On the road to recovery

At 12.51 p.m. on Tuesday 22 February 2011, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake shook the city of Christchurch.  Its epicentre, near the port town of Lyttelton, was less than 10 km southeast of Christchurch's central business district. It caused the collapse of several major buildings including the city’s much loved and photogenic cathedral. 185 people were killed and several thousand were injured.

My family traces many of its roots to the Christchurch and Canterbury region. As a child, I recall spending many enjoyable holidays at my grandmother’s house in central Christchurch (think of a rope swing hanging from a Pear tree).  Therefore it was an emotional experience to watch live television coverage of the quake’s devastation and its aftermath. My aunt’s home was destroyed by the quake and my cousin, a civil engineer, was heavily involved in the city’s slow recovery.

I spent a day touring the city with my Auntie Pam on ANZAC Day, witnessing first hand the extent of the city’s devastation and its rebuilding efforts. Pam was a superb host. Together we visited many of the disaster’s more poignant locations. This included the recently opened memorial park on the banks of the Avon River, the shattered remains of the cathedral and its “temporary” replacement, the quirky “cardboard cathedral”.

The memorial park is a credit to the city.  It’s a wonderful place of reflection.  For me, the memorial’s highlight is a kōhatu pounamu (greenstone) resting on a marble plinth at its entrance. It reflects an established Māori tradition of placing pounamu at important entranceways and thresholds and the ritual of touching the stone connects visitors and locals back to the land and all those who have been there before us.

The greenstone is sprayed at regular interval by a water feature.  This accentuates the stone’s rich green colour as well as symbolises water’s life-giving qualities. No doubt it also discretely assist with public hygiene as almost every visitor, myself included, pauses to reflect and touch the stone.

We then walked the streets of central Christchurch.  I was astonished to see block after block of commercial buildings had been demolished and removed.  I knew this had happened but the reality was rather confronting and brought home the true scale of this disaster. 

However, it was also encouraging to see the first new blocks of buildings open for business.  It’s clear that once Christchurch has been fully rebuilt, the city will enjoy an incredibly modern, vibrant and unusually coherent streetscape.  The temporary cardboard cathedral is a superb example of this regeneration.

Designed by Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban, the officially titled “Transition Cathedral” is genuinely impressive.  Its gently sloping roof rises 21 metres (69 ft) above the altar. Materials used in its construction include 60-centimetre diameter cardboard tubes, timber and steel. The roof is clad in clear, ribbed, plastic poly-carbon sheeting, while eight shipping containers housing side chapels and office form its walls.

Perhaps the most shocking sight of my brief visit was the open parklands that have appeared in several locations along the Avon River’s bank.  These calm, grassy stretches, filled with mature trees, often in orderly orders are in fact the remains of abandoned suburbs.  Several areas of the city experienced dramatic bouts of liquefaction during the quake and its numerous aftershocks. 

As a result, entire suburbs were gazetted as “Red Zones” and deemed permanently unsuitable for rebuilding.  My Aunt’s former home lies within one zone and my grandmother’s house sits literally across the street from a second zone.  I’m sure one of these parks will make a superb golf course some day.

Daintree Magic

Garry’s brother, David, and his family recently moved into their new home in Far North Queensland.  Garry and I took time out over Easter to check out their new digs and enjoy a few days of R&R.  Our itinerary kicked off with a night in Palm Cove staying at the uber-ritzy M Gallery Reef House. We then crossed the Daintree River for a night in a rainforest cabin near Thornton Beach before making our way to David and Katie’s house for two days.

Our first night in Palm Cove was a last-minute addition. We’d originally booked morning flights from Sydney to Cairns on Good Friday. However, Qantas rescheduled the flight which gave us the option to change our ticket at no cost.  We decided to rebook on the last flight departing Thursday evening (a flight that originally added hundreds of dollars to the ticket). 

We also cashed in a complimentary night’s accommodation in an Accor Hotel that’s offered annually by American Express and secured a room at The Reef Hotel. We also cashed in some reward points with Hertz to booked an SUV for four days for just a few dollars. It’s nice to see these loyalty programs actually deliver on the promise of “free stuff”.

Our flight landed shortly after 11pm and we made it to our hotel shortly after midnight.  Sadly Reef Hotel proved to be a bit of dud.  The bed was rock hard and the breakfast we ordered the following morning was dismal, to say the least.  The hotel itself was stunning.  The grounds included a lush tropical garden, a secluded pool and an expansive outdoor deck for dining that looked out over a palm-fringed beach.

Before checking out of the hotel we took a walk along the Palm Cove beachfront promenade.  The streetscape here is immaculately manicured and maintained.  We finished our stroll with a walk out to the end of the Palm Cove wharf.  Plenty of avid young fishermen were enjoying themselves. We witnessed one them catch and release a baby shark.  Apparently, you’re not allowed to keep them unless they’re more than a metre long.  I’m not too sure I’d be keen to handle a shark that big.

The Daintree proved to be as spectacular as ever.  The ferry crossing was at capacity thanks to the holiday weekend.  It took almost half an hour to get across the river.  However, once across the traffic soon dispersed.  Our first stop was the remote Cape Kimberley beachfront.  Here we spent an hour walking a stretch of the beach before heading inland to enjoy views of the Daintree River mouth from the Mount Alexandra lookout.

Our next stop was Thornton Beach where we took another stroll along its empty stretch of sand as far as the mouth of the picturesque Cooper Creek.  The Daintree’s beaches are always wonderfully devoid of people which really leaves you feeling at one with nature.  We then enjoyed a quick picnic lunch before heading north to Cape Tribulation. 

The Cape was crowded as always and it expansive, wave-fringed beach remains as iconic as ever.  However, the rainforest cabin that Garry had booked proved to be a real highlight.  We were delighted to find we’d been allocated a cabin furthest from the lodge’s main facilities.  This meant we enjoyed plenty of wildlife including bush hens, birds and iridescent butterflies.

The restaurant on site provided a huge surprise.  We dined on some world-class dishes on an outdoor deck overlooking a lush tropical stream.  It left the far more expensive The Reef House for dead in terms of quality! As it was the tail end of the wet season, several brief showers peppered our cabin overnight.  There is something truly magical about lying in bed listening to rain cascading through the rainforest outside your door.

The next morning we made our way South again stopping briefly to visit the Daintree Wild Zoo.  This slightly ramshackle affair offered up a few fauna highlights including a family of baby Sugar Possums, massive crocodiles and a pair of remarkably healthy looking Dingos.

David and Katie’s new home was spectacular.  We enjoyed two nights with the family and made full use of their expansive outdoor entertaining space.  Our first full day was spent visiting the weekend markets in Port Douglas and trying out the new coastal walkway around the town’s iconic headland.  Garry and I also discovered the delights of chocolate-dipped frozen bananas at the markets.

Our final day saw us enjoy a leisurely lunch in town before finally making our way back to Cairns in time to catch our flight home again.  Garry and I both agreed it had been a refreshing, much-needed break after an incredibly frantic period for the business.

Flights ahoy!

We've got another series of flights scheduled in the weeks ahead.  This time we're travelling for pleasure rather than business.  First up we're off to Cairns and Far North Queensland for an Easter break.  I'm then heading off to visit family for an extended four-day ANZAC weekend.

We've taken advantage of a complimentary night's vacation with Accor Hotels to book ourselves into a superb venue at Palm Cove before heading into to the Daintree for a luxury bush retreat.  We'll then finish our weekend with a couple of nights at Garry's brother's new house near Mosman.

My New Zealand vacation includes a 24-hour stopover in Christchurch before heading north to see my Mum and catch up on my brother's ambitious building project, aka, his new home. I'm keen to see how Christchurch has changed since the devastating 2011 Earthquake and see first hand how the city is recovering from last month's terrorist attack on two of its inner-city mosques.

These won't be our last leisure outings for the year.  Last week we took advantage of some special offers to secure a week's vacation at the Shangri-la Resort in Fiji in early-September.  We're hoping to repeat the wonderful experience we had in Fiji around the same time last year.  Garry did a superb job of uncovering a hotel deal and flights discounted almost 50%.

The Kangaroo Route

On 25 March 2018 Qantas launched its first non-stop flight between mainland Australia and the UK.  Flight QF9 departed from Perth shortly after 6pm. It flew more than 14,000km in little under 17 hours before landing at Heathrow early the following morning. This remarkable feat was made possible thanks to the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The route between London and Australia, affectionately known as the Kangaroo Route, once took an exhausting 12.5 days including a train journey between Paris and Brindisi, Italy. Qantas eventually reduced the travel time to less than three days using a Lockheed Constellation.  This flight flew from Sydney to London with stops in Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, and Tripoli (passengers stayed overnight in Singapore and Cairo).

Garry reluctantly agreed to give the Dreamliner flight a go as part of our annual business trip to Europe. Regular readers will recall that we meet once a year with key suppliers at major industry trade shows in late-January and early-February. This year we attended the London Toy Fair before heading across to Germany for the Nuremberg Toy Fair.  Our return journey saw us fly from Sydney to Perth, then on to London before flying to Nuremberg via a weekend stopover in Poland.

I flew my first Dreamliner in 2017 during a long weekend in New Zealand. At the time I was impressed by its larger than normal windows and the more refreshing cabin environment. The Dreamliner makes extensive use of carbon fibre in its construction. This material is lighter than aluminium, less prone to stress fractures and unaffected by moisture. 

Thanks to these innovations, the same volume of fuel can carry the aircraft further.  It also allows cabin pressure to operate at 6,000 feet (1,800 m) altitude instead of the traditional 8,000 feet (2,400 m). The higher pressure results in increased oxygen and humidity levels for passengers which go some way to reducing the effects of jet lag and dehydration on long haul flights. 

All in all the new route is proving a huge hit for Qantas. It says the flights are averaging a load factor of 94 per cent, a result well above the industry average. Currently, the average time of the Perth to London service is 17 hours and one minute, but one flight broke the speed record when it clocked in at 16 hours and 19 minutes. The average flight time of the return service is 16 hours and five minutes. However, a Dreamliner has managed to make it in 15 hours and 15 minutes.

Garry and I were incredibly impressed by the flight.  The new Qantas business class seat proved comfortable.  The service was impeccable.  The flight itself honestly didn't feel any longer than a regular long haul flight. Garry even went as far as to say he'd fly this route again.  This was high praise indeed as he'd originally declared to all and sundry that he'd only fly it once purely for the novelty factor.  I loved the experience.  Even the new International Transit Lounge in Perth was impressive.  Plenty of fresh air, healthy snacks and uber fast wifi that let us download lots of Netflix episodes before boarding our flight.

The arrival time of 5am is also ideal for getting in Europe.  It lets you transfer onto an early morning flight from Heathrow to any European destination and arrive there well before noon. Normally you'd end up losing the bulk of a second day to travel.  On this occasion, we stopped in London for 7 days. We also took advantage of the American Airlines Arrivals Lounge at Heathrow.  Our serviced apartment in Soho wasn't going to be available until after 11am so a stop at the lounge allowed to grab a refreshing shower, enjoyed a full cooked breakfast and spend a couple of hours relaxing before heading into town.

If you're curious, we flew back from Europe via the traditional Kangaroo route with Qantas via Heathrow and Singapore.  Garry was determined to try for another First Class upgrade on the Airbus A380. As luck would have it, our upgrades came through and we flew home in decadent luxury.

Farewell Michele

I met Michele Olsen on 3 February 1990. We both arrived at the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) outreach centre in Goulburn on a Saturday afternoon. We joined 22 others embarking on three months of study, followed by three months of putting everything we learned into practice. This was the start of my first, and most enduring, friendship in Australia.

Over the years our lives have evolved. Through it all Michele's presence has endured. She’s been an anchor linking so many different chapters in my life, including travelling through Eastern Europe after the Berlin Wall came down, me permanently relocating to Australia, my coming out and my subsequent relationship with Garry. Over the years Michele relocated to Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Egypt and the USA, while Garry and I moved to Europe. We all eventually returned to Sydney to live.

The genesis of everything I've achieved in Australia can be traced to a morning in late-November 1990. I'd been backpacking in Europe where I'd bid Michele and other YWAM students a fond farewell four months earlier. Michele greeted me at Sydney Airport as I disembarked an overnight flight from Singapore on 20 November. She'd heard I was returning to Australia and decided to meet me upon arrival. 

At the time, I'd decided to spend the Summer in Sydney clearing a credit card debt I’d clocked up in Europe. My card was denominated in New Zealand dollars. Therefore, I'd clear it sooner by earning Australian dollars, worth at least 20 per cent more. I still recall sitting on the plane thinking, “before today is done I have to find a place to stay, feed myself and find work.” To my surprise, Michele had already arranged temporary accommodation in Penshurst, scheduled a haircut and organised an evening meal with friends. 

Michele's generous welcome gave me a life-changing head-start. She also introduced me to a circle of North Shore friends including a woman who offered me my first full-time Australian job - a contract role with IBM. Sadly IBM made me redundant in August 1991. However, my brief stint there secured my next career move as a junior IT industry analyst. This industry experience then carried me into the technology public relations sector, where I rose through the ranks of two companies ultimately becoming the Chief Operating Officer of a global enterprise. 

However, despite the passage of time Michele and I shared many milestone moments, including the purchase of Michelle’s first home and the birth of her son, Zeke. I still recall visiting Hong Kong and seeing the joy in her eyes as she shared news that she’d met the man of her dreams, David Wlodarski. She was keen for me to meet him as well.

As I recall, it was St Patrick's Day. David, was out with other expats, enjoying a raucous afternoon at a popular bar - not quite the first impression Michele had anticipated for poor David. However, a few years later I attended their wedding in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Since then we've all hung out in Hong Kong, New Orleans and Sydney.

Sadly, Michele passed away at the Mount Druitt Palliative Care Unit on 17 February. She’s been battling ovarian cancer on and off for many years. I was privileged to be at her bedside, holding her hand as she took her last breath. I never imagined our friendship would end, or that I'd be by her side in those final moments. 

Michele's funeral was held on Tuesday. We've been exhibiting at the Sydney Gift Fair at Homebush all this week, so Garry took my place in the booth so that I could attend the service. It was a moving farewell to a wonderful woman.

It has been, and always will be, an absolute pleasure and privilege knowing and loving you, Michele. Your warmth, generosity, and unflappable goodwill were legendary, often without equal. You've been an awe-inspiring role model for me and many others. I am forever grateful to have met you. May God bless you, David and Zeke, now and forever more.

Krakow

I've waited more than 30 years to visit Poland.  It was one of the only countries I never made it to while back-packing through Europe in 1990. Garry and I also never made there while living in London. We did book tickets to Krakow with British Airways at one stage.  However, it cancelled the route before we could fly and so our vacation never happened.  

However, finally, we've made to Krakow.  Garry and I dropped in for a long weekend while en route to Nuremberg for six days of non-stop meetings and trade show excursions.  The city was a superb way to break up the relentless pace of what ultimately proved to be an exhausting business trip. 

Krakow is a fascinating city.  Like so many old cities in Europe, its history is littered with the scars of war and regional politics. The city was founded in the 4^th Century on Wawel Hill, a small hillock overlooking the Wisla River’s meandering curves.  Fortifications on the hill became home to Poland’s first ruler, Mieszko (AD962-992), before being transformed by Poland’s first king, Wladyslaw the Short (AD1306-133). The king was crowned in Wawel Cathedral on 30 January 1319, beginning a tradition that saw a further 35 royal rulers crowned here until the 17^th Century.

Wawel Castle and its magnificent cathedral are still standing on Wawel Hill today.  Thanks to royal patronage and its proximity to power, Krawkow prospered for several centuries until the capital was arbitrarily relocated to Warsaw in 1596.  During this period many of the city’s stunning old town landmarks were built including St Mary’s Basilica and Sukiennice (roughly translated as the Cloth Hall).that dominate its expansive Market Square.

We cashed in some Amex Reward Points and booked ourselves into the nearby Sheraton Hotel.  Our room gave us an uninterrupted view of the river, Wawel Hill and its castle.  The weather was rather chilly during our stay.  Temperatures ranged from -4C to 5C. Snow covered the ground the day we arrived, giving the old city some classic picture-perfect old world charm.

Garry and I split our three days in Krakow across three of its most popular sights.  Our first day was spent wandering the cobbled streets of the old city.  We began the day with a visit to the castle grounds and Wawel Cathedral.  This includes touring the Royal Crypts and climbing a wooden framed tower to see the city’s famous Sigismund Bell.  It’s the largest of five bells in the tower weighing in at an astonishing 12.6 tonnes.  It’s ever only rung on religious holidays and significant moment in Polish history (such as the funeral of late President Lech Kaczynski and his wife).

We also stopped by the Wawel Dragon.  This is an ugly bronze statue on the banks of the Wisla River.  According to local legend, the dragon once lived in a cave at the base of Wawel Hill.  Today’s facsimile breathes gas-fuelled flames at regular intervals.

Then, with the castle done and dusted, we made our way through the old city.  Highlights included a visit to St Mary’s Basilica, possibly one of the most ornate churches we’ve seen in Europe.  It’s also home to one of the city’s quirky traditions.  Every hour on the hour the Hejnak, or bugle call, rings out from a window set high in its left tower. Apparently, this tradition has continued for centuries.  It’s even broadcast live across the nation at noon every day.

By chance, we stumbled across a superb restaurant called Art Restaurant.  On a whim, we booked ourselves in for dinner.  We later discovered it was Krakow’s top restaurant.  We splashed out and enjoyed its tasting menu that delivered a feast of traditional Polish dishes transformed into a memorable fine dining experience.  This includes dumpling soup, venison, sausages and traditional bagels.

Our second day was spent visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau located 75km west of Krakow.  I’ve prepared a separate post about this profoundly moving experience.  Our final day in town was spent visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mines. This proved ideal timing as the day our tour was scheduled dawned with pouring rain.  The mines are located in a small town about 15kms south of Krakow. More than 1.4 million people visit this attraction every year; and been doing so for centuries. 

The salt mines are extraordinary.  Since the 13^th century, miners have been extracting rock salt from galleries and caverns deep underground.  Over the course of seven centuries, more than 240km of tunnels and 2350 chambers have been excavated; reaching as deep as 327metres below the surface.  Needless to say, a tour of the mines was a genuine highlight. 

Without doubt, the most memorable sight was the St Kinga Chapel.  This is an enormous 22,000sqm cavern that’s been transformed into a stunning underground cathedral.  The walls feature bas-relief carvings sculpted from rock salt; plus a series of dramatic chandeliers whose dazzling crystals are also pure salt.  It simply has to be seen to be believed!

Follow this link to read about our emotional and sobering visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Unfathomable and unconscionable insanity

There’s no prize for guessing where we’ve been.  By chance, our visit coincided with the 74th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Words on a page can never describe the experience of coming here.  It was genuinely moving. Yet at the same time, everything we saw made no sense at all.  The mind-numbing statistics our tour guide rattled off for more an hour are simply beyond comprehension.

For me, one question remained eternally unanswered. Why target the Jews of Europe for such wholesale slaughter?  How in any way, shape or form could such an inhumane and unspeakable act ever be justified? Why target innocent people no different to the Jewish friends, and their extended families, that I know and love?  The Final Solution is simply unfathomable and unconscionable insanity on a truly industrial scale.

Auschwitz-Birkenau is a confronting place. It challenges you at every turn. It forces you to reflect on your own prejudices, politics and flawed, imperfect nature. Winter also proved an ideal time to visit. The snow, the mud and the drab grey sky constantly reinforced and reminded us that this really was a miserable place for all incarcerated here. However, despite its confronting nature, I came away steadfast in my conviction that by bearing personal witness to this place and its travesty, in some small way, those of us who visit ensure its cold, harsh truths are never forgotten. 

Garry, in particular, was overwhelmed by the tiers of bunks we saw in the women’s barracks.  They are rough, dark and foreboding. This wasn't a Hollywood sound stage. Instead, it genuinely felt very, very real. My only regret? The frenetic pace at which our tour guide pushed us through each complex. Sadly he left us with little time to pause, reflect and remember.