Democracy Sausage at the Federal Election

 Voting in Australia is compulsory, even on really cold rainy days. As we set off in the car to the local state school to cast my vote, we shivered in the 22 C (72 F) and needed our rain jackets. I wore my old Lands End warm jacket that I've had since the 80's and it was the first time since we came to Oz. I am now officially a wimp.

I voted in a state election last year and the line of voters extended out of view along the covered pathway in the background. Today, I just walked straight in.

Since I was the only customer, I said hello to all the people handing out 'How To Vote' cards, even these One Nation and United Australia supporters. Interestingly, they thanked me for not totally ignoring them, but I am proud to say they came in at #5 and #6 on my vote for the House of Representatives. 

The Labor person who I numbered 2 after the Greens in the lower house (House of Representatives). Australia has a preferential voting system and you have to number all the candidates in order for your vote to be legal. It's a great idea.

Voting for the upper house (Senate) is even more complicated and you are handed a sheet of paper about four feet wide. If you are interested, you can read about the voting procedure here.

I walked into a classroom that served as the voting chamber and went to a desk womaned by three ladies. One of them asked for my name and address and my name was checked off in a book of names and addresses of eligible voters. After the election, the marks from each book in the electorate are copied to a master copy to determine who voted more than once or did not vote at all. There is no need to produce identification. 

Interestingly, my electorate is Hinkler and 57.2% of voters had already cast their votes at pre-polling booths. It would have been a good idea since the forecast for Saturday was rain all day.

Some of the 'how to vote' cards.

And of course, I treated myself to a 'Democracy Sausage' at the stall run by the Parents Association at the school.

Even though I got a little wet, I was glad to get it over and done with before the big blob of rain swooped down from the northwest.

The political ads on TV seem to be endless, but they only last for about a month. Australian elections can be called at any time by the Prime Minister with a maximum three-year term.

Maclean

 Initially, when I was planning this trip, I thought we would take it easy and take three days to drive the 1200 km (800 miles) home to Hervey Bay. However, as is usual towards the end of a trip, we were anxious to get home to our lovely abode, so we decided to do the trip in just two days. The halfway point was approximately at the little town of Maclean.

Somehow I managed to pick a very old motel in Maclean and it was obvious that it was built in the 50's or 60's and was being done up.

The Clarence River was just down the hill and the motel owners were fortunate that there was a hill because the road below would have been underwater during two floods earlier this year.

The rooms were fine so it was no hardship staying a night. Pickings were slim for restaurants in such a small town so we ate at the local pub and it was fine pub food.

The next morning we stopped by the river to have a look. 

The town has numerous old buildings and before the freeway was built that bypasses the town, this was the main highway north - south between Brisbane and Sydney.

The Clarence River. It has one of the largest catchments in Australia.

It's normally a very peaceful placid river.

The river floods easily and a barrier protects the town from smaller floods. One of the recent floods must have been higher than the barrier because we couldn't find an open petrol station. The pumps had been ruined and the tanks filled with flood water.

We were getting very low in fuel and had to drive twenty miles or so until we were directed to a petrol station that was open. Only one of their pumps was working. The nearby major town of Lismore was flooded twice and recovery is going to take a long time. Parts of the city may need to be relocated to higher ground.

You can read more about flooding in Lismore here.

Once we got out of Sydney, most of the drive was quite easy. Two or more lanes in each direction and not much traffic. Because of speed cameras, everybody travels at close to the speed limit and it's relatively peaceful compared to I-95.

We finished up doing 6276 km. We were very glad we did the trip but we think we won't do it again. It's a lot of driving and it's probably easier to just fly to some big city such as Melbourne and rent a car.

Since I retired 12 years ago, we investigated several of the towns we passed through as possible places to move to from the US. At each place, we decided Hervey Bay was better. It was wonderful to return home with the peace and quiet, the ease of driving around, and the morning sun on the beach.

However, the main impression we had was just how beautiful Australia can be, particularly with so much green after all the rain of the past few months. You just have to appreciate gum trees instead of the European or American trees.

Sydney

 Let me just say that Sydney is by far the worst city to drive in of all the major cities in Australia. There are some freeways that are not free, but if you approach from the north or west, it's usually a winding hilly narrow street with two lanes in each direction. Of course, there are semi-trailers and buses to contend with as well. Red lights abound as well as speed cameras and 40 kph zones outside schools. Pedestrians have the absolute right of way on zebra crossings.  

It's always busy and particularly horrible at rush hour. If you are staying in an inner suburb or near a train station, parking is impossible. So the answer is not to bring your car to Sydney. Since we had to, we found an Airbnb that offered free off-street parking and except for driving for a couple of miles to restaurants for dinner, we did not use our car.

Here is a link to the listing. Since it is run by the Salvation Army, they don't allow booze but we simply had wine at the restaurants where we dined.

The local station, Stanmore, was just 200 meters away. Train service in Sydney is very frequent and the carriages are comfortable.

Just to prove we were in Sydney.

We took a ferry to Watson's Bay and here is the view back to the sky-scrapers.

A seaplane at Rose Bay. Believe it or not, this was Australia's first International Airport when Qantas started Sydney to London flights that used seaplanes in 1938. More history here.

A toilet block at Watson's Bay. It's quite common for toilet blocks to be painted with murals.

The Gap, just a short distance from the ferry terminal. Unfortuntely, it's a popular place to commit suicide and there are numerous signs prompting severely depressed people to call and seek help.

View of the Harbour.

View of the Harbour spoiled by two interlopers.

Taking the ferry back to Circular Quay.

Those pesky interlopers are back.

A seaplane taxiing out to take off.

Almost airbourne.

Up in the air.

As we walked from the station back to Stanmore House, we passed Montague Gardens.

It's a very shady area with very old trees and it would be a pleasant place in Summer.

There are numerous swings for children and looks like a restful place. The suburb of Stanmore appears to be a quiet and peaceful inner suburb, except when planes form nearby Sydney Airport fly over.

We enjoyed staying at Stanmore House and I suspect we will contine to stay there when we visit Robin in future.

Narooma to Kiama

 We had a relatively easy day where we visited one of my old school classmates near Moruya. It's always interesting to hear what happened to them during their lives and this one was no exception. He made a good career in the Australian Army and finished up as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Gary Donahue. He joined the Army after working in a bank and in Vietnam, he did a lot of logistics work with Americans. That was his route to success when he returned to Australia. When he eventually left the Army, he became a consultant. We meet at the reunions, but conversations are relatively short. It's wonderful to have a few hours to find out more.

Mystery Bay was less than inviting on a gloomy day. In sunshine, it looks marvelous.

It didn't improve looking south.

Or inland.

A nearby lake.

We drove down to the inlet in Narooma.

These are Australian Pied Oystercatchers according to Marianne.

We stayed in Narooma for a week several years ago and one evening we had dinner by the inlet. It is wonderfully peaceful.

Marianne is developing a fondness for toilets with murals.

The entrance to the inlet.

Rain and gloom to the north.

And to the south.

We walked out on the southern groyne. You may notice seals lounging on the rocks to the left.

I was intrigued by the iron handles inserted into the rock to allow easy placement.

A golf course lines the cliffs.

Did you know that seals stink?

It's amazing how high they can climb.

A curious youngster.

Walkway by the inlet.

The water was not particularly clear this day but when we were there last, it was easy to see fish and a stingray. Sharks also enter the inlet on occasion.

We thought seriously about possibly moving to Narooma years ago, but it's a five-hour drive to Sydney.

We then drove to Tuross Head, a few miles north. The coastline is beautiful in this area.

The effects of wind.

Interesting house overlooking the water.

And the old weekender next door.

Norfolk pines are common in this area.

While I had a nap in the car, Marianne was out there looking for the Loch Ness monster.

It looks like a seal to me.

She also took a photo of the same tree. Mine was better.

We stay just south of Ulladulla that night in a Discovery Caravan Park that had cabins. We were really pleased with our cabin and will try them again sometime. It had a kitchen so we were able to cook a meal for ourselves instead of eating out, which was most welcome. It was much better than a motel room and very quiet.

Ten years ago we did a house exchange in Narrawallee, just north of Ulladulla. This was the path to the local beach.

Not much had changed though it was not all that attractive on a rainy day.

If you want to see the beach at its best, click here.

Decent size waves.

Further north was Gerringong. The cemetery has a wonderful view.

We visited here in 2007 and the town has grown considerably. It has now become trendy, so we would fit right in.

To be honest, we could not afford to live there since it is a holiday region for the wealthy in Sydney.

Just a few miles north is Kiama. Fifty years ago when I first stopped there, it was small and quiet. It's now so trendy that the overflow had to go south to Gerringong.

The lighthouse is still there on the headland.

And the blowhole was quiet that day.

I can't say I enjoyed the drive from the Victorian border to Sydney because of the rain and it was a relief to arrive at our lodging in Sydney which is in a very nice self-contained apartment, Stanmore House, run by the Salvation Army. It's close to where Robin lives and we have off-street parking which is quite a problem in the area since it is close to a train station.

As you might expect, booze is not allowed on the premises.