With my iPhone and new iPad2 – I’m coming across really great new apps all the time, enough that I think I can add this “App of the week” entry to my blog, on a weekly basis.

 Band of the Day

The app of the week this week is called “Band of the Day”, it’s referred to as the “world’s first daily music magazine for mobile devices” and it’s compatible for iPhone and/or iPad via iTunes. I generally keep most of my music now on my iPad because I can watch videos there, and this app has it all.  With a new, predominately “undiscovered” band each day, the variety and .   I was really impressed with this app, I’m always looking for new bands and new music and this offers an in depth look at a new band each day.

If you’re a music lover, this app does not disappoint, it’s 5-stars for me.  This app IS “a new band in your pocket every day”.  Highly recommended!

My Rating: 

Features:

- music player
- videos
- discography
- photos
- reviews
- bios
- purchase through iTunes
- link via Facebook

Screnshots: (click on each to enlarge)

Cost: Free (as of 28 Jan 12)

Class:  App of the Year 2011 Runner Up

Device:  Universal App, iPhone and iPad

The Great Barrier Reef I’m dedicating this blog to my Gramma, who has recently taken an interest in my whereabouts and blogs and shit (huh Grams?).

It’s been almost six years since we’ve been here, to upper Northern Queensland, to Port Douglas where we spent our honeymoon – this is a very small town, a place that many “Stars” come to get away/visit in Australia. We’re on the Great Barrier Reef and have access to beaches and boats galore. The marina is in walking distance from our resort, and we are just on the main road – there is only one main road in Port Douglas, with little shops, great restaurants, resort hotels and bars. The best way to go is to find a rental apartment with a kitchenette, and the amenities you prefer like a good pool, and restaurant – in the location that best suits your activities. We like scuba and snorkelling so our favourite location is the beach with marina access.

I got my scuba license, after doing about 8 introductory dives in Thailand and Australia over a period of several years (an introductory dive is 1-hour of training and 1:3 diver to trainer ratio for one :30 minute dive), I thought it best after 8 of these to get my certification (which I did in 2009) – Birdie has procrastinated and only just agreed this year to get his certification. So this trip back to our favourite place, Port Douglas, was partially in an effort to get him certified so that we could continue to dive together (as scuba requires a diving buddy). I’m very proud of Rod during his course (I did mine on my own), I’ve been there going through the course with him – watching, participating, and taking pictures along the way – being involved and making him feel as comfortable as possible with this process.

The scuba Open Water Diving Certification Course is as follows:  Day 1 & 2) Online Course, takes aproxiomately 9-14 hours of study and tests.  The water course starts with; Day 3) In pool training with equipment and testing; Day 4 & 5) Open water testing and dives which includes 4 dives over two days and skills testing.  Day 5 is tomorrow for Birdie, he has one more dive and 3 more skills test to complete his certification.

Click pictures to enlarge.

Pool Training: Day 3 

Skill Dives and Training – Open Water: Day 4

See all the pictures here:  Scuba Photo Album

My own illness over the past couple years has been daunting, and I have had to take some risks in order to dive on this trip, but I am thankful and grateful for the opportunity to be one with the ocean, sea life, and this experience that I love so much. My first dive after being sick and finally going into remission again, well… it’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I did great on my dives today and I’m so glad that I was able to be with Birdie during his course. It was a great diving refresher for me. This is something that I really love and something that I feel is an experience that not many people attempt. I get to share this with my partner and together we can be one with nature, and IT IS incredible.

After tomorrow (Day 3), the last certification dives for Birdie, we have a lot more planned for our trip in Northern Queensland and Port Douglas. We are already planning to do a couple new things on this trip:

1. Sailing to the Low Isles for Snorkelling with Turtles www.aquarias.com.au

2. Skyrail and Kuranda www.reefandrainforest.com.au

3. Breakfast with the Birds www.wildlifehabitat.com.au/breakfast.html

4. Cape Tribulation Tours http://www.jungletours.com.au

5. Daintree Rainforest Tours www.reefandrainforest.com.au

6. A minimum of one more day of 3-dives on the Agincort Reef (Opal Reef)

I’m looking forward the other adventures we are about to have on this trip, I hope you enjoy following our progress and sharing our experiences with us.

A visit from my friend MN and her mother Susan, bearing a gift of homemade Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies (yum), inspired me to make some of my own.  Most of you know I like baking, so I thought it would be fun to post my Christmas cookies. These are my four favourites for 2011, recipes and pictures from Lainey’s kitchen (click on pics to enlarge):

SNICKERDOODLES

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar (topping)
4 tsp cinnamon (topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F)
2. Mix butter, sugar, and eggs
3. Blend flouer, baking soda, tartar and salt
4. Shape dough by rounded tsp size balls, roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture topping
5. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes

RUM BALLS

Instructions:

12 oz vanilla wafer, finely crushed (3 cups)
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup confectioners sugar (caster sugar), divided
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels (bits)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup rum

Directions:

1. Mix crushed wafer, pecans, 1/2 cup confectioners/caster sugar, then set aside
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler add corn syrup
3. Add rum and stir until smooth
4. Pour hocolate mixturre over wafer mixture, stir
5. Shape into 1″ balls, place on wax/baking paper

Place remaining confectioners/caster sugar in a shallow bowl, roll balls in sugar.  Use individual foil cups/patty pans or layer wax/baking paper between each layer of cookies.  Store in an air tight container for 3-days before serving.

PEANUT BUTTER WITH A KISS

Ingredients:

Hershey’s kisses
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter (smooth)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Beat butter adn peanut butter until smooth
2. Add sugars, beat until fluffy
3. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well
4. Stir flour, baking soda, salt – gradually beat into peanut butter mixture
5. Cover adn chill in fridge for 4-8 hours

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Shape into 1″ balls, roll in granulated sugar, place on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Immediately place chocolate kiss in middle of cookie, cool on rack.

GINGER NINGA BREAD MEN

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground ginger
1-3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
6 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses (golden syrup)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a small bowl wisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
2. In a large bowl beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until blended
3. Add molasses and vanilla; blend well
4. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until dough smooth
5. Divide dough in half, wrap each piece in plastic, stand at room temperature for 2-hours
6. Place half on floured surface roll out to 1/4″ thick, use cutter
7. Bake in preheated over at 350 F (175 C) 7-9 min, cool on wire rack.

Lately there’s been lots of talk, and a couple of exposè’s on “A Current Affair” about IKEA and how the pricing structure is different in Australia from that of the UK and America.  It’s hard to understand why this is such a big shocker, when some of the prices are as much as double for the same item purchased in the US but I think that the Australians are forgetting to look at the big picture and are picking on IKEA for something that almost every company is responsible for doing here.

Prices are high.  For those of you that live in the US and complain about high prices for your groceries and clothing, cars and even gas (petrol)… you don’t know the half of it.  Prices are so high in Australia that the weekly groceries that used to cost me $100 in the US cost me about $250 in Melbourne.  In addition to not having the variety of goods (by far) that we have in the US, the prices are double if not more for goods that we use everyday.  I’ve tried to gather a price comparison of grocery goods, and other items just to make my point.  I will not use imported products as the cost may be raised due to shipping costs that are transferred onto the consumer.

Groceries are one thing, but let’s not stop there, mostly I am amazed by the beer prices here in Australia, for not only locally made beer like VB (Victoria Bitter), but for beer like Stella (for example) which is a imported beer to the US, but is made in Australia for Australians.  A 6-pack of Stella in the US is $8.99 (which is imported from Belgium) and the same labelled Stella beer made in Australia is $16.00.  In general we pay about $50 – 80 for a slab of beer (30 cans) – and this is the reason we make our own beer – it pays to have a brewmaster in the family.  It certainly doesn’t stop at beer.

Cars are another shocker, today I saw a left-hand drive 77 Mustang for $30,000.  Does that sound insane to you?  It does to me.  I’ll use Volkswagen as my example because they have some of the same cars for sale in the US and AU.  A VW Golf in the US retails at $17,995- $28,995 and the same car in Australia retails at $25,491 – $57,570.

The clothing problem is a constant one, typically a pair of jeans cost over $100, and because there is no ’Ross’ or ‘Old Navy’ with bargain basement prices, the only way to get a discount is to shop at Target or Kmart.  And Target/Kmart in Australia doesn’t compare to the stores in the US.  Different brands, products, and quality by far.  Definitely not many stores have larger sized clothing, and you can’t find a men’s shoe over 11-12 (which is a problem for my size 13 husband).

What truly impacts these differences?  The cost of living is much higher here, the minimum wage is $17.00 p hour, but how does that impact a chicken’s eggs, or a grocery store loaf of bread.  I’m tired of hearing the complaints about how Australian’s have to pay for for “IKEA goods” when they are paying more for just about everything.

Shipping costs from the US to Australia are quite high, so you can’t afford to buy Australian, and you can’t affort to buy from overseas. Many websites don’t allow Australian credit cards or don’t ship overseas at all.  Luckily there are now more companies shipping to Oz, making an impact on the Australian market and forcing many to consider that even with high shipping costs, we can get cheaper products from overseas than we can buy at home.

Costco is a new thing in Australia, the first one in Downtown Melbourne – and after 1-year it is taking hold on the retail market, before Costco you never saw bulk packaging, no toilet paper over 12 rolls, no diapers over 24, no block of cheese over 16 oz.  It’s changed the market completely and Costco is moving all over Australia, #2 in Sydney and #3 in Ringwood, Melbourne.  I’d love to see more retailers come to Australia, and make a difference. In the last 7 years I’ve seen a lot of new things in Oz, and and I hope to see more changes as new retailers make their mark here, well…a girl can dream!

Its so funny saying “summer” at Christmas time.  In the land of Oz its summer, it’s hot and humid, with frequent days of rain.  Our summer break is celebrated with Christmas Tree and barbecues. It’s a season for flip flops, prawns, and sunshine… it’s taken a long time to get used to a summer Christmas and we even tried to get away last year for Christmas and New Years to the cold weather (and big snow storms of New York City).  But this summer we are heading off to the best holiday destination amidst the sun and the ocean. We’ve been on this great “travel” kick over Christmas/New Years, last year we celebrated in New York City, and the year before in Koh Samui, Thailand.  This year is going to be better than ever!!

Going back to Queensland is a long time coming, it is the place that we went for our honeymoon and experienced the beauties of the most beautiful Ocean, the Great Barrier Reef.  It’s the place I did my first dives, and now we are going to dive together for the first time on a two week scuba trip.  I’m hoping to see some new parts of the reef this trip, we will dive in some deep ocean waters and some of the most amazing reef areas in Cairnes and Port Douglas.
Birdie has been working his way into being more comfortable with scuba diving, it is a completely different feeling, one of claustrophobia, being surrounded by water – it’s something I struggled with on my first dive.  We’ve been snorkeling a lot in the last couple years and explored the waters of Thailand, and Vietnam on many occasions.  Birdie is taking his certification course this time and we can finally dive together.  I’m very passionate about diving, it’s something I really love.  Being under the water, swimming with schools of barracuda, eel, clown fish, seeing the beauties of coral reef’s untouched, and the sea life that embodies it. It is truly…  amazing.

Our wonderful housesitter is coming to stay with the pups and we are heading out on Christmas afternoon, and staying through the New Year.  Check back here for our pictures and our adventures underwater on our summer getaway, back to Queensland.

Thanksgiving, an American holiday in a land far far away…

To me Thanksgiving is something different than it used to be.  It used to be a time to share and give thanks with my own family.  My Gramma would come visit, my cousins in toe, my Mother would work all day cooking the biggest feast for us to share together.  Much of this time when I was at University, my brother and I would come home to be together.  And my Dad (I miss you Dad), cooked the big giant turkey.  He would carve, and laugh and share the day with us.  After dinner he would watch the football game, beer in hand, and fall asleep.  Thanksgiving is a time for family to be together.

My Thanksgiving in Australia celebrations are a time for me to share these feelings of family and love with my new family and friends.  I am thankful for everything I have here and for the new life that I have been given.

Without my friends I would be no one, no where.  They lift me up to believe in myself, that I can be whatever I want to be, do whatever I want to do.

I am happy to share my feast of love and friendship with those that add value to my life.  Thank you my dear friends.

I hope you enjoy our pictures this year, we did two turkeys my mom’s famous stuffing recipes and backed mac and cheese, my father-in-law did a beautiful ham as always, and all our guests brought all the fixings. Desserts consisted of one pumpkin pie, a pecan pie, peach cobbler, and my first pumpkin cheesecake ever (yum!).

I want to especially thank my bestie Norelle, and all the girls that did the dishes clean up… you are my savours!

It was a success, and we had the biggest table ever this year, thanks to all that came to celebrate my special day with me.  These are my family, my American and Australian friends:

I have to blog this week about the painstaking process of living in another country, moving to Australia.  It comes to mind this week as I have a friend that has recently moved here and is struggling, and conversations with many Americans that find difficulties with cultural differences and making friends.  It seems great, you come on a ‘vacation’ to Australia and you think “wow, they speak English, they talk funny, the people are nice, they have some of the greatest cities in the world to visit” and then you go home.  But for those of us that have chosen to stay and live our lives here, have a very different experience.  I suppose at first when I came here I thought things were the same as America, but what I have found is that it is quite different from living in America, in that there are expectations of social activity being the ‘same’ as what you are used to.  Nothing is further from the truth.

I speak from my own experiences, but also from the experiences of my friends that are expats to this country in particular.

Australia is a large country with big cities, but the cities are few and far between. The cost of living is high.  Whether you live in Melbourne, Sydney, or Perth – your options are generally in your city and there aren’t that many options.  When its time for kids to graduate high school and go to ‘University’ they live at home and stay with their parents while they complete their schooling, and then they generally live with their parents until they save up to buy their first home or waiting to get married.  Can we blame this on the economy today?  It came to mind however, this is a practice that is more inherited than economy related. Parents, for some reason, are happy for them to stay, taking care of their “grown” children – some even staying through their 30′s.

In America we are dying to leave home after high school, usually to go to a University away from our parents, to experience independence and learn how to live on our own.  University options are plentiful and Americans are eager to move far, far away from their parents. I look back on my 20′s and 30′s and all the experiences I’ve had being on my own and I can’t imagine living with my parents that long, even as wonderful as my parents were/are.  Part of the moving away culture includes the sanity of our parents an the ability for them to have a life free of their children.

Australians are difficult to make friends with, they still have their same friends from school, and because they haven’t moved away from home and experienced making new friends, they aren’t keen to expan their circle.  Coming here as someone that is well travelled and has made friends all over, it is difficult to think how hard it is to break into some friend-groups.

As a working woman, at 40, I tend to think it would be easier, but it is not.  In my industry I work with mostly men, with the few women I do meet, I find that it’s the expats that welcome me and befriend me.  These expats are from South Africa, from Ireland, Japan, America, and Canada. I have only made 3 Australian friends at work, and after living here for 6 years I tend to think that I would be able to make better connections.  I’m thankful for my husband’s friends when I first got here, most took me in.  I do have a couple great friends from my husband’s group, but even my husband’s group of friends are from school. 

Some Americans move here and do not have a circle of friends, a support of their partner’s family, and this missing link can be quite damaging. It’s important to have a support system in place in order to “make it” in a new society that is different from your own.  Culturally, there are so many differences, from language to how we were brought up, how are we to bridge those gaps to find some common ground?

Sometimes we just have to take matters into our own hands.  Thanks AIA.

We’ve arrived at Ayres Rock Campground and we’ve settled into our spot in the designated area.  Other campers are in the distance.  You can see that some are like us – amature campers – and others are completely professional campers and travellers.  Some with gear out the ass, and some in their cozy Winnebago’s (here called Caravan).  We’re contemplating if we should get a pop up caravan… we like to travel, maybe when we retire (haha).

The dogs have been great, and Lulu’s continued potty training while on the trip has been successful.  She waits until she is out of the car – so what I was hoping for, thank you God for small favours.  We stop at rest stops for the dogs to run around and have a bit of a play before we venture on down the long road.

First night, disaster.  I go in to go to bed and the bed is flat.  We have a double cell blow up matress, so it’s kinda like a Queen bed and it’s pretty tall off the floor so you don’t have to get down on the floor to get into bed. And you just hook up to a power point to give and take air from the bed. It’s nice and we’ve had it for about 5 years, we’ve used it on all of our camping trips and we love it.  It’s almost like sleeping in a real bed at home.  It makes all of our trips comfortable and you don’t have to dread going to bed.  But low and behold, it has a hole or a leak.  Something has gone terribly wrong.  It has enough air to sustain our going to bed on it (as if we had a choice), and about every 30 minutes I had to flip the switch to dispatch more air to the bed.  This went on through the night.  A sleepless night indeed.  The bed is now in the bin. (We got a new one in Alice Springs just in time for our last camp on the ride home.)

Rod went off to Reception at the campground in the morning to see if a cabin was available for rent for our second night, and luckily there was one.  I don’t think I could have slept on the ground so I am so happy that we were able to get a cabin for our second night.  The cabin has one Full size bed (this must be the master bedroom), and the second bedtoom has 2 bunk beds.  There is a kitchenette with hotplate, small fridge, all the dishes and things you will need, and a small table and chairs.  We spent most of our second day out and about at the National Park anyway but we had a place to crash.  Hallalujah!

I really can’t do too much walking so we went out to The Olgas (Kata Tjuta) to one of the shortest hikes and ventured up to see the rock formation up close and personal.  It’s amazing there are so many of these rounded rocks and together they run for miles, we went down a common track to see some of the native flora and the rocks themselves. Then off to Ayres Rock (Uluru) to look at it up close.  Rod took me to the area where people climb the rock, there werea lot of people climbing.  It’s pretty damn steep and there is just this rope that you hang on to, to get up there.  It’s climb at your own risk kind of thing and climbing is not encouraged or preferred by the park.  They let you do it anyway.

Going out to the National Park to see the two rock formations is common, but the sunset view is most popular.  Last night we watched the sunset at Ayres Rock, today however, Rod went off and bought us a helicopter sunset tour of both Ayres Rock and The Olgas.  He’s never been on a helicopter before so this is going to be a new adventure.  I’m excited to see both of these enormous rock formations from above!

We’re back on the road heading to Alice Springs today for 2-days before starting our journey back home.  I’m looking forward to seeing Alice, which is the second biggest town in the Northern Territory. If you are unfamiliar with the states and territories of Australia you can refer t omy map: Map of Australia.

Here you can see all the pictures from our hike and our helicopter ride:  Hike and Helicopter Album

South Australia

I must have been kidding myself thinking that I could blog every day on this trip, once we left Adelaide we were lucky to get mobile phone access, forget about Internet. I will be lucky to get a couple blog posts in on this trip so I will just put as much as I can in the ones that I do. For pictures, will post here but most will be available in Facebook photo albums. Don’t worry, if you don’t have a Facebook account you can see the photo albums by clicking the links I provide.  Sorry it’s taken so long, but uploading pics to a photo album takes some time Lavette!

Road Trip Australia – Ayres Rock  <– click here

Facebook Album  <– or click here

On the first night we drove through the night to get to South Australia, that’s the state west of Victoria. Victoria is where I live in Melbourne. One of the biggest wine regions and probably one of the very best is here. It’s about 800 kilometres (500 miles). We are staying here for a couple nights to take in the wineries on our way through to Ayres Rock.

We visited, drank, and bought bottles of vino today from Elderton, Saltram where we had a beautiful lunch and tasted their lovely beer as well, Henschke, and last Peter Lehmann. Tried lots of varieties of reds (our favourite), and bought a few of our favourites, even had some shipped home. Note if you see any of these wines (for my US friends/family), definitely buy them – my favourites are the sparkling reds, something I had never even seen until I came to Australia – basically red champagne. Yummy!

Lulu our puppy of 5-1/2 months old and Spot our 2 year old are with us on this trip and they are enjoying their time being with us. The dogs have their little beds in the back of the car and they just slept the night away barely noticing us. Our rental has a fenced backyard and they are happy and healthy.

The sunset tonight was a beautiful pink and the dirt is starting to look redder, as we get into the desert more it will become the bright red that we know the Outback to be, I’m looking forward to that. We’re seeing big terrain changes from dirt and small puffy shrubs to small red flowers cluttering the ground in large patches, they catch your eye as you drive by. They’re really pretty. Day 2 we’ve driven out toward Coober Pedy but stopped short of town to camp for the night. We pull in at 5.30 before sunset to set up our camp. I’m not much help but somehow the tent goes up and the double cell inflatable bed (I’m dreaming of sleep right now, it’s been a long day). Camp stove and iPod going and we’re on our way. I love camping, there’s something about sitting outside looking at the stars that make me feel all warm inside. It’s about 70F degrees at 7:15 p.m., it feels beautiful outside, perfect for camping.

I’m sitting here, watching to dogs run around, listening to a 400 song loop (Lincoln Park is playing currently – Rod is lip syncing), it’s starting to get colder and tonight it’s probably going to be freezing, I’m having flashbacks to Wolf Creek (if you haven’t seen it, it’s about some friends that get kidnapped hitchhiking on this same road in the Outback – it’s a scary flick – a rental for sure). The stars are so beautiful, turn off all the lights and looking up into the sky you can see every star in the sky. It’s a very clear night so it’s a fantastic sight. It’s so different seeing the stars in an open sky – no nearby buildings to impede on the view. It reminds me of my first telescope. I got it for Christmas from Santa and I think my Dad was more excited about it than me. My Dad WAS Santa, in case you didn’t know, it’s obviously a part-time job. We loved that telescope; I have lots of fond memories of my Dad and my childhood. I’m happy about that.

Day 3 we headed north toward Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is a well-known Opal mining town much of which is underground. I’ve always wanted to see Coober Pedy it’s always sounded appealing, living in an underground town – apparently it gets hot in Coober Pedy. On the day we were there it was about 33C degrees (90F). The place is a complete dust bowl, no foliage and because it is a mining town as you come in and out of town you see piles and piles of red dirt. The Opals are beautiful but at the expense of the land in the area. I can see that they don’t worry about putting the dirt back in the ground. The dust and tumbleweed in this town made it a crazy stop. Not at all what I thought it was going to be. I imagined that it was a place to visit, but it is clearly just a rest stop on a very long trip up the middle to Ayres Rock (Uluru) and Alice Springs. I’ve been trying to take some pictures but until I get a lesson from my photographer friend Amy, I’m hopeless with ISO and all those other acronyms.

Tonight we’re off to see the sunset view of Ayres Rock (Uluru), and tomorrow we will go there during the day as well as The Olgas, another nearby rock formation.  Then we are off to Alice Springs for two days – in a hotel thank gawd – to see the Devils Marbles.  Hope you enjoy the pictures.  More to come in the next few days.

A quick update: We finally have our itinerary

Check back here for pictures and video during our adventure through the Outback. I’m really looking forward to this trip and seeing the sights of the red dessert.  I’ve never been to the Outback so this is very exciting.  And we can have our fur babies with us to enjoy being out on the land.  I’m hoping to do some combination camping and staying in hotels that can accommodate the dogs. 

Central Australia Trip

Day 1
Depart CBD 5pm
Drive to Horsham (298km)

Day 2
Depart Horsham at 7am
Drive to Clare SA (543km)
Visit local wineries

Day 3
Depart Clare at 9am
Drive to Coober Pedy SA (734km)

Day 4
Day in Coober Pedy

Day 5
Depart Coober Pedy at 8am
Drive to Yulara NT (735km)

Day 6
Day at Yulara, Ayers Rock, The Olgas, Mt Conner

Day 7
Depart Yulara at 7am
Drive to Alice Springs via King Canyon (631km)
Visit Kings Canyon

Day 8
Day at Alice Springs
Drive to Devils Marbles (100km)
Drive to Tennant Creek (80km)
Drive back to Alice Springs (180km)

Day 9
Depart Alice Springs 8am
Drive to Coober Pedy SA (688km)

Day 10
Depart Coober Pedy at 8am
Drive to Gawler SA (846km)

Day 11
Depart Gawler 9am
Visit Barossa Valley wineries
Drive Home (805km)

Well, we’ve been talking about this for a while and now we’ve decided to pack up the dogs, get a house sitter and head out on the road for our first ever “road trip”.  We’re going to spend 10-days on the road and see some of Central Australia’s beautiful country side in a trip to see the wine country of South Australia, then up to the underground town, and opal mines of Coober Pedy, and last but not least up to Uluru also world with the majority of gem quality opal.

South Australia Wine Country (Wine Tasting) – Barrossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions. Located in South Australia, the Barossa Valley is about 56km (35 miles) northeast of the city of Adelaide. Unlike most of Australia whose wine industry was heavily influenced by the British, the wine industry of the Barossa Valley was founded by German settlers fleeing persecution from the Prussian province of Silesia (in what is now modern day Poland).

The hot continental climate of the region promoted the production of very ripe grapes that was the linchpin of the early Australian fortified wine industry. As the modern Australian wine industry shifted towards red table wines (particularly those made by the prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon) in the mid-20th century, the Barossa Valley fell out of favor due to its reputation for being largely a Shiraz producers whose grapes were destined for blending. During this period the name “Barossa Valley” rarely appeared on wine labels. In the 1980s, the emergence of several boutique family specializing in old vine Shiraz wines began to capture international attention for the distinctive style of Barossa Shiraz, a full bodied red wine with rich chocolate and spice notes. This led to a renaissance in the Barossa which catapulted the region to the forefront of the Australian wine industry.

Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy today relies as much on tourism as the opal mining industry to provide the community with employment and sustainability. Coober Pedy has evolved in to one of the most unique places in Australia and perhaps the world. It is a cosmopolitan town with a population of 3,500 and over 45 different nationalities.

The relaxed and friendly lifestyle of the town has made it a breeding ground for cultural tolerance, diversity and acceptance. Coober Pedy is probably best known for its unique style of underground living.

There is a range of underground accommodation (as well as above ground if you prefer). There are authentic underground homes to explore as well as underground museums, opal shops, art galleries, underground churches and, of course, opal mines.

Ayres Rock (Uluru)

Uluru ( /u:lu:’ru:/), also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Ajangu, the Aboriginal people of the area. The area around the formation is home to a plethora of springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Uluru is one of Australia’s most recognisable natural landmarks. The sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high (rising 863 m/2,831 ft above sea level), with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 mi). Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.

Kata Tjuta National Park (Olgas)

Kata Tjuta, sometimes written Tjuta (Kata Joota), and also known as Mount Olga (or colloquially as The Olgas), are a group of large domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 365 km (227 mi) southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluru, 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuta form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

The 36 domes, covering an area of 21.68 km2 (8.37 sq mi), are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone. The highest point, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain (198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru). Kata Tjuta is located at the eastern end of the Docker River Road.

Alice Springs

Alice Springs is the second largest town (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a city) in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as “the Alice” or simply “Alice”, Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory.

The site is known as Mparntwe to its original inhabitants, the Arrernte, who have lived in the Central Australian desert in and around what is now Alice Springs for thousands of years. Alice Springs has a population of 27,481 people, which makes up 12 percent of the territory’s population Alice averages 576 meters (1,890 ft) above sea level; the town is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin.

The town of Alice Springs straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. The region where Alice Springs is located is known as Central Australia, or the Red Centre, and is an arid environment consisting of several different deserts. In Alice Springs, temperatures can vary dramatically with an average maximum temperature in summer of 35.6 °C (96.1 °F), and an average minimum temperature in winter of 5.1 °C (41.2 °F).

Kings Canyon, Northern Territory

The walls of Kings Canyon are over 300 metres high, with Kings Creek at the bottom. Part of the gorge is a sacred Aboriginal site and visitors are discouraged from walking off the walking tracks.

Two walks exists at Kings Canyon. The 2 km (return) and approximately 1 hour Kings Creek Walk traces the bottom of the gorge. At the end of the walk is a platform, with views of the canyon walls above. The 6 km (loop) and 3-4 hour Kings Canyon Rim Walk traces the top of the canyon. A steep climb at the beginning of the walk, which locals call “Heartbreak Hill” (or “Heart Attack Hill”, due to its steepness), takes visitors up to the top, with spectacular views of the gorge below and of the surrounding landscape. About half way during the walk, a detour descends to Garden of Eden, a permanent waterhole surrounded by lush plant life. The last half of the walk passes through a large maze of weathered sandstone domes, reminiscent of the Bungle Bungle. A slow descent brings the visitor back to the starting point. The loop can also be done in reverse (anti-clockwise), but the National Park Rangers encourage visitors to walk in one direction.

So, I’m already ready to go!  Stay tuned and follow along on our trip as we make our way across Central Australia.

I’ve been waiting to try this one. This comes out of my Better Homes and GardensSpecial Edition “Mexican” edition I picked up when I was in the States last Christmas.  I love Mexican food – Mmmmmmm

I love gordits, they have a beautiful crispy outside and soft inside filled with Mexican goodness.

Ingredients

2 cups masa harina
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 hot water
1/2 cup finely shredded Cotja or Asiago cheese (finley shredded Parmesan is a good substitute)
Vegetable Oil
1 15-oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 canned Chile pepper in Abodo sauce, seeded and finely chopped (leave seeds for more heat)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup inely shredded cabbage
Salsa

Directions

l. In a large bowl, combine masa harina, flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the hot water, stirring until mixture forms a soft dough. Stir in cheese.

2. Divide masa mixture into 12 portions. On a lightly fkoured surface, use your hands to pat each portion into a 2-1/4 inch round. (As you work, krrp dough and formed gorditas covered with a damp paper towel or clean kitchen towels to prevent them form drying out.)

3. In a heavy medium saucepan, heat 1-1/2 inches of oil over mediuym heat to 350F; Fry gorditas, three or four at a time. in hot oil ffor about 2 inutes or until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Usinga serrateed knife, split hot gorditas horizontaly to partly open.

4. In a medium heat, commbine blact beans, chilepe peper, and garlic; use a fork to slightly mash bean mixture, Spoon bean misture into gorditas; spoon in cabbage and salsa.

Per Appetizer: 264 cal, 16 g fat (2 g sat fat), 6 mg chol. 475 mg sodium, 27 g carbs, 4 g fibre

The finished product is a lovely appetizer with a beautiful masa shell.   Great for a snack or before tacos as an appetizer.

This is just one of my favourites, and because I love Strawberries and chocolate together mostly.

I love baking but I also love Betty Crocker.  Notably Betty Crocker only came to Australia since I’ve moved here, probably about 3 years ago.  Before that we have just one Australian brand called White Wings, and it’s not moist like Betty Crocker, and they didn’t have pre-made frosting in a can or sachet like we have int he U.S.  So making icing was always a chore.  In this recipe I used the  ‘Super Moist Choc Swirl Cake Mix’, I’m using a loaf pan instead of the standard round cake pan.

Ingredients

1 Super Moist Choc Swirl Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1/3 cup of Vegetable Oil
1 Cup of Water
2 Punnet’s of Strawberries
1/3 Cup White Sugar

Directions: STRAWBERRIES

1. Take 2-punnet’s of strawberries and slice thinly

2. Place all sliced strawberries in a bowl

3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup (50ml) of white sugar over the top fo the strawberries, stir so sugar covers all strawberries

4. Leave covered for time cake is cooking, stir frequently

5. Strawberries will begin to make a sugary syrup.

Directions: CAKE

1. Preheat oven for 10 minutes at 180C/350F (160C Fan forced oven). Grease pan with oil or cooking spray, lightly line with flour.

2. Beat cake mix, eggs, oil, and water in with a electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes.

3. Reserve 1 cup of batter and pour remaining vanilla batter into pan. Stir 1-tablespoon “chocolate ready-to-spread frosting” that comes with the cake mix. If you have a cake mix that does not have frosting included, use Hershey’s Chocolate syrup for the chocolate swirl in the cake. Dollop chocolate batter on top of the vanilla batter in pan and swirl to create a marble effect using a skewer or knife.

4. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched in centre or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then gently remove from pan, remove and cool on wire rack. Frost top of cold cake with frosting.

5. After cooling, place cake on plate, frost and top with strawberries.

For cupcakes set oven 200C/400F (180C Fan forced). Bake for 25 minutes.

Well, it’s that time of year again.  End of the winter season and time to start brewing beer. Encouraging thoughts, as my brother Adam successfully made it into Sierra Nevada Beer Camp this year at the brewrey in Chico, California.  We anticipate hearing all about his adventure at Sierra Nevada! 

Beer is so expensive in Australia, and we really don’t have the the variety of beer here either.  There’s a couple major brands and none are micro-brew quality.  The ones that are small micro-brews are quite expensive so we’ve resorted to creating our own beers at home.  Home brew is great because with the recipes out there we can create pretty much any beer we want. 

One of Birdie’s best re-creations is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, he’s been making it since I moved here, mostly for me, but over the past 6-years he’s definitely perfected the recipe and it’s a beautiful brew.  Birdie makes many varieties and we end up with cases of beer ever year that we drink ourselves and share with our friends.

On average beer costs between $50-85 for a case here, much too expensive for the ‘regular beer drinker’ in my opinion.  When we have parties we really enjoy being able to provide all the beer and have a nice selection from Cervesa’s to Bavarian varieties. 

So, this year Birdie has decided to show a couple friends who are interested in making beer, just how he does it.  From what equipment to buy, to the varieties of hops, yeast, and grain to use – and recipes for making certain kinds of beer.  Today is their first day.

I love ths aroma of the hops in house, it smells lovely.

This is only day one of a several week process of creating the beer.  Next the beer needs to ferment and then we move on to bottling.  But the process has begun and I can taste good beer in our near future.  Can you?  To see all the pictures of beer making day one, click the link to my album:  Beer Making 101

When I was in the States over Christmas we found this great magazine, a special edition of Better Homes and Gardens all on Mexican recipes and different dishes including street tacos, flan, enchaladas, great sauces and so much more.  We pull it out from time to time and try new things. 

Well, since finding the Mexican foods store in Sydney, Australia that ships to Melbourne Monterey Foods we have had more luck finding the spices, chiles, etc. to make some of our wish dishes. 

Today we’re trying a mexican stew that can also be used for enchaladas and tacos.  It’s a chirizo and beef stew with Chipolte chiles.  It smells wonderful.  I’m heating up some white corn tortillas to make some nice tacos.  We’re also trying the chips and array of dips tonight as an appetiser – queseo, salsa, spicy quacamole. Leave the meat in the stew in pieces or shread it and use the tinga to fill tacos or enchaladas.

The taste of the Chipolte was fantastic in this, just a little bit spicy – but the beef done with the Dutch oven method ended up being so tender and good, it was fantastic.

So here’s the recipe.  And my pics…

Serves 6 – Prep 35 minutes – Cook 1-1/2 hours

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lb boneless beef chuck, cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt and ground black pepper
1 – tbsp Vegetable Oil
8 oz. uncooked chorizo, casings removed if present
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 large tomatoes, chopped
1 – 7oz (198 g) can chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce, seeded and choppped (www.montereyfoods.com.au)
1-1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano or dried oregono, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
Thinly sliced fresh jalapeno chile pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Sprinke beed with salt and pepper.  In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add beef, half at a time; cook until browned. Return all beef to Dutch oven.  Add enough water to cover.  bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, partially covered, for 1-hour or until tender.  Remove meat from liquid; set aside.  Skim fat from liquid; reserve liquid.

2. In the same Dutch oven, cook chorizo, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is browned, using a spoon to break up meat as it cooks.  Drain on paper towels.

3. Return chorizo mixture to Dutch oven.  Add 1-1/2 cups (or more, if desired) of the reserved cooking liquid, the beef, tomatoes, chile peppers, oregano, and cumin.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper.  If desired, shred beef with two forks, top with jalapeno.  Makes 6 cups.

Nutrition/per 1 cup: 399 cal., 25 g fat (9g sat fat) 89 mg chol., 649 mg sodium, 6g carb., 2g fibre, 35g protein. 

I’m kinda hooked on this magazine right now, recipes+ I think it comes out monthly and I’m always sure to throw it in the basket.  I’ve been trying to do less pasta and rice dishes with our dinners, no bread sides. 

Instead I’ve been making a salad with every dinner and learning how to make some soups from scratch.  Beans, veges, some meat, but mostly just good and warm and yummy soups. 

I’ve used the slow cooker, but this was a super-fast and super-tasty soup that is ready in just 30 minutes.  It turned out perfect, we served with our regular salad and a beautiful ginger pork roast off the barby.  Enjoy, this recipe comes from the August 2011 issue of recipes+.

Serves 4 – Prep 10 minutes – Cook 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Vegetable or Olive Oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
1 Tbsp Red Curry paste
400g can diced tomatoes
1 litre (4 cups) salt-reduced vegetable stock
1 cup split red lentils (I used a can of organic lentils)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.3 cup corsely chopped coriander (cilantro)

Directions:

 1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over moderate heat. Add onion and garlic, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until soft.  Add curry paste, cook and stir for 1 minute or until fragrant.

2. Add tomato, stock and lentils.  Bring to the boil. Reduce heat: simmer, partially covered, for 12 minutes or until entils are just soft.

3. Sprinkle soup with coriander.

Nutrition/serve: 2118kj, 23g protein; 12g fat (2g sat); 70g carbohydrate; 13g fibre.