Resolution Run

Sunday morning I ran my first 5k of 2011, the "Resolution Run."  The course was along the river walk only about ten minutes from our house, so I thought it would be the perfect way to jump into the running scene for the new year.  Last time I did a 5k I followed a training plan, which I certainly wasn't doing through December, but I figured that doing this right off the bat would give me a good benchmark to compare to.
 

Sunday morning I awoke up to pouring rain.  I had mentally prepared myself for drizzle, but it was raining buckets, even as we drove to the beginning of the course.  For some reason though, the rain was on our side.  It stopped (or, nearly stopped) just before the race began, and about five minutes after I crossed the finish line the skies opened up again.  It poured for the rest of the day, but the one hour that counted was clear - perfect timing, Queensland clouds.

Overall, I was quite happy with the race.  I'm definitely not someone who loves running,  but I think I can trick myself into thinking I at least like running by doing races.  It's great motivation, and the race itself such a fun environment, full of positive, motivated people... an environment I'll definitely be spending some time in this year. 

About to Cross the Finish Line

The Resolution Runners

Red Sky At Night

...sailor's delight.

It was my delight last night when I looked up from my book because the light in the apartment had changed. Outside, I saw that the whole sky was on fire. Because we're close to the equator in Brisbane, the sun sets faster than at home - it goes from light to dark in a matter of minutes. Despite this, I've seen some great sunsets - and yesterday was by far the most amazing sunset I've seen. These pictures are just from pointing and shooting with the camera on normal settings.

The Brisbane River

Brisbane CBD, in Pink

Flooded!

See, I haven't just been whinging about all the rain (there's an Australianism for you! Definition: whining). It's serious!

As you may have heard, Queensland is having some terrible flooding. So bad, in fact, that the story has been picked up by the BBC and The Wall Street Journal, to name a few. Now, I know you're all booking the next flight to come save me from the flood waters, but fear not - I am safe and dry in my third floor apartment.

The severely flooded portions of the state are to the north of us - about eight hours north. However, up there, the flood is causing major issues. Rockhampton, one of the largest cities in Queensland, is nearly completely shut down. The airport and highway are closed, and supplies are being brought into town on the one road that still connects Rockie to the rest of Australia.

Living in a flooded city is bad enough. However, many Aussies live in "rural" Australia, literally hundreds of miles from the nearest city. Some of these homesteads, set on fertile flood planes, now sit in the middle of a sea. As you can imagine, getting supplies to and even communicating with all these isolated homesteads is a huge challenge.

I am living here, and even I have trouble grappling with just how vast Australia is. To put the flood in context, here's a great comparison courtesy of the BBC: the flooded area, in Queensland alone, is larger than France and Germany combined. A lake, larger than two major countries.

All of this is even more amazing when you consider that for the last few years, Queensland has been in drought. Rivers literally dried up, and the dam that supplied the region's drinking water was depleted to only 16% of capacity. Washing cars and watering gardens was prohibited, and showers were only two minutes long as each house was allotted a certain amount of water. People here said that it was a once in 100 years drought, and now it's been matched with a once in 100 year flood. The poor farmers just can't catch a break.

This will give you an idea of the size of Queensland!

Rockhampton, under water

Lake McKenzie

Anyone who knows me knows I love lakes - one in particular.   However, I think on Fraser Island I found a lake that could rival my love for Winnipesaukee.

Lake McKenzie is located about an hour's drive inland from the coast on Fraser Island. The lake is unique because it has no springs feeding it, or steams running in. Instead, it's filled entirely with rain water. The sand and "organic matter" on the bottom of the lake form a seal, which keeps all the rain in the lake. When you combine crystal clear water with the white sand that makes up Fraser, the result is stunning. Even with clouds in the background you can get a feel for how beautiful this lake is.

In fact, all the rain this spring probably has the lake looking its best.  It was certainly well-worth the four-wheel drive through the jungle to get there!

Lake McKenzie

Enjoying a Swim

Dingos

This guy is one of the purest dingoes you'll see. When his ancestors arrived in Australia over 5,000 years ago, hitching a ride with Asian seafarers, they quickly had run of the land, since there were no natural predators for the dingos to compete with. Like many conquers, they also bred with whomever they wanted. Because of this, most dingos in Australia are actually interbred with dogs, just like coyotes in New England are interbred with with wolves and dogs.

However, the population of dingoes that swam over to Fraser Island was isolated from the start. Because of this, they are very closely related to the Asian Wolves that they descended from. The pure dingo population is part of the reason that Fraser Island is World Heritage Listed.*

Despite American folklore about dingoes snatching babies, there aren't many historical incidents of dingoes bothering people.* However, when more tourists began coming to Fraser Island in the 1990s, they began feeding the Dingos in order to get close to them for photo opportunities. Once the dingoes thought they were entitled to human food, they became aggressive with campers.*

To combat this, the Queensland Government implemented the Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy. Now, it's against the law to feed or even interact with a dingoes, and huge fines apply. One woman was recently fined $40,000 for repeatedly feeding the dingoes**. With the plan, the government claims it has reduced the dingoes' dependence on humans, and returned them to a more natural lifestyle.***

We saw quite a few dingoes, and they were all around the camping areas. One even managed to sneak up to a trash bag sitting only a few feet from us. All the animals we saw mostly ignored people, and ran away as soon as we made noise. They're adorable (and skinny!), so I understand why someone would want to feed them, but the park rangers have proven that the ones that are fed are the ones that attack people in the future.  In that case, I'll take my dingo photo ops from afar, thank-you very much!

*fido.org.au

**http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/03/3056420.htm

***http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/fraser/dingo-safe.html

Seventy-Five Mile Beach

Appropriately named, this beach stretches along the eastern coast of Fraser Island. Believe it or not, the beach is actually a registered highway in Australia, and by far the quickest way around the island. It's not an entirely reliable highway though - two hours on either side of high tide parts of the beach are completely impassable, and you have to just hunker down where you are.

Most of the camp sites on the island are along 75-mile Beach, just behind the dunes. I use the term "camp sites" loosely - other than regeneration zones, you just pick where you want to camp, and rough it. No water, no electricity, and certainly no toilets - hopefully you have everything you need in the back of your truck.

The sites are perfect - beautiful views, and a great breeze. All that water, however, is just a tease - you can't swim in it. In fact, it's a bad idea to even put your toes in. Why? Well, pick your reason: there are the rip tides that will sweep you right out to sea, the jelly fish that can cause a nasty bite (or, if you're up near the top of the island in the more tropical waters, can kill you), or the sharks. Seventy-five mile beach is some of the best fishing on the east coast of Australia, but the men aren't the only ones taking advantage of that. The waters are notoriously shark-filled, so much that it's officially against the law to swim in them.

Mark collected a lovely bunch of coconuts.

The road stretching before us.

Happy New Year!

This is what I woke up to to greet 2011. It goes without saying that it was amazing - it certainly beat desperately searching for water with a pounding head.

Mark and I braved a dodgy weather forecast and set out for Fraser Island for the weekend. Fraser is about three hours north of Brisbane, and stretches just over 75 miles to the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. The whole island is a national park and a world heritage sight. There are no paved roads, and the only electricity comes from solar panels at the ranger stations.

The whole place was amazing! Fraser is the largest sand island in the world. However, over its 70,000 year lifespan, trees have grown and died, leaving nutrients for future generations. Now, the island is incredibly fertile. Driving around over the course of the day you passed through beaches, massive sand blows (think Saudi Arabia), swamps (watch out for the salt-water crocs!), brush, eucalypt forests (Koalas!), and rainforest.

We camped right on the beach, and spent the two sunny days we had exploring some of the natural treasures on the island. Everything was slow going, bouncing through rivers, mud wallows and swamps in four-wheel drive, but we did get to see a lot. On the third day we woke up to blue skies, which unfortunately promptly turned to downpours, so our trip was cut a bit short (shucks, we'll just have to go back!).

To avoid having the longest post ever, here are some shorter posts about all the amazing sights I saw this weekend.

Last Sunset of 2010

Happy New Year!