RSS Feed is up and running

You can click any image to increase it in size by the way!

For those of you that would like to be notified when either Lora or I post a new blog entry you can now have an RSS feed notify you. If you notice the little orange image on the far right side of the address bar(yellow number 1 in the above image) and click on it a new window will pop open asking you if you would like to save this feed. Just click yes of course. You should now have a new little icon right below your address bar(yellow number 2) that you can click on making it very easy to see when we post. It may even notify you. See added later section.

As you can tell I've been working with my new computer installing all kinds of "cool" things. I may have to actually start studying again soon.

Added later: OK so it looks like it will not notify you of new content BUT it is still easier to see when we post something new. If you right click on the new orange tab below your address bar(Yellow number 2) you can click on "Reload Live Bookmark". It will then check for you and a new post will be at the top of the choices for you. Then just click the new post and it takes you straight to our blog.
It sounds complicated but really is very simple. You can always call us now that we have a Cali phone number working over here. I don't want to post it here but ask around or send an e-mail if you want it.

Pictures of Crescent Beach, Tasmania

I already told you a little about this special place in the last blog. On Friday Lora and I hiked in about twenty minutes to this beautiful little secluded beach at one of the most southerly points in Tasmania. I was able to do a little flying while Lora took pictures and enjoyed the views. In the distance you can see Tasman Island as well as Cape Pillar, a series of Dolerite columns sticking right out of the ocean. If you remember a previous post I posted about the Totem Pole you will be familiar with this area already. It is right around the point you can just see in the distance.

I'm going to post quite a few pictures because: 1. They are just so good. 2. I'm still high from flying this special place.
View from below as I flew directly over Lora's head.

The rugged Tasmanian coast line. Me with a little height over the dune.


Our friend Josh just as he's about to leave the ground.


A few more of me in mid flight/turn. Really no one else flies here so I can't really put any pictures up besides me and a couple of Josh... ok one of Josh.


Until next time. Don't forget to try the video link below too.

Tim

Crescent Beach, Tasmania

Well, I'm going to try and post my first youtube video clip to our blog. Lora and I went to a beautiful beach in S. Tasmania a few days ago with a friend named Josh. The winds were light but I was able to get a few 20 minute flights ridge soaring the dune. It was absolutely beautiful. I will be adding a post with the pictures Lora took next.



Well it works. Just push the start button on the screen. This video wasn't really edited much so they will only get better. The really great thing is now I've figured out how to post video so be prepared for anything.

Tim

Another day on the river

So as some of you know I've started Grad school. I'm working on a Master's of Ed. Right now my courses are mainly distance courses which mean I have to stay motivated and diligent. So of course I was in the library yesterday( I really was) when I received a call from a friend, Swarz. He told me that a local river was running and we should go boating. This river, called North West Bay River, only runs when we are having a Souwester. The last time this happened was two years ago.
We met at the take out right on the ocean and headed up to the put-in. Above is a picture of me at the put-in weir. I hate weirs. They are man-made DEATHTRAPS. They form a perfect hydraulic that if you go in the only way out is being pulled out with a rope. Needless to say we stayed out of it.
Above is a picture of the lower bit of the river. It was very beautiful scenery and only 15 minutes away from Hobart. The run itself was only class3/4-, but fun. It was great being on the water again.

After running the lower bit I was wondering what was above so we headed up that way. We found a great class 4 non-stop rollercoaster. This is now Swarz's official put-in, as well as mine. Below is a picture right before I got in my boat. The camera got a little fogged up due to the rain/moisture.

One of the best parts of the trip was the blackberries that grew all along the side of the river near the bottom. We just paddled up and picked huge amounts. It reminded me of when Kimberly and I would go out picking for blackberry cobbler way back when we were kids.
All in all it was a great afternoon spent with two good mates, a lot of rain, and some great kayaking. I guess now it's back to the library for me.
Later!

Working 9 to 5

Well it happened. I actually have been working the past couple of weeks. Some desperate sea kayaking company decided I would be a great tour guide of the Hobart harbour and surrounding waters. The funny thing is that I've only done one sea kayaking trip before and I'm a damn yank who knows next to nothing about the history of Hobart. Luckily I'm a teacher and I know that there is this building in most cities called a library where they store information that could help me out with my little lack of history perdicament.

So for about $65 I take tourists kayaking for about a two hour tour. I was told by my boss that he may have one or two trips for me the following week. Well, he split town and gave my phone # to the other tour organizers in the area. I began receiving phone calls from companies wanting to set up trips with me...lots of them. And they always had questions for me that I tried to answer. I didn't know how many boats we have available or if we could get a sald roll instead of fish and chips for a veggie eating customer. Of course my boss wasn't answering his phone and all the other guides were out on trips. So for two weeks I pretty much worked everyday and dealt with all kinds of issues along the way.

It was fun and a great way to share my new love (and knowledge) of Hobart with tourists from around the world. I don't happen to have any pictures to show. Next time I go out I'll snap a few.

In other work, I've just returned home after working a week long grade 7 camp. This was very tiring. I'm also sick now with a small fevef and a head cold. Little Buggers! One of our friends here is the Outdoor Education Teacher for a local Christian Brother's School similar to the one I went to for high school. For the past week I've taught 150 boys how to keep their kayaks going straight in the ocean. The groups were only 12 boys each so that part was easy. The rest of the camp was crazy though. I took 35 kids bush walking...four times, played heaps of cricket, and even taught them how to play ultimate frisbee. The evenings were interesting. Trying to get 150 12 year old boys to go to bed is quite a feat. I certainly earned my pay. Which by the way I'm still not sure what I'm getting paid.


Here are a few pics from one of the bush walks. No Kevin this is not a walk taken down Bourbon St in the French Quarter. :P
As some of you know Lora is currently in the States visiting with friends and family as well as attending a conference. She's been gone for over a week and I'm tired of sharing her with you guys. I miss her. If you see her let her know for me.

Tim

Look where you could be!

Lora and I decided to visit one of the top attractions in Tassie. It's called Wineglass Bay and it's in the Freycinet National Park. The park is about a two hour drive from the house through the Tassie countryside. Lots of sheep!

We arrived at the parking area to find quite a few cars and buses. We were in for a touristy time. In fact it turned out not to be so bad. Most of the "hikers" just hike up to the overlook and then back down to their cars so they can drive to the next attraction. Lora and I decided to hike down to the white sand beach and then we continued on to Hazards Beach on the other side. You can just see Hazards beach in the upper right hand corner of the above picture.



The hike was about 7 miles long and we had a great time. We even brought a picnic lunch. We did feel a little "naked" without a 100lb kayak or other gear on our backs. It was kind of nice.

Some great kayaking shots by Dan Glauser

Here are just a few photos my good buddy Dan sent me when I needed some cool California kayaking shots for a slide show I presented to the local kayaking club in Hobart. Needless to say they were blown away. Thanks again Dan! If you want to see some more of his work go to expeditionfrontiers.blogspot.com. Be patient he's having a baby.


Okay, this next one is not by Dan... it is Dan on one of our favorite runs, Upper Cherry Creek. Here's Dan running the Shit!


And of course I had to put one up that Dan took of me while on the Rubicon River.



Tim

Was that a girl screaming?

Well it finally happened. While working in the field with Lora I heard the most unusual sound. Let me set the scene. Lora and I were obviously in the forest. I was sitting on a stool taking notes while Lora was checking out her caterpillars. I was expecting to hear her say something like "not eaten" so I was just looking down at my notepad. All of a sudden I heard the most blood curdling scream coming from the area Lora was at. I jumped! I thought that Lora had been bitten or worse. In the 6+ years I've known Lora I've never heard her scream like a girl. I quickly asked her what was wrong. Apparently, a friendly 7ft Carpet Python decided to try and wrap itself around Lora's ankle. She was so preoccupied with her work she apparently was too busy to look down until it dawned on her that something was moving on her foot.


The good news is that it was only a python, not a deadly poisonous snake. The bad news is that it could have been. In all seriousness Lora and I have talked again about looking where you step. Luckily the deadly snakes are not quite as camouflaged as this type of snake.
Stay tuned for more interesting stories from the field. By the way, this happened about two weeks ago.

Back in Hobart for a break

We are back in Hobart, home sweet home. It has been 9 weeks since I left for the field and I was ready to be home. We have set up 3 of the 6 field sites, half way there. We are home now for about 1.5 weeks then we will head back to Brisbane to set up one more site before I fly back to California.

I put together this map of the major cities and my field site locations (red dots) to give you an idea of where we have been spending out time. I also geeked out and made this distance table for perspective.

	Distance	US equivalent
Cairns to Brisbane	1712 km (1063 mi)	Portland to San Diego
Brisbane to Sydney	940 km (584 mi)	San Francisco to San Diego
Sydney to Hobart	1168 km (725 mi)	San Francisco to Salt Lake City
Hobart to Cairns	3353 km (2083 mi)	San Francisco to St. Louis

Yesterday we finalized the purchase of another car. That makes Tim and I owners of 4 cars now. Yes it may sound excessive, but think about it as 2 per hemisphere (northern and southern). We got another Subaru wagon. It's a 93' with 4wd, plus it came with roof racks and a bike rack for the hitch. So not only is it a good field vehicle, it is ready for playing as well and picking up visitors from the airport ;)


Hope to see some of you soon in California.

Return to Paradise...for half of us.

Well, after helping Lora hang traps for four days she kicked me out of the tent and sent me on my way to go flying. I looked at the weather forecast and decided to head back to Rainbow Beach. This time I was able to fly both days I was there for extended periods of time. It was awesome! I flew to the right of launch this time and travelled down the ridge for almost 10 kms. Along the way I noticed I was catching up with three stingrays going my way. My first thought was of course if one of these knew Steve Irwin. Ok bad joke. Really these things are so graceful as they move through the water. The cool thing is that I was over 1000ft above them. Really cool!
Running out of time at internet cafe. Love you guys.

Tim