the city’s residents. We also know some people who evacuated out of North Wagga on the weekend and others who will have left central Wagga last night. We assume that since they have all been here longer than us, they all have places to go beyond the shelters that have been set up in schools (and the school kids are getting a snow day too, while the classrooms are mobilized as shelters). Other colleagues and friends have also taken in some of the flood’s refugees – so at least those of us who are high and dry can feel like we’re helping.

A view of the drive home from work Monday, not far from the Uni. Those tree trunks shouldn't be covered in water like that!

What is really weird about this situation, too, is that the weather right now is so beautiful. It is sunny and warm and the birds are singing; so, we are going to enjoy our snow day. But we can’t really venture too far from home – cycling, for example, is a bit of a challenge because most of the places we go are in the evacuation zone or were flooded out last weekend and probably still a bit dodgy for riding.

And this weather pattern emphasizes that there are two types of floods: a flash flood caused by fast rain (which is what was happening to close the streets on the weekend) and a real flood, caused by rising waters downstream. And that is what this one is; and while the first kind can be horrible, they usually rise and subside quickly (hence the ‘flash’ name). This real flood, though, has people on edge for days, and if it hits the severity they are predicting it will have lasting impact.

Here’s a bit of detail about what (in our simple understanding) has been happening: we got a lot of rain. A whole lot of rain – the official number for Wagga is 212 mm of rain from Tuesday through Sunday last week! That caused the first flash floods that closed some roads. But other places around the region also got a lot of rain. A whole lot of rain that is running into the waterways and filling them up and running downstream. One town (Grong Grong) got about 475 mm in that same time (!!!) but it isn’t on our river. What did affect us though is that the source of the Murrumbidgee is Lake Burrinjuck, up in the Snowy Mountains. Burrinjuck Dam controls the flow of the river from the lake, and in the past week there was 375 mm of rain that flowed into that lake and has overloaded the dam – it is currently at 107% capacity (and rising). Water is pouring over the top at an unprecedented rate, slowly coming down the river and raising the water level. The town of Gundagai, about 80 km upstream, flooded out a couple of days ago and the water is now receding. Here in Wagga, it is going up…

They've built an impromptu levee across one of the streets where we go biking! No, these cyclists aren't us... just crazy folks who are getting too close to the water.

There are a lot of theories of water management that will be argued after the water goes down – should the dam be there, should it have been opened early to control the flow better, etc…this is all being debated in Queensland right now about the 2010 floods there. But at least right now, people aren’t focusing on cause – other than nature dumping a hell of a lot of water on us in a short time – but instead focusing on keeping people safe and trying to minimize damage.

So, for all the people who have been asking about us, who have heard about the situation here, we want y0u to know that we are fine. Thank you for your concern, but rest easy! Our city, that we have grown to really enjoy, is possibly about to be devastated, but we are safe. We are worried about the potential impact though. Many of our favorite places are in jeopardy: Three Chefs restaurant, Knight’s Meats butcher/deli, Kidson’s Cycles are all right on the river. Thirsty Crow, Duffy Brothers Fruit and Vegetable, Blake Street Butcher…all on the flood plain that could be several feet deep by tonight. We’ll keep you posted as things unfold. In the meantime, you can also keep up to date by checking out the Daily Advertiser or (keeners!) following NSWSES Facebook and #Waggafloods Twitter feeds; here is a link to some of the tweets, captured by the local paper.

Posted in danger, floods, Murrumbidgee, Riverina, wagga, wagga wagga, weather | 3 Comments

like a great big train…

Posted on March 4, 2012 by waggadventure

When we first visited Wagga in early December 2010, it was a bit of a disaster zone. The 10 year drought had just ended, not with a whimper but with the skies around New South Wales opening up and wreaking havoc on the dams and rivers and the towns through which they flow. On that visit, we saw the Murrumbidgee hit almost record levels; the Wiradjuri Bridge became impassable, North Wagga was cut off from the rest of the city, and on one evening Fitzmaurice Street became a lake. The library and art gallery both suffered severe damage when the Wollundry Lagoon overshot its banks.

While we had hoped to see a great exhibit of contemporary Aboriginal sculpture, all we saw at the gallery was sandbagging. They weren't taking a chance after last year, and good thing too because early Saturday afternoon the lagoon overflowed on the north side...but so far the barricade has protected the gallery that is the south of the lagoon.

Laurence, in her guest post last week, briefly mentioned rain and a possible flood. Her introduction to Wagga was similar to ours – wet. So in the words of Yogi Berra, “It’s deja vu all over again;” in the words of Annie Lennox “Here comes the rain again, Falling on my head like a memory.”

Or maybe Peter Gabriel said it best: “Lord, here comes the flood.”

Laurence was being very polite in her description of what we did here. We had a lot of plans – Wagga and regional Australia can be very interesting and fun, even for a 13 year old girl – but they got scuttled by some of the biggest downpours in 130 years (!) in New South Wales.

When our guests arrived in Wagga on Tuesday evening, the weather had just started to deteriorate. The weekend had been 35 and sunny. Tuesday it was about 23 and we got about 15 mm of rain…that was a good day for the week! New South Wales was getting hit with a series of rain events that were breaking records. On Wednesday, one of the little towns near by  (Coolamon) got over 120 mm, for example. Young (our fruit heaven) got about that much over Tuesday and Wednesday. Roads all over the place were closed, rivers were spilling over…everything was unpleasant and soggy in the surrounding vicinity.

This is a little creek that runs into Lake Albert. In 8 months of cycling past it, we've never seen water in it.

Wagga didn’t seem too bad though. It was raining a lot, and hard at times, but most of the roads were still passable. We had to detour once on the way home from work, and some of the roads we regularly bike on were under water but we weren’t riding anyway.

We had plans to go to Canberra for the weekend; there is a nature reserve just south of there where we hoped we could see a koala. But quite early in the week it was closed down, and the rivers in the Canberra area were among the first to be predicted to hit flood levels. And there was a lot of rain in the forecast: most predictions said anywhere between 100 and 300 mm over the course of 4 days. They couldn’t get too precise, because storms like this are often quite localized, but in general you could figure that wherever you went would be wet. So we did a bit of thinking and decided it wasn’t worth it. We cancelled our hotels, changed their flight, and hunkered down in Wagga as it poured on Wednesday and Thursday here and all around us. Over those two days, we got about 100+ mm of rain, which is a lot in a country where the land is hard and the water doesn’t soak in well.

OK, so we didn't get to show our visitors kangaroos in the wild, but you can't get this close to them outside of a zoo.

And it wasn’t just us avoiding the rain. Even the kangaroos and parrots, which are normally quite abundant, were in hiding. We checked a couple of times in the places where we often see ‘roos grazing, but they weren’t there. They must have been sleeping under some bushes somewhere, trying to keep dry. Hence, the excursion to the Wagga Zoo to see animals that we should have been able to see au naturel. At least when we were there we did see some free-range rosellas hanging out in the trees. Laurence enjoyed the captive kangas and emus and other birds, but we more enjoyed the fact that we could show them some of the real native birds out in the wild…for us, those few wild rosellas in the gum trees were more important than the zoo animals under them.

Saturday afternoon in Wagga...not a normal afternoon though, as normally there would be people shopping here. Our beloved Knights Meats deli is just past the blue building.

And, luckily, we took advantage of the one nice day (well, sort of nice – it was still cloudy and unseasonably cold, but at least it didn’t rain) to go to the zoo, because early Saturday it started to rain again. By the time our visitors left for Sydney (just after lunch), it was coming down in buckets, and by about 9 pm that night, we had another 50 mm or so. And things were starting to go beyond the point of saturation. Various places around the region were flooded at various levels, including parts of Wagga. The NSW government says the Murrumbidgee hits ‘minor flooding’ levels at 7.3 metres deep; by 10 pm, it was at 7.49 m, so obviously starting to spill over its banks. Moderate flooding depth is 9 m, major 9.5 m. Throughout the week, the State Emergency Service (NSW SES) kept saying that we might hit the 9 m level. On Saturday evening, they admitted that because of the amount of rain falling, filling the dams upstream, they really couldn’t predict what might happen and started issuing evacuation warnings (not orders to evacuate, just notices to be ready that it might be coming) for some of the local towns such as Lockhart (we liked Lockhart!), Gundagai, Hanwood, Tumut, etc…

This graph shows the water level in the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga. As you can see, it has gone up in the past couple of days.

And as Dan works on this on Saturday evening at close to 11 pm, we’ve had close to 170 mm of rain in Wagga in 4 days. Other towns nearby have had less, or a lot more. The Lockhart warning issued at 8 pm has, 2 hours later, been revised to a full-blown evacuation for part of the town. And it is still raining…

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been seriously looking at neighbourhoods where we might want to buy a house. We have to think long and hard about where we want to invest because, in the words of Maria McKee, “the water rushes through this town…” And, in the words of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Dan edit: Stevie Wonder), as we search for a house, we are “gonna keep trying till I reach the highest ground.”

This is the NSW Road and Traffic Authority map of flooded and closed roads in our area.

Update: it is now Sunday morning and it continues to rain. It has slowed down though, and the forecast is for it to end today. We’re at 75 mm for the past 24 hours.  In the first 4 days of March, we have received more rain than Wagga normally gets in January, February, and March combined. More towns nearby are being evacuated, including one (The Rock) where they are busing residents to Wagga because the highway isn’t safe for cars. And the river is over 8 m now, with no real end in sight.

And as we write…another town (Uranquinty) got an evacuation order.

Posted in Canberra, floods, lake albert, Lockhart, rain, Riverina, travel, visitors, weather | 2 Comments

Guest blog – Fly me to…Wagga Wagga!

Posted on March 2, 2012 by waggadventure

[Lisa edit: Writing this blog is hard work (yakka!) – we have to come up with ideas, we have to be creative and witty, we have to have photos… So we hope that anyone who comes to visit will be willing to write a guest post. Here’s the first, written by our good friend Laurence Guilbault about her first trip to Australia, with her mother, France Bouthillier. Enjoy!]

As we left Montreal, a very big snow storm began. It was awful! And the last thing you wished to do was stay in the cold weather. When the plane arrived in Sydney I could already feel the hot sun coming out of the windows.

A great view from the plane!

My mom and I could not wait to get out and walk in the city; but before we could leave we were informed that our luggage had to be sprayed by a substance, which seemed odd. Anyway, we finally got out, headed to the customs area and took a taxi to our hotel where we took a shower and changed. We were finally ready to go out and go for a walk. Outside, it was very hot and the sun was bright. The city was lovely and filled with beautiful flowers and trees. We were very hungry so we went to a Thai restaurant where the food was very good. After our lunch we returned to the hotel because of the jet lag. We were so tired! We slept until 3 AM and woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep so we started eating, reading, going on the computer, talking to friends and other things.

We prepared ourselves and went to a little café to eat breakfast. We returned to the hotel to check out of the room and headed to the Aquarium on foot. We saw beautiful buildings and parks on the way there. The Aquarium was filled with impressive creatures: fish, sharks, platypuses and more! At one moment it even look like we were walking in the sea! It was very fun. After this little visit we went to the Rocks. The Rocks is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. The harbour is beautiful and the Opera House too. For lunch we went to the Hyatt and ate a club sandwich and had a beautiful view of the Rocks. We started heading to our hotel but before we tried to have a pedicure. But unluckily there was no place. So we went to the airport and waited for the plane. My mom ate Arabic food and I ate sushi. We got on the plane and after an hour we arrived in Wagga Wagga.

Me and my mom at CSU.

Lisa and Dan were waiting for us at the airport and drove us home. In the air, we could smell a very good scent (it was the smell of eucalyptus trees); you couldn’t get tired of it. We talked a little with Lisa and Dan and went to bed. Their home is very big and beautiful. The next morning we woke up, prepared ourselves for the day and went to Charles Sturt University to see my mom’s presentation on cyber-bullying. It was very interesting and my mom and I even got our picture taken for the local newspaper! After we went to Uneke , a restaurant, since we were starving. After we went shopping and I bought two pieces of clothing. I was happy with what I found. Around four o’clock we returned to the University to pick up Dan. We returned home to rest. For dinner we ate pizza and a salad. It was delicious! We talked a little and I went to bed because I was very tired. When we woke up Lisa, my mom and I ate some croissant with jam and some yogurt. We relaxed all morning and after lunch we went shopping. It was very fun and gave us an opportunity to visit the town a little. We picked up Dan at CSU and drove back home to prepare ourselves for dinner. We went to “Thyme out” which was very good.

A cute kangaroo who came to see us at the fence at the Wagga Zoo.

Next morning we prepared ourselves and went to the licorice (chocolate!) factory. We ate at the little café and tasted some chocolates. We even ate ice cream! After that we went to the zoo. We saw plenty of animals. They were beautiful and we took many pictures. Then, we wanted to go see the art exhibition; but unfortunately, they packed everything in case there was a flood because of the rain.  But I wished I was staying for more time! And even though it rained a lot, Wagga Wagga is a lovey place to go. There are many things to see and do! People are very nice and friendly. My mom and I really enjoyed our stay. I hope that I will come back! Here are some more photos for you to enjoy:

A little lorikeet eating apples.

Here's the face of an emu.

Posted in Australia, birds, CSU, emu, food, kangaroo, travel, visitors, wagga wagga, weather | Leave a comment

gimme danger

Posted on February 26, 2012 by waggadventure

We think that Australians and Canadians are quite similar people in some ways. Both have strange contradictory traits in that they are very adventurous but also have a fear of the unknown. And some of that fear is completely irrational and based on not having a clue what we are talking about.

For all the Aussies who are afraid of bears: this is a black bear. It can hurt you, but it doesn't want to. It would rather eat berries and walk away. Just don't bother it. We took this picture in Jasper.

We’ve met a few Australians who are deathly afraid of bears. Yes, it is good to be scared of bears, but not to the point that you wouldn’t go somewhere where bears live, and we have met a few Aussies who have said they would never go to Canada because there are bears. They seem to think that there are grizzlies (well, they don’t say grizzlies, because most of them just seem to think all bears are killers) wandering the streets, looking for human flesh to feast on. We tell them that finding a bear is hard to do (recent statistics say there are about 17000 grizzlies in Canada, almost all in remote mountain and BC coastal forests), and that most bears, while not harmless, don’t want to be near you. We spent years looking for bears in the Rockies and only saw a few. And even then, most were black bears – yes, they could hurt you, but they aren’t aggressive. We did see a couple of grizzlies, but that took a lot of searching, and only one was close enough that it could have hurt us if we hadn’t been in a car. Being afraid of bears isn’t rational; being aware of them, and cautious of them, is rational and smart. Hell, you have as much of a chance of being kicked in the ass by a kangaroo here as you do of being eaten by a bear in Canada. Unless you are threatening their cubs, a bear is probably not going to attack  you. Just don’t go into the wilderness with a salmon in your pocket.

Bear awareness lesson #2: this is a grizzly bear. They are much more dangerous than a black bear, but they would still prefer to eat berries and leave you alone. Took this pic in Jasper, as well.

As Canadians coming to Australia, we found that some of our fears were also a bit extreme. Not enough to prevent us from coming here, but extreme. Those fears were, of course, of snakes and spiders. And though they are probably healthy fears to have, we’ve come to realize that our expectations of the vermin here were somewhat misguided.

First to the spiders, which we’ve mentioned in a few posts. The dangerous ones in Wagga are the redback and the white-tail. We’ve encountered both. Redbacks build nests and webs, catch things in the webs and eat them. They are mostly nocturnal though we have seen them during the day, in the boxwood bushes that line our patio, nesting in a corner under our mailbox, and under the awning that is constantly down covering the west windows from the sun. A bit of Raid takes care of them quite quickly!

Lisa's first kill - she saw one redback in a shrub, and after spraying it realized there were two. These are probably both males.

The ones at the bottom of the mailbox (it is a box on a pole at the edge of the lawn) were the most interesting. We had seen the web, but never really paid close attention. Then one day Dan was getting the mail and noticed a cricket had been caught in it; as he watched, a redback came out to greet him. So he went in, got the Raid, and sprayed the whole area quite well, figuring if there was one visible there might be others. And yes, there was another one that tumbled to the ground, writhing from the spray, a tiny one that we thought must have been a baby. Later, when we were discussing spiders with a friend (the Aussies must get tired of explaining spiders to us!), she told us that it would have been a female, as they are very small, and that the females are more venomous. Cool! [Lisa edit: No, not cool! Dead is cool!]

White-tails don’t build webs, they just hunt at night for things caught in other spiders’ webs. During the day, they curl up in a warm dark place such as under rocks when outside…we probably have a few living under furniture indoors…we just don’t look or think about it [Lisa edit: Oh yes we do… Dan addition: actually, I watched one run under the china cabinet last week and when I looked under it, there were more than one or two…so I hoovered them!]. And this is why you are supposed to shake your shoes if you leave them outside. We keep our shoes inside, and though the whitetails we have seen have been inside we don’t worry about them too much. They don’t really want to be in the house, but just end up here by mistake. There is a strange thing about white-tails though: everyone here says how much damage they do when they bite – blisters, skin ulcers, etc. but our spider book says they aren’t that bad. We don’t know who to believe…but we will always err on the side of caution and try not to find out first hand who is right. We’re not scared of these spiders, but we are aware of them. We keep the house sprayed with Mortein, and keep our house clean and organized…so we don’t really have much to worry about. And, most important, we don’t have wicker furniture outdoors! Dan heard several stories recently about people who do, and guess what: it provides a perfect place for spiders to nest. Duh!

A huntsman hanging out at the ceiling on our veranda. So you can understand how big he is, the mortar between the bricks is a bit wider than 1/2 inch...

And of course, not all spiders are dangerous. We have the typical daddy long legs spiders like we did in Canada. We just ignore those. And little St Andrews Cross spiders, who sit in their web and vibrate when you touch it. Really, the biggest annoyance of spiders is walking, or biking, through a web and having that sticky stringy stuff stuck to you… And, occasionally, we even get Huntsman spiders, which are pretty big, very docile, and feed on other spiders, moths, etc. They are good to have around.

Then there are the snakes. From things you hear, they are all over the place. But, like spiders, they don’t really want to be near people. In this area, there are brown snakes and black snakes. They can get up to about 2 metres in length and yes, they can be dangerous if you startle one. And an interesting fact is that the smaller ones, the babies, are more deadly. The adults can control their venom – they can bite to scare you away, without injecting venom – but the  young ones can’t control it, so if you get bitten by one you get the full dose. But the odds of that happening, we have figured out, are pretty low.

This is the Wagga Snakeman - you are supposed to call him if you see a snake in your back yard. We don't know how much business he gets, but his phone number is in the Daily Advertiser all the time during snake season.

We work on a rural campus, and occasionally get notices that there are snakes around – Lisa’s building even has had one outside it a couple of times – but neither of us has seen a live one (Lisa has seen 3 smushed on the road, Dan saw one). That rarity is very different from what we were expecting…and our attitude when we first moved here now seems hilarious to us. And it amuses the Aussies too, when they aren’t just rolling their eyes at how silly we are.  Stupid little things like thinking we had to keep the grass short so we would notice snakes in the back yard, or thinking that the little bird bath we put on the ground might be enough water for a snake… Of course, when you then read articles in the newspaper about the occasional snake getting into someone’s house (saw that in Melbourne paper in September) or the tiger snake getting stuck in a beer can, you get a skewed and sensationalized perspective. Kind of like how you read about bear attacks in Canada, but then no one ever points out how many people live and play in the mountains and never see a bear. Or do see them, but just walk in the other direction.

There is a third serious danger here that we aren’t going to be complacent about, and no, it isn’t sharks…they don’t come down the Murrumbidgee River, and like bear attacks, shark attacks aren’t that common. The bigger danger is the sun. It is ‘different here’ is what we are constantly being told. And it has probably killed more Australians than snakes, spiders, and sharks combined. So we slip, slop, slap, slide, seek…and we we will continue to fear its rays.

Posted in Australia, bears, Canada, snakes, spiders | Leave a comment

Oh Tarcutta

Posted on February 22, 2012 by waggadventure

This sign fails to mention all the other great places you pass through such as Gundagai, Wodonga, Wangaratta, etc...

One of the big regional stories in the Daily Advertiser over the past few months has been a construction project on the Hume Highway, the main route that runs between Sydney and Melbourne, the country’s largest cities. It is about 870 km between these two cities, and just about half way between them is the little town of Tarcutta (about 45 km southeast of Wagga – we’re not on the highway).

We went to Tarcutta one day last weekend, after seeing in the Advertiser that Saturday was Tarcutta Market Day. We thought, hey, maybe some fresh veggies, fruit, etc…why not? We like going to the little towns around here, checking out what is there.

Sorry we don't actually have any of our own photos of Tarcutta. The camera was in the boot of the car, but it didn't really seem worth getting.

Well, there isn’t much in Tarcutta; it seems that it’s entire existence has been based on the fact that it was a good pit stop for people – mostly truckies – driving this route. There is a huge Caltex petrol station (really huge…) with a variety store, a huge parking lot for transports (basically just a big flat chunk of concrete), a café, an op-shop, a craft shop, a clothing factory outlet, a war memorial and a motel (or two? can’t remember).

Maybe one of the coolest things about Tarcutta (well, OK, the only cool thing and it isn’t really that cool – it might actually be pretty common) is that one of the Halfway Motor Inn not only has rooms, but it has stables! We don’t think it is for people who are riding from Sydney to Melbourne, but more likely for people transporting their horses. Yep, there are a lot of horses in this area, and we see trailers all the time, heading off to one race or another. Or maybe the owner is a bit of a crazy Christian fundamentalist and is hoping that some evening when they were full a pregnant virgin will show up looking for a room…

Since the Halfway will probably never again be full and guests have to sleep in the manger, the second coming won't start here.

The reason that the highway construction has been news is that they built a bypass around Tarcutta. So what little they have is probably going to get less.  The locals complain that no one comes there now, so businesses are dying. Over Christmas, when a lot of people travel – therefore pit stops do well – business at the Caltex’s fast food outlet was down more than 50 percent from last year. Yikes!

So when we went to Tarcutta, we didn’t know what to expect. But our expectations, as low as they were, were far too high. The market…pretty pathetic, really. A few tables of people selling things like knitted baby clothes, a couple tables selling jam, one selling fresh herbs, one with a some pumpkins and squash, and a couple more selling commercial flea-market style crap and lucky dips. And a sausage sizzle, of course…it isn’t a market without one. We went in, looked quickly, and left, feeling kind of bad that we weren’t doing something to help their economic woes but we just couldn’t see anything worth buying.

A town can't survive on the occasional pickle sale, even if they are good pickles (as these ones are). Haven't tried the jam yet, but how bad can blackberry and plum jam be! The date loaf didn't last long enough to be photographed, which is too bad because it was kind of interesting. It may have been cooked in an old tin can.

We did go to the craft shop across the street, which had similar but better things: more baby clothes, some pottery, some really nice wooden bowls, preserves, etc. We bought a jar of pickles, a jar of jam, and a date loaf (something like banana bread but without the bananas). Total expenditure: $16, which was probably a good percentage of what would be spent in Tarcutta that day. Definitely not enough business to sustain a village.

At the same time as the highway got diverted – and it is only a short jaunt into town from the highway, so this would have worked – the government scuttled plans to build a huge truck stop in Tarcutta. This would have put some more business into town. Not going to happen. No real reason given. But is it sustainable in the long run to base your entire economy on a truck stop? Probably not.

The highway bypassed Jugiong a few years ago, but they manage to attract tourists still with a great cafe and a really cool wine shop selling only wines from within about 50 km.

And the locals also complain that the new bypass doesn’t have good enough signage and that, for instance, people don’t know that you can get off at that interchange, stop in Tarcutta for lunch, and then go to Wagga. Which actually isn’t that realistic because 1) we’re not sure if the café is still actually open (you could get a pie at the Caltex…) and 2) if you come off the highway there and head to Wagga, you still miss Tarcutta by about a kilometer. But desperate people come up with desperate ideas.

But, now for a reality check: the people of Tarcutta have been complaining a lot about how the bypass has devastated their town, but based on our observations they weren’t doing really well before. There were businesses that have obviously been closed for a lot longer than the bypass has been open. The school is closed (at least we hope it was…it looked like it should be condemned). An op shop and a gas station do not make a town.  And while the bypass might be what finally kills it, it seemed to already be on its last legs. Building the bypass was more like turning off the machine that is barely keeping someone alive than shooting a healthy person. In fact, we found this blog from 7 years ago where a traveler points out that Tarcutta has been in palliative care for a long time.

Overall, not a fun road trip…But though this post is a bit negative, we are sad to see the small regional towns dying. We’ve been to a few of them, and they aren’t thriving. For example, in both Ganmain and Lockhart – which we had fun in, as we point out in previous posts – major businesses are for sale and having a hard time finding buyers. This is a partly the culture that we came here for, to get away from big city life. Hopefully something happens to revive the rural towns. And for now, we will continue to do our share of sustaining their economies, one jar of jam at a time.

Posted in driving, market, money, newspapers, road signs, small town culture, Tarcutta, traffic signs, travel | 1 Comment

It’s a beauty way to go

Posted on February 19, 2012 by waggadventure

Lisa here… I’m slowly recovering from my January trip back to North America (mainly the email backlog and change in temps; no problem with jet lag really). For those of you who weren’t aware (though you should have clued in while reading the idiotic posts Dan got away with in my absence!), I traveled to the US and Canada for work for 2 weeks in mid- to late-January. We thought it might be interesting to share my travels, as this was my first time “visiting” Canada since moving to Australia (Literally! More on that in a bit).

I don't think she's in Wagga anymore, and I'm not getting off her pillow until she gets home.

My trip started with an early morning flight out of Wagga, to Sydney. For the first time, in all of my years of flying, the ticket agent asked to weigh my cabin baggage (carry-on, in Canada-speak). I have had a set travel kit for all flights more than 4 hours, for years; toiletries, change of clothes, laptop, iPod, chargers, etc. All of these items fit Air Canada’s limits, but apparently Qantas (not a Star Alliance partner with AC, but one of only 2 companies flying out of Wagga) is clamping down. I spent the first few minutes of my travels repacking, putting items deemed non-essential into my checked bag. Interesting that I didn’t have this problem in Sydney on the return flight! I think it’s just a typical small-town “look at us! Our airport abides by all rules, even those that are NOT listed on the company’s website or part of the other airports’ regulations” mentality. This does not bode well for the advent of security at WGA.

There was a long layover in Sydney, saved by the pancake machine in the Air New Zealand Lounge (an AC partner). The flight was long (13+ hours), but I scored big with an entire row of 3 seats to myself! I had a seatmate, but he got bumped to business; other people missed their connection… I felt sad for them, as I stretched out, pulled up my blanket and napped. This was a clever strategy (also employed by the guy in front of me). When you have open seats, the other passengers in the horrible middle row start salivating, thinking they’ll be able to jump to the window. Well, no bloody way! Those seats were mine, dammit! Even the older lady 1 aisle up was not going to appeal to my softer side. The skies are a no man’s land…normal Canadian/Aussie politeness go down the vacuum toilet once we take off. Needless to say, I had an awesome flight! Watched the entire first season of The Killing (recommend it!), between “feeds” (as the Aussies say) and sleeps and arrived at YVR feeling rested.

Worst part? Getting off the plane, going through customs, walking all through the airport (or so it seemed), only to get back on the same plane to go on to Toronto (technically, the same “direct” flight). Strangest part? Having to go through the non-resident “visitor” line while all of my Canadian peeps went to another line (sniff)! Worst part #2? We were behind a huge flight in from China, with only 2 agents working and 0 translators. Funniest outcome? AC had to hold the plane for one hour while about 25 of us worked our way through the line.

I don't think we're in Wagga anymore...because Wagga has real ponds with water lilies and the ducks live outside, unlike in Dallas.

After sleeping for most of the Toronto flight (post-feed), I then had a lovely layover at the AC lounge. Lovely because they have showers! I was catching a late-evening flight to Dallas Texas for a conference (didn’t arrive until almost midnight), so the shower was a welcome treat. Then, a glass of wine and some good conversation (met up with a colleague from Edmonton at security – small world) and I was ready for my final flight. So, are you keeping track? One hour flight WGA to SYD; 14 hour flight to YVR; 5 hours to YYZ; 3.5 hours to DFW. Plus airport/layover time. Total travel time? About 36 hours. Calendar time: about half that.

Conference in Dallas was great! Saw lots of colleagues, told all about the wonders of Oz, met with potential candidates for a CSU position, chaired a session, hosted a round table discussion, and shopped like mad! Had a great time with HJ… Really have missed our wine dinners, shopping, etc. since we both left Edmonton for warmer climes. Thankfully, we will have lots of conferences in the coming year.

I don't think we're in Wagga anymore, because Wagga doesn't get this white crap! Get me out of here, back to the heat.

Next it was back to YYZ (another 5 hours of travel), where I did a workshop at CSU Ontario. Great to meet my new colleagues there! Then, my brother JB picked me up to take me to Owen Sound (another 2 1/2 hours) for a visit with family. This was wonderful! Played lots of cribbage with my parents, spent time with all my sibs, met my new grand-niece, and had a lovely lunch with the extended family – which turned into a surprise birthday feast with cake and everything! My birthday’s in February, so close enough for a party. Had a great day/dinner with (most of) Dan’s family too. Thanks again B&D for a lovely meal!

Then, it was back to work! JB drove me back to YYZ so I could catch a flight to Montreal, where I met a colleague from Alberta and we drove to Mont Tremblant for meetings (3 hours). Stayed at the Fairmont…which is so luxurious! But we arrived late, had a lot of meetings then drove back to Montreal that night. We were supposed to stay on for a working dinner, but my intrepid traveller self knew to check the weather forecast – this is Canada in winter, people! There was a massive storm coming and we did not want to get stuck in the mountains of Quebec. So I didn’t really see Mont Tremblant. Back in Montreal, I stayed with a colleague; we worked in the day, had fabulous meals at Holder and Le Local and lovely French wine at night (there are a lot of great Aussie wines but we miss the variety of international ones that are hard to get here). We also spent time planning her trip to Wagga as she’ll be our first visitor, later this month!

I don't think we're in Wagga anymore, because there is great food here but usually not as beautifully presented as this dessert in Montreal.

My last day in Montreal (Saturday) we went to the Fairmont, where I had a lovely mani-pedi in anticipation of the long return flight (and to prepare for sandal season again…I hated having to wear boots in Canada…it has been months since I’ve even put on socks here!). Then it was off to YUL for the return flight to YVR, SYD and WGA. Got an upgrade to business class as far as Vancouver, but just a regular window, economy seat on the long haul. Best part? I was seated next to 2 young women from Calgary and Nova Scotia, on their way to Oz for a Uni exchange. They were so excited… And I provided lots of tips, just like the “local” I’ve become. One of my most important tips? No, you can’t take those oatmeal cookies your mom made for you (how sweet!) through customs, as quarantine officials will confiscate them! So, we stuffed our faces as we taxied up to the gate. Nothing sweeter than Canadian home cooking as I arrived back home in my new, adopted land.

And the final tally on travel time: around 85 hours! Welcome to my new world.

Posted in airport, Canada, family, Owen Sound, quarantine, travel | Leave a comment

all secrecy and no privacy…

Posted on February 15, 2012 by waggadventure

The Wagga Police Station was opened in 2009. We're lucky that someone was smart enough to bring an ink pad from the old one. We were probably the first people they inked in this building.

The process of applying for PR status has also involved getting police clearances. We have no secrets… nothing is private. Well, except for the RCMP’s process; it seems to be completely secretive (more on that in a bit).

Dan had to submit a police clearance for the original visa (random selection or something) but Lisa didn’t. So one day last spring (Aus spring…October) she goes down to the Wagga Police Station to get fingerprinted. Although Dan was able to go to the Edmonton cops when we were still living there, fill out a simple form and hand over $35, Lisa’s process is a little more involved. First, you must submit for a clearance through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. And, for some inexplicable reason, they will only take hard-copy, ink prints when you’re outside the country; other countries will accept digital. So the police officer had to track down some ink, some paper, and someone who knew how to do it (the officer hadn’t used ink since the academy, 15 years ago!). Lisa paid the WaggaCops $40 for their friendly service, and the prints got shipped off to the RCMP ($25 money order enclosed for processing)…and, apparently, into a big, black void. They say that it takes 10-11 weeks to process, but we are now at week 17 with no sign of a document saying she is clean. And they don’t really respond to queries; all they will say is yes, they got it and tell you that the process can take “in excess of 120 days.” So, we could be waiting for 7 years! Who knows? No response to subsequent email/phone messages either.

We've started to wonder if the fingerprints aren't to check your criminal status, but to prove that you have opposable thumbs. Kangaroos, who can't hop on one foot or touch their fingertips together behind their back, don't have thumbs, so they are lucky to have been born here because otherwise they wouldn't meet most of the requirements for residency.

Dan’s clearance from last year is valid for only one year; it will expire on March 1. So fearing that Lisa’s clearance might not be back in time, he pre-emptively went to get another one done here in Wagga, mid-December. It might not be necessary, but the $40 (plus $25 RCMP fee) seemed worth it to save time, if it came to that. His printing ended up being free, because the WaggaCops were in a labour dispute with the NSW government and not charging for services at the time (bonus!). So, off went another package to Ottawa.

When Lisa went to Canada in January, she decided to try another route to speed the process — she went to the Owen Sound Police Station to get another one done. All she had to do was fill out a form, pay $50 and that was it; unfortunately, the police said they had to send it to Edmonton (because they had to check with our last place of residence) so it could be 4-6 weeks. The plan was for her dad to pick it up and courier it to Wagga, if it arrived before the RCMP version. Then, about a week after she got back from Canada, she gets our mail and there is a letter from the RCMP! Thrilled…until she realized it was to Dan. His clearance was already done; hers was still lost in limbo. And then this past weekend, she finds out from her parents that they have the Owen Sound/Edmonton one in their possession already, and will be sending it out special delivery, ASAP. No idea what has happened with the original, RCMP one, but she’s pondering how she can get her money back.

This week, we photocopied all of our important documents – our degrees and passports – and had them notarized by a Justice of the Peace. It was a bit of a hassle, as those UWO diplomas aren’t a normal size, and they were framed, so it took a bit of time to un-frame, centre on copier, re-frame. Then the JP came over to Lisa’s office (which is kind of silly, because his office is in the same building as Dan…hmmm, why did we organize it that way?) with his stamp and pen, and spent 30 minutes verifying that everything was legitimate. In Canada, there was a $10 charge per document, so we were worried that this was going to cost us a lot of money. Lisa had noticed a sign in the Post Office advertising a $3.95 fee… but still, with all of the duplicate copies, it was going to be a lot of cash. Well, since so many people need things notarized here in Australia, signatures offered by a JP are now considered a public service and was free. We did give him a bottle of wine (Australia’s other currency), but we would have done that even if there had been a fee.

Dan thinks that all new Australian citizens get a free pet wombat from the government. Dan is an idiot.

So now, we just wait for the package from Lisa’s parents with the form that proves she isn’t a serial killer, and we submit the application to become permanent residents of Australia! This will mean that we can get NSW driver’s licenses (we are still using our Alberta ones) and will qualify for free Australian health care instead of paying for private coverage. When we get PR status, we will have to figure out a good way to celebrate: dinner out? matching Southern Cross tattoos? a vacation to Kangaroo Island?  Unfortunately, we have to wait for citizenship before we get the right to vote or receive our pet wombat. Or maybe we’ll take a trip to Wombat  (we haven’t actually been in Wombat  yet, but drove past many times. Dan was in the suburb of Wombat Heights recently (on the edge of Wombat – a town large enough to have suburbs!), where he bought some home made liqueurs and jams at The Grog Shed. It’s literally some guy’s shed, where to use the wireless EFTPOS machine – Aussie for Interac – he had to go outside and stand under a certain tree for a signal!). Yes, it’s a fun country, on so many levels… but it’s (soon to be) our country.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Stand on one foot and hop.

Posted on February 12, 2012 by waggadventure

“Ok, now do it on the other foot. Now reach behind your back with your left arm. Good, now with your right arm. You’re right [Oz for OK]…now go get a blood test.”

Lisa proves that, unlike a kangaroo, she can touch her front paws together behind her back.

These were among the instructions we received from a physician here in Wagga recently when we had our medicals for our Permanent Residency applications. It seems that PR status is only granted to people who can do things that kangaroos can’t.

When we decided to look into PR status, we spoke to an immigration lawyer about our options. It seems that the rules are constantly changing; we know someone who got it before they moved here a few years ago, based on being a desirable professional (same field as Lisa). When we moved, all we could get was a 3 year, temporary visa; between the time of our applying and our arrival, however, it was changed again and anyone moving to regional (the Aus term for rural) Australia can get PR status without the usual two-year waiting period…so, if we had been two months later, we might have been able to do all of this from Canada.

The nice thing is that with this new regional migration scheme, you have to be sponsored by your employer — and that means with the Uni, they also arrange a lawyer and pay all the fees (well, the government fee and the lawyer, we still have to pay for incidentals like medicals).

So now we are going through a process similar to, but more complex than, the one for our original work visa (completed last year around this time). As we said, this has involved a series of medical checks:

They had to turn the film to get a proper picture of Dan's lungs. Those trees back there aren't actually in his lungs...they gave us the films, so they are hanging on the window as art.

  • Chest x-rays: where we found out that Dan has long lungs…the first one they did didn’t actually get all of them so he was nuked again. Hopefully, the radiation from this doesn’t affect any of the later tests.
  • General physical: eye exam, blood pressure, hopping (yes, seriously; first on one foot, then the other), squats. And touching your hands behind your back. You have to be nimble to live in Australia.
  • Blood test: taken by a big tattooed bikie-type guy who really wanted Dan to cry when he poked him with the needle. He said women are better at having blood taken than men. He closed the door to the extraction room when Lisa was getting her vial taken, but left it open when Dan was in there so Lisa could watch him wince. Being Wagga, it was pretty quiet, so there were no other clients in the office at the time, so no privacy concerns.

We also have to get a bunch of documents certified by a justice of the peace, which isn’t that hard here – it seems that CSU has a bunch of them on staff. We work with someone who is qualified, and he is happy to sign off on copies of our degrees, our birth certificates, our passports, etc., so they can be submitted with our application.

A big pile of photocopying to be done. And here's a tip for anyone who thinks they might someday migrate: your old passports are more than just good souvenirs! We have no idea how we would do this application without them.

The really challenging part of the application is that they want to know a lot about your life history:

  • Where were your parents and all siblings born? When? (A long time ago in the bush in Ontario isn’t a sufficient answer!)
  • Where did you go to school? When? What were your grad/convocation dates (right back to high school…and then Lisa’s 4 degrees!)?
  • Where have you worked your entire life? When? Wow, try remembering the dates of every job you have ever had! And not just the month/year… but the actual start and end dates. (At one stage in the process, Lisa had to email the University of Western Ontario to verify some work dates from the early 1990s… how many of you can remember where you were then?)
  • Where have you traveled in the past 10 years? When?  And for how long? OK, that’s a tough one! For Dan, it wasn’t too hard going back 10 years (Aus a couple of times, UK a couple of times, Sweden, France, Germany, Chile, Argentina…); but for Lisa, Queen of the Airport…OMG!!! They actually want entry and exit dates of all international trips. Not hard for going in, because we were smart enough to keep all of our old passports, which have date stamps for each time she entered a country. But sometimes – many times – they didn’t stamp them on the way out. At Heathrow airport, coming out of the UK, for example, they don’t stamp it. So we had to think hard about how long we were away; and did we come back on the same day? Usually, but not always. And many of the US trips she made in the last 10 years also don’t have a detailed record of when she came home, so there was a lot of looking back at her CV, figuring out why she was there (conference or meeting) and how long she would have stayed. Ughhhhhhh! But, in the end, we think we have it as accurate as possible.

And that’s not all. Yes, these parts have been tough, but wait for the next post about the most horrible part of the process, yet!

Posted in Australia, Canada, identification, medical tests, passports, Visa | 1 Comment

Baby you can drive my car

Posted on February 6, 2012 by waggadventure

Okay…payback time! Dan is in Bathurst for a couple of days, so I get to write what I want, when I want. This post is going to address one of the most common questions people ask me — what is it like to drive on the other (or, some would say, “wrong”) side of the road?

Australia is "special". Like other select countries, they drive on the left ("wrong") side of the road.

Well, it wasn’t easy, but I think I’ve mastered the fine art of driving like an Australian. That is, when Dan lets me drive (sigh). He’s the most annoying passenger on the planet! Hates to sit passively, so he critiques all the things that you choose to ignore about his driving. Let’s just say that in the interests of marital bliss I happily ride along while he drives like a crazy person (or an old lady, depending on the day). And I live for the times that I get to drive on my own. Did I mention that we’ve only ever had one car and that we have commuted together forever? Some day I’ll have my own set of wheels… But until then, I have to get my thrills while he’s away.

Like everything in Oz, things are just backward here. The steering wheel is on the right and passengers sit on the left. This is an important fact! First, you don’t want to look like an idiot when trying to get into the wrong side of the car. That’s what a purse is for! If I forget, or if I’m distracted and thinking about other things, I can just pretend that I need to put my bag on the passenger seat. Or that I desperately need to dig in the glovebox for a pen. Yes, I’ve done both… Not sure how Dan deals with this problem… He probably just looks like an idiot.

Now here's a nice looking bloke and his girlfriend. With steering wheel on left - wrong for him to text; with steering wheel on right - okay to text. Either way his girlfriend will be pissed that he's not paying attention to her.

Second, it’s important to remember that passengers are allowed to text while driving. It’s very unnerving to be driving along and thinking that all of the other drivers are texting! “What the hell is Wagga coming to?” you think – “Where the hell are the cops?” – until you realize that those are the passengers. “Oh, yeah…everything is backward here, so passengers sit on the other (“wrong”) side of the car and text to their hearts’ content.

Third, it’s important to know that the rear view mirror is useful, even if it’s in the wrong location and your natural inclination is to look for it in the wrong place. Here, we had to train ourselves to look in the mirror. It’s not easy! Here, you try it… (Aussie readers are off the hook on this one, unless you’d like to play along to see what it’s like to drive in Canada, by sitting on the other side of the vehicle). Get up right now and go to your car. Sit in the passenger side and pretend that you have a steering wheel in front of you. Start (pretend) driving; sing along to the radio, watch the kids playing ball at the neighbours’ house… Now check your mirrors. They are all in the wrong place! And your neck just doesn’t want to turn to look in the right places, either. All of the skills you’ve honed since you were 15 and learning to drive are out the window. Not easy, is it?

Now, let’s add a few more wrinkles. First, let’s say that your darling spouse convinces you to buy a standard/manual transmission. That’s fine if you’ve owned one previously (as we did). But, what if the stick is now on the left? And you’re right-handed? Still in your pretend-driving car for this little simulation (hope you have an IPad and wifi for this post!)? Now try to shift gears… Don’t forget to check those mirrors!

This sign does not mean that you go in endless circles (one hopes!). You must exit or risk looking completely stupid.

Oh yes, and did I mention that they have roundabouts here? Like… everywhere? We do have a few sets of traffic lights, but they really just slow things down. Roundabouts are awesome! Especially when people know how to use them (read: NOT Edmontonians). But, learning to drive on the other side of the road, while shifting with the left hand and navigating roundabouts is not for the faint of heart! Luckily, we had a rental for our first few days in Wagga. Dan decided to be nice and “allow” me to drive it a few times, to get used to things. It was an automatic, so I didn’t have to worry about the clutch, etc. I drove to The Rock and back, which was a great first road trip (despite listening to Dan whine about how close I was to the other traffic or to the shoulder… He kept gripping the dashboard and freaking out, as I said “Now you know how I feel when you drive! But I don’t yell at you – I just suck it up!” Needless to say, it’s not easy to be a passenger in Australia either… The view from the “wrong” side of the car as a passenger is just as disturbing… Perhaps more so, since you’re not in control of the wheel).

Sadly, my comfort with the rental was short-lived; we picked up our new car during our 2nd week in Oz and my driving came to a halt. It took me a month to get behind the wheel (partly due to the fact that Dan was unemployed, so drove me to/picked me up from work every day for something to do). Finally, I was forced to do it… In part because I knew I had a meeting in Canberra and would have to drive there for work for myself. And, I also had a hair appointment coming up. It’s terribly lame to have to get your hubbie to drive you to the salon! Even my 84-year-old mother drives herself to the salon – and in the snow, no less! Over time I started to run around town a bit. It was (and is) easier when Dan’s not in the car… I know he hates riding along (with anyone; it’s not just my driving), and probably wouldn’t appreciate my singing along to Triple J.

So, for the next few days I’ll be touring around Wagga in my little Kia… Wishing it was my dream car (any bets on what that is, dear reader?) and singing along to my fav tunes.

Posted in aclimatizing, Australia, driving | 1 Comment