Monday, Nov 14 - Exploring Buderim & Tuesday, Nov 15 - Returning Home

Monday, Nov 14 - Exploring Buderim 

  (pic:  view of Glass House Mtns. from the Scenic reserve)

We had a good night’s sleep and breakfasted on really sweet mangos, eggs and toast on Frances’ porch before setting off in her car so she could show us the area.  We drove south on the Bruce Hwy, turning off at the Glass House Mountains and wound up quite steep hills until we got to Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, an area of about 150 acres of beautiful woodland with wide boardwalks and trails.  This was really a marvelous place:  huge ancient trees, many encased in strangler figs vines, and some just the empty column of fig vines, the tree having since died and decayed. 

 We saw many birds including the brilliant red and green King Parrot, pademelons, very small kangaroos the size of a Labrador retriever, jumping through the woods, and an 8’ Carpet Python curled up in the sun, digesting a large lump of some small creature.

  We walked though groves of densely-packed, very thin palm trees, some enormous rose gums, and beautiful and varied fungi.

After three hours, we emerged and had a light lunch at the café of toasted cheese, chicken and avocado sandwiches.

Frances than drove us to the small village of Maleny.  This area is full of very pretty small towns with art galleries, book stores, and other interesting shops.  One strange characteristic of these towns is the reverse parallel parking…imagine backing into a parking spot!  Frances, of course, could do it easily, but I’m glad I didn’t have to.

We continued our circuit and stopped in at the pottery studio of  Michael Pugh, from whom she has bought several pieces. It was the most marvelous studio imaginable!  A large room in the middle of a forest, open on all sides.  Piles of clay, a potter’s wheel, kilns and lots of lovely bowls, trays, teapots, etc.  Almost inspiring me to go back to throwing pots!

(pic: Frances' possum which appeared after we left!)

We returned to Frances’ house for a rest and then set out to the tidy village of Buderim, for a delicious dinner at Thai Frenzy (our 47^th anniversary).  Afterwards we looked out on Frances’ porch to see if we could glimpse the possum which frequents the area but she never appeared.  We also went on the look-out for Cane Toads which have recently invaded her little frog pond – a real menace to all of northern Australia for the last 30+ years, but fortunately we didn’t see any so didn’t have to dispatch them (you put them in the freezer).

Tuesday, Nov 15 – Returning Home

Bob and I got up at 6 AM, Frances gave us a nice breakfast and we reluctantly left Buderim at 7.  We whizzed down towards Brisbane on the four-lane motorway until we got to stop-and-go traffic, caused, strangely, by two cars about 1 km apart which were stalled in the fast lane making all sorts of trouble for everyone.  Once past them we got to the rental car return for the International Terminal, checked in at Qantas,  boarded about one hour late,  settled into our two-abreast seats in the very back of the 747 and watched some very interesting movies.  We were served a very good dinner and after about six hours of sleep a good breakfast and there we were in LA!

We drove home in another rental car, picked up Miss Maddie, who appeared in very good shape, and are now wading through mountains of mail and laundry!

Another adventure completed!

XXXXX, Katy

Sunday, Nov 13 - Driving to Buderim

Queensland doesn’t have daylight savings time, so it gets light at about 4:30 am!  We managed to sleep until about six and got up and packed.  We tried to get into the executive lounge on floor 23 for a free breakfast, but our key wouldn’t work in the elevator - Miss Hamlin’s magic doesn’t work that far - and so went downstairs for a bite to east and got egg scrambles with chives, roasted tomatoes with pesto sauce and toast.  We then did a trial walk to Europcar to see if we could manage to drag our suitcases all the way to our rental car, and found it was just around the corner!  We rented a nice tiny Hyundai and returned to the Hotel to check out.  We rolled our luggage over, hopped in and were off, and found getting out of Brisbane to be very easy.  In short time we were on the Bruce Highway north to the Sunshine Coast!

We were making such good time that we detoured a bit and drove past some amazing volcanic plugs, “Glass House Mountain”, down Steve Irwin Way, past his Australia Zoo.  We headed towards the coast, very flat right along the water, resembling Florida with marina water-front homes and lots of retail.  Bob and I reached Rt. 70, turned inland, and the land immediately became hilly and more interesting. 

Using Goggle maps we wound around leafy suburbs until we found Frances’ street and very attractive house.  There she was and we hauled our stuff inside.  The house is open to the breezes on all sides with a large veranda on the east side.  The guest quarters are upstairs and have a wonderful view of the tops of the palm forest behind her house.  (pic:  Australian Brush Turkey, from Frances' porch!)

We had a delicious lunch of salad and quiche on her porch and took a short walk down the side of her property which runs into park land, so she has seen many birds from her porch.

Frances drove us to nearby Buderim Forest Park, where we took a 2 mile hike through gum trees on boardwalks, past a waterfall and great swimming hole.  We saw some birds but since it was Sunday the park was a little crowded, but we got a good walk in anyway.

Frances’ friend, and my email correspondent, Lyn, came over for dinner carrying champagne and white wine which went perfectly with the chicken, asparagus, and potato casserole Frances prepared.  Macadamia nut ice-cream with mango and other fruit were served for dessert.  Dining outside in the lovely warm evening air was wonderful!

(pic:  Lyn bravely shows off a beetle visitor)

Saturday, Nov 12 - Returning to Brisbane

We got up at a leisurely 6:30, and by the time we went up to the restaurant, which features an actual plane!, everyone had already left for their 7 and 9:30 flights.  We had a very pleasant breakfast of meats, veggies, pineapple three ways (grilled, raw and in a star fruit syrup) and brewed decaf Cappuccino.  As we brought our stuff up to the reception desk to pay our bill, we saw David who was coming to put us on the van for the 5-minute ride to the airport.  We said our goodbyes and thanks, and took off with Leonard and the others who had assisted us when we first came to Port Moresby.

We got our tickets and waited a while before going through immigration and customs as we didn't want to be stuck in the departure lounge if our flight was going to be hours late, but Air Nuigini was right on time this day and we boarded without problem at 1:30. 

The flight took three hours; we were served a good lunch, and free drinks.  We landed at 4:30 and cleared customs after a little questioning as we had declared several items (coffee beans, muddy boots) that Oz was concerned about.

We got a taxi to the Marriott, and I guess, because Miss Hamlin is such a big cheese at Marriott, we were handed glasses of champagne as we checked in.  Not bad, as we discovered later that a glass of champagne costs $20 from room service! We repacked into our rolling suitcases, ordered a sandwich from room service and went to bed.

Friday, Nopv 11 - Returning to Port Moresby

(pic:  view from our hut)
Bob and I got up at 4:30 and saw that it was overcast, but not raining.  We got our gear organized - a little difficult as much of our stuff was wet from hiking in the rain yesterday - and put our checked luggage outside our hut, and went to breakfast.   We joined Joe to drive up the road once again - everyone else elected to sleep in a bit!  David, Michael our driver, and Joseph our guide, drove us up past Bailey Bridge and stopped at a particular point where we got a good look at Princess Stephanie’s Astrapia, a long-tailed black Bird-of-Paradise with a patch of turquoise above the bill and a coral necklace low on his breast, a real beauty, sitting on a branch high in a tree!

We returned shortly and joined the others, loaded up and set off across the valley at 8 AM to the small town of Tari, which consists mainly of the airport (international!) surrounded by a high wire fence and open markets.  We watched a steady stream of people walking by the airport, most in colorful western dress and others with grass skirts, hair wigs and face paint. 

One particularly colorful fellow very efficiently helped unload our luggage and process us through.  David stood in line for ages with our passports, and finally returned with hand-written boarding passes!  No wonder it took so long!

We sat on the bus for about an hour and then went into the waiting area: a lovely open-air thatched hut.  After about an hour our Air Nuiguini  Dash 8 arrived and we very shortly filed on board, only an hour late.  We took off over the Tari Valley and could see thousands of tiny agricultural plots before disappearing into the clouds.  It became partly cloudy and the huge flat delta area appeared with multiple winding river channels and a very occasional tiny settlement.

We landed at 2 PM and were immediately shuttled back to our old friend, the Airways Hotel, where we dashed up to the seventh floor for a quick lunch by the pool.  David had had our luggage delivered to our rooms and had given us our keys, but we couldn’t get ourkey to open the elevator door and had to walk down a ways to access the hotel where we cleaned up a bit.

We met the others in front of the hotel and climbed aboard the bus for a tour of Port Moresby.

  David first took us to see the fascinating Parliament building with its amazing mural of all aspects of life in PNG painted on the front wall.  We then drove to an area of coastline where the houses are built up on stilts over the ocean. 

 These were the original settlements for Europeans and are still occupied today.  We drove along a pretty ocean-front walkway with lovely views of islands in the distance.  Traffic was pretty bad, but then, it was Friday at closing time.  The New Guineans are very friendly and people were waving and smiling at us throughout the drive; men even picked up their babies and waved their babies’ hands at us!  The city has the typical messy tropical feel to it, but with its lovely hilly topography and open space and public art, it’s quite charming.

We assembled at 7:15 for our Farewell Dinner, and with much wine and beer and good food, said our goodbyes and agreed that this was a unique and wonderful adventure, with many thanks to David Bishop for his enthusiasm, great ears and eyes, and ingenuity in making all the complicated logistics work!

One couple is flying to New Britain to snorkel, others are going to explore the Cairns area a bit and we are returning to Brisbane for the night and then visit our friend, Frances, who lives about 60 miles north of the city.

Thursday, Nov 10 - Birding the Ambua Lodge Grounds

We got up at 4:45, dressed and found that it was raining fairly hard as we walked to breakfast.  It looked as if it might rain for a while so we sat in our room which works pretty well as a bird hide, and we managed to see a couple of Smokey (or “embarrassed“) Honeyeaters, grayish mottled birds with a large naked yellow face patches that turn red when they are excited.

The rain gradually lightened and several of us birded around the grounds and walked a ways on the wide well-constructed trail down to the river below the hotel.  About 10:15 we took off in the bus up the road to see if we could pick up some more Bs-of-P.  We saw our old friend, the King-of-Saxony, on his regular perch.  David walked a short ways on the Benson Trail, so named for a former bird guide at the lodge, and suggested that the ones who wanted to walk on a muddy trail join him!  We set out in quite deep, slippery mud, due to the recent rain, and David played a tape of the call of the Chestnut Forest Rail, and two started responding to the tape.   We walked off the trail through very wet forest and stood stock still while he played the tape once more and in walked the lovely brown rail about 8” tall with long legs.  We only saw it for a few seconds before it walked away again and we slogged back to the bus.

We stopped a short distance on and again walked into the forest, this time a moss forest, perpetually wet, and everything, ground, trunks, and branches, dripping and covered with mosses, ferns, and bromeliads .  It was a real fairy-land and one could imagine hobbits and trolls living there.  We didn’t see any more rails, but it was a lovely area.

We returned for a lunch of quiche and salads, had a brief break and then most of us set off at 3:30 on the full river trail - a couple of miles long.  We set off in sunshine on the Lodge driveway, meeting a local man in full tribal dress on the way. 

 We entered the trail which follows a waterway delivering water to the hotel from the river.  We passed over the first of three hanging bridges constructed of boards and poles and all strapped together with vines.  It was beautifully designed, although quite narrow and we had to watch our steps.  We saw some lovely birds like the black, white and yellow Sclater’s Whistler, and then the rain started up again!

  This time quite hard, and even with rain jackets and umbrellas, everything got quite wet!  We continued on over muddy rocks and tree roots, crossing two more bridges and coming to a lovely waterfall.  By this time it was past five and getting dark so we hurried back and spread out our wet clothes.  We leave tomorrow and can see that lots of stuff will have to be packed in plastic bags and will be quite a mess by the time we get to Brisbane!

We went into dinner and the place was full - the people with the helicopters and the development people apparently are having a convention here as there were people from the States and Australia meeting.  We lost our regular table and had to squeeze into a smaller one.  Dinner was great, as usual: watercress soup, roast pork, vegetable curry.  Then when dessert was served, the kitchen staff, plus about five of the local Huli men singing and dancing, presented David with a cake to thank him for bringing groups of birders to the Lodge for 25 years!  David gave a short speech in Pidgin to thank them for their gesture!  I think the development guys were pretty impressed!

Wednesday, Nov 9 - Birding the Tari Valley

We had breakfast at 5:30 and set off in the bus at 6:15,  this time heading downhill towards the Valley and its many tiny settlements. 

(pic:  clay wall protecting a settlement)

 There is one main road in the area and small dirt lanes lead off it.  The Valley has quite a bit of cultivated land, mostly growing sweet potatoes and sugar cane in private lots and coffee in more commercial areas.  Almost all land in New Guinea is owned by the many tribes, rather than by the federal government; outside commercial interests, such as timber or oil, have to deal with the land owners and can be kicked off if the tribe finds their actions disrespectful or unpleasant - it would be fun to be able to do that to Exxon!  One’s land and pigs are the most valuable thing one owns and permission is needed to go anywhere.  The small village settlements are surrounded by 5’ high red mud walls, some very old by the size of the vegetation growing on it, to keep pigs and non-villagers out and are entered through elaborate woven gates.  Fortunately with David, who has been traveling in PNG since the 70s, and Joseph getting permission to bird these areas doesn’t seem too difficult.

We stopped at a patch of uncut forest and immediately got two fabulous birds: the male Superb Bird-of-Paradise who was puffing out a large flat disc of iridescent blue-green feathers around his neck - I’d seen photos of him displaying, but didn’t expect actually to see it - and the male Blue B-of-P who had a black head and back, blue wings and tail and extraordinary large white eye ring with a  line through it.

We drove to a lovely riverside area to see some water specialists such as the Torrent flycatcher and Salvadori’s Teal, but neither was present.  A friendly group of villagers gathered around us and when asked if they would mind us taking pictures, broke into big grins and started posing!  With digital cameras it was easy to show them shots of themselves which they enjoyed very much.  They wear a mixture of native dress and western clothes. 

 Several men were wearing leafy wreaths on their heads, some women wore gathered skirts made of natural material (tapa cloth?) and a couple of little kids were wearing short grass skirts, similar to hula skirts except open on the sides. Many of the women have facial tattoos and some had yellow and white face paint.  Almost everyone we come in contact with is very friendly and quite a few are knowledgeable about birds and happy to show you them.  Feathers are still gathered for ceremonial dances, but not enough individual birds are shot or trapped in any one area to damage the population.

We were driving back to the hotel when Joseph was flagged down by a young man who somehow knew that we wanted to see the Papuan Frogmouth.  We clambered out of the van and walked a short way down and through a stream and up the other side a couple of times and found ourselves by some small fish ponds.  Sitting above the ponds on a small branch was the well-camophlaged Frogmouth!  It hunts insects at night, scooping them up with its huge mouth; during the day it sits very still on a branch and with its brown, mottled colors blends completely with the wood on which it is sitting.  A very difficult bird to find!  (pic:  Papuan Frogmouth)

We returned for a lunch of vegetable lasagna and chicken empanadas - very good!  We had until 3:30 of free time so I washed my hair as, with no hair dryers, I didn’t want to go to bed with wet hair and Bob went out and hiked down to a small river valley below the hotel. 

At the set time we took off again in the bus and drove up to the Bailey Bridge.  It was overcast and drizzling off and on which made for poor birding as the birds, sensibly, like to take shelter in the rain.  We did get some more good views of the King-of-Saxony which was great.      (pic:  Long-Tailed Shrike)

We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon and  I bought some locally-made woven hot pads and we changed for dinner.  We met at the bar for wine and the List, and had yet another very good dinner of fish kebabs and roast beef with cabbage.  After dinner we watched a David Attenborough film about his early days in PNG looking for and filming various Bs-of-P - especially exciting to see now we’ve seen quite a few!

Tuesday, Nov 8 - Birding the Road to the Tari Gap

We walked over to the dining room and had a delicious breakfast at 6:00.  Warm porridge, yummm, for me and eggs for Bob.  We met David and the others at 6:30 and due to a change in plans, climbed aboard the bus and drove up to road to above the Bailey Bridge to about 8700’.  The temperature was a very pleasant 60 degrees; a nice and refreshing change from the “green hell” (Bob’s description of the lowlands)!

We stopped frequently and David and Joseph, our new local guide, got us onto some pretty terrific birds!  One of the most impressive was the King-of-Saxony Bird-of-Paradise, a bird about the size of a robin with a black back, white front with an apricot blush in the middle of the breast, and most amazingly, with two long plumes with a serrated edges, more than twice his body length, emerging from his forehead.  He can manipulate the plumes independently and whips them around his body while calling out a machine gun-like rattle.  We were able to watch him for quite a while.

(pic:  King-of-Saxony Bird-of-Paradise)

Another great bird was the Papuan Lorikeet, a medium-size parrot who has a brilliant red head, neck and breast with a blue and black on the back of the head, a green back, and a very long tail, which was feeding on small, equally red, flowers.  He flew up into the air and gave us a great show of his wonderful red colors and his long trailing tail feathers.

We came back to the hotel for a delicious lunch of macaroni with a veggie sauce, lentil salad and a curry.    (pic:  Painted Tiger Parrot, a rare bird!)

We re-assembled at 3:15 and drove past the bridge up to the Tari Gap at 9200’ where we found paramo-like grasslands which actually are the result of logging in the past.  The area is very beautiful with scattered tree ferns and lots of flowers.  We saw a Island Thrush, a large thrush with an orange bill.  As we started down, I saw some movement in a thick tree and got onto a beautiful golden yellow and black bird that turned out to be the Regent Whistler! We continued back to the Lodge with several more exciting sightings.  Bob got ~25 new life birds today!

We assembled for the List at 6:30, munching home-made sweet potato chips and drinking some good red wine, and when the gong for dinner sounded, had some tasty lentil soup, spicy beef on rice and passion fruit cream pie.

(pic:  Ribbon-Tailed Astrapia)