Flames alive

We experienced a little drama this week after a destructive fire broke out in central Sydney. The blaze started in a row of vacant brick warehouse buildings on Randle Street near Central Station about 4pm on Thursday. The buildings had been vacant for about 12 months pending the start of a major multi-million-dollar restoration the largest structure into a new boutique hotel.

Garry was the first to spot the fire. I was working in our showroom so he called and urged me to step outside to take a look. At its height, flames from the fire could be seen leaping into the air from our apartment balcony. The air was thick with smoke and a layer of ash was descending on cars and houses throughout the area. Television station helicopters took to the sky and were soon broadcasting live images of the growing inferno.  

It was surreal watching the drama unfolding on television, only to look up and see it with our own eyes. It reminded me of many times living in London where we witnessed firsthand the impact of an international news event unfolding around us.

As we watched, huge explosions could be seen as the fire engulfed the site. At one stage, a huge fireball rose moments before a major wall section exploded outwards, showering the street in bricks, concrete, and other debris. Later in the day, could still smell smoke in our apartment and in the corridors of our building. It all brought back surreal memories of the record bushfires we endured for months on end in late-2019.

In the days since four children have come forward to help police with their investigation. It appears that they may have started the blaze as part of a childhood prank gone wrong. 

UPDATE: 31 May
A 60-tonne long-reach excavator began tearing chunks of brickwork from the two highest walls of the 110-year-old warehouse, yesterday morning. Authorities are keen to demolish the most unstable sections as quickly as possible and reopen local streets that have been closed for a week.

Northland by camper van

Our recent Christmas vacation in New Zealand brought back memories of Garry’s first McGregor family Christmas. Garry and I flew to New Zealand for a long-anticipated family reunion in Mount Maunganui in 2003. At the time, my brother Hamish and his family were flying in from Austria. My youngest brother Matt and his family were driving down from Auckland, and Garry and I were coming in from Sydney.

We hired a camper van, in part, to provide Garry and me with accommodation at my parent’s holiday home. Understandably, beds were in short supply given the number of family members coming into town. It also made it easier to schedule several excursions including an overnight trip to Rotorua, and a brief three-night circuit through Northland, before returning the van to Auckland Airport. The trip up north was particularly special as I finally completed a childhood dream of visiting Cape Reinga.

We spent almost a week with the family.  Along with the classic Christmas Day festivities with my family, we also enjoyed a day trip to White Island, the Bay of Plenty's active volcanic island. Perhaps the most memorable family moment was on Christmas Eve.  After the children had gone to bed Garry, Hamish and I spent an hour making sandy reindeer footprints in the yard with a cardboard stencil.

Our first Kiwi adventure together had a slightly rocky start. When we collected our camper van at the airport, I discovered we'd been allocated a manual stick shift vehicle. Garry confessed he’d never learned to drive a manual car and I'd not thought to explicitly request an automatic.  

As a result, plans for shared driving duties were abandoned and I was duly appointed our designated driver. This wasn’t an issue for most of the vacation. Although, I still have terrifying memories of the traffic jam we encountered on our penultimate day in New Zealand. I spent at least half an hour riding the van’s clutch, fearing the worst, as we crawled for kilometres up Johnston’s Hill near Warkworth.

Fortunately, this was a rare moment of distress during what ultimately proved to be a wonderful experience. On 31 December, we drove to Northland, taking a scenic route via the rugged Waihi gorge and the equally memorable coastal road along the shores of Kiapara Harbour. It took us almost eight hours to reach our final destination for the night, Paihia, near Waitangi.

 

As we made our way north, we stopped to experience the majesty of Tāne Mahuta in the Waipoua Forest. Tāne Mahuta is New Zealand’s largest kauri tree, which is approximately 2,000 years old and still growing. Nearly 18 metres to the first branch and 4.4 metres in diameter, Tāne Mahuta is rightly called 'The Lord of the Forest'.

 

Our first three days of the new year were spent exploring Northland’s iconic tourist destinations. The year started with a blast. We booked ourselves onto a full-day, 4-Wheel Drive, tour to Cape Reinga. Its itinerary included a drive along 90 Mile Beach, spraying our way through the trickling low-tide waves, followed by an excursion on The Giant Sand Dunes at Te Paki Creek. At the base of the dunes, our tour guide handed us sandboards and left us to hurtle down their sandy slopes. We had a ball.

It was then on to the highlight of our day. We spent several hours exploring the rambling ridges of Cape Reinga and its iconic white lighthouse. The cape is every bit as picturesque as those childhood postcards and calendars I can still vividly recall. Here the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean in a spectacular swirl of currents that leaves a white water line snaking out to sea. 

At the northernmost tip of the Cape is a gnarled pohutukawa tree, believed to be over 800 years old. According to Maori oral history, the spirits of deceased Maori leap from this tree into the ocean to return to their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki.

We enjoyed a leisurely picnic lunch under cloudless blue skies at the cape before returning to Paihia. Our journey home included a stop at Northland’s famous Mangōnui Fish & Chip shop. Naturally, we did the proper tourist thing and ordered an early dinner of its finest battered fish.

The following day we took time out to explore the Stone Store at Kerikeri and the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi. I’d briefly experienced the area on a road trip during a Summer break from University in 1987. It was nice to return and relive some of these memories and share them with Garry.  This included the impressive Ngātokimatawhaorua. At 30 metres in length, it's said to be the world's largest ceremonial canoe. It was built to mark the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi’s signing in 1940.

Our final evening in Northland was spent at Waiwera Beach, a sleepy beachside village south of Warkworth. Much to our delight we secured an unpowered site in the local campground that backed onto the beach. There’s honestly nothing more magical than waking in the morning, swinging open your van’s rear doors, and watching the waves break as you lie in bed.

I'll finish this trip down memory lane with a few images from our overnight stop in Rotorua. Garry would never forgive me if I don't include a photo of me flat on my back at the Champagne Hot Springs near Waiotapu. In a classic rookie tourist moment, I tripped on a shin-high, hazard fence while attempting to take the perfect photo.

Cradle Mountain redux

Garry and I have spent time at Cradle Mountain on two separate occasions. Each time we’ve stayed in the beautifully appointed Spa Cabins at Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village. I’m delighted to report that despite the passing of a decade, these cabins remain in excellent condition. Matt and Shelley certainly enjoyed their bush-clad surroundings.

Our next two days were spent Wombat watching and hiking two of the national park’s most popular walks. The four of us walked the Dove Lake circuit one day, while Matt, Shelley and I walked the Cradle Valley Boardwalk back from Rony Creek on the second day. The boardwalk was a first for me.

Surprisingly, the wombats were out in force in the middle of the day during our entire stay. Apparently, the cooler weather brings these crepuscular animals out during daylight in the cooler seasons. Another first for Garry and me. 

We also clocked another first-time experience while visiting the Devils at Cradle Sanctuary. I booked us into an evening tour of the wildfire park on our second night at Cradle Mountain. Our tour began with a session where we got to touch a Tasmanian Devil before venturing outside to help feed a hungry pack of devils.

Our final days in Tasmania were spent retracing our steps back to Hobart via the Highland Lakes Highway for a final night. Our route through the highland lake district was another new experience for Garry and me. We also stopped at a truffle farm to sample some of its wares. I boldly bought a Summer truffle on offer. Garry and I spent the following week finding recipes to make the most of this delicate ingredient.

On our final morning in Tasmania, before heading for the airport, we made a quick dash up Mount Wellington to the Springs Lookout. The spectacular panoramic view of Hobart, the Derwent River, and the surrounding harbour proved a fitting way to bring our island holiday to an end.

It's cold out West

We spent our final morning in Hobart wandering the bustling Salamanca Markets before heading out of town. We made three tourist stops on the road to Lake St Clair. Pulpit Rock lookout was our first stop, overlooking the Derwent River, followed by a second stop at Russell Falls. Here we also enjoyed a picnic lunch in a private, enclosed stone shelter.

Our last stop for the day was Tarraleah to take in the view of its two hydroelectric power stations. I’m not sure there’s anywhere else in the world where you can see penstocks constructed on opposing sides of a valley, each feeding water from completely different catchment areas.

Once settled in Lake St Clair, I took Matt and Shelley for a little platypus spotting around dusk. Sadly, these illusive monotremes didn’t make an appearance. However, we consoled ourselves with wine and cheese, followed by a hearty meal in the lodge’s only restaurant. Overnight the temperature dropped dramatically on the Central Plateau. The following morning we woke to the presence of snow capping the surrounding hills.

 

Easter Sunday was taken up with a full day of driving. We made our way across the island to Cradle Mountain, stopping to stock up at the supermarket in Queenstown (including a brief detour to experience the stunning Ironblow Lookout) and enjoying lunch in Strahan. While Strahan we were lucky enough to see the local timber yard sawing an enormous Huon pine log using an old fan-belt driven saw.

On our way out of Lake St Clair we also stopped to view stunning The Wall in the Wilderness. This extraordinary work of art consists of Huon Pine panels, each 3 metres high, carved into a series of relief sculptures. Each panel depicts scenes that capture the history, hardship and perseverance of the people in the Central Highlands.
 

The panels stretch for 100 metres. Half of the panels are mounted on one side of a central supporting frame with the remaining panels attached to the opposing side. Its artist, Greg Duncan, has spent more than 20 years carving this masterpiece. He's now retired and thus the incomplete elements of this giant work may never be finished.

However, our most amusing moment came just as we were leaving The Wall in the Wilderness. I received a call from the Lake St Clair Lodge. The cleaning staff had found an abandoned iPad in our cabin. Queue a red face from Garry. Thank goodness we were only 8km down the road.