KatieTheKat

Part two
Turquoise water, rosy sand beach, surfers, swimmers, toddlers in a
nice safe pool built with rocks to stop the force of the waves coming in.
Katie's flatmate said that there had been a 4 metre shark sited close to
the shore on the weekend. Katie and I took shelter from the sun in a
carved out overhang in the striated sandstone. Beautiful swirls of
rust-colour on a creamy background.
Next we bussed downtown. Got out at the Circular Quai where the train
terminus is and where the harbour tour boats come in. We walked around to
the Museum of Contemporary art--free! Well, I guess you get what you pay
for, the artist's name was Erwin Wurmm. Hmmm... our favourite work was a
platform with tennis balls. The observer was to lie down on the tennis
balls and think of nothing. Katie did. I tried the
put-your-feet-in-a-bucket-and-then-put-another-one-over-your-head exhibit.
Sounds like holding a seashell to one's ear. Oh yes, you too could be an
aritist, if you liked: take your favourite "jumper" (an article of clothing
that we Canadians call a sweater) and glue it to a geometric shape of your
choice.
A walk around to the Opera House. I didn't realized that there was so
much texture to the white surface. It was imposing, and larger than I
thought. The steps leading up to it felt megolithic to me. Continued
walking through the Botanical Garden. Huge figs with aerial roots, ibises,
hundreds of flying foxes hanging suspended and fanning themselves in the
sun.
Snack time. Carrying on. We went to the New South Wales State
Library. Beautiful, imposing building in a classic style. There was
another art exhibit there. Much more appealing to Katie and me than the
Wurmmish one. Photography by David Moore. Wonderful black and white
images spanning a good part of the 20th century, from about the 30's to the
70's. They documented all kinds of aspects of history and culture and the
plight of humanity.
Thai food for dinner. Yum!
Long walk back to the flat. Kelly kindly volunteered to drive us to
the airport for our flight to Tasmania this morning as she goes right by it
on her way to work.
Waiting in the airport, Santa Claus came by and frightened a little
girl. It's so odd to see the Christmas decorations in the heat of summer.
I asked Kelly what species is used here for Christmas trees. "Plastic,"
she replied. Oh. Dumb question.
So, here we are in Hobart, Tasmania till tomorrow when we bus to Lake
St. Clair to start the Overland Trail. It, according to the guide book, is
an easy hike that takes five to six days. We've spent the day
provisioning. Hobart is delightful. It's a city that doesn't seem to know
the scourge of The Mall, in the North American sense. I think it would be
the perfect place to come for a relaxing, easy experience of something very
culturally distinct. The temperature is perfect, the air is clean,
everything is well kept up and tidy.
However, the internet access is not very cheap, so I'll sign off and
tell you about our hike when we return to civilised parts in a week or so.
Lynne

# posted by thekat : 12:37 am