Angela'S Trips

[Angela Bauer]

Hi Everyone,

It is getting toward Spring in Australia and New Zealand. That means Don and I will be going there for more koala and numbat documentaries. It would be ideal to reach French Island, Victoria very early in November. Spring is established, so the koala are seriously thinking about mating season. Young koala have separated from their mums. The best, most adorable photos and video of free koala are made before they notice rangers in uniforms. Once the round-up starts koala get shy.

The big event in Victoria is the Melbourne Cup Race, on the first Tuesday of November. The State of Victoria takes that as a holiday. Think of the World Cup and the Super Bowl being the same weekend in the same city. There are no spare hotel rooms in Victoria for a day after the race. Last year we deliberately flew into Sydney, spent a day with friends, then drove down to Melbourne well after the race to avoid the crowds. Last year I had 6 weeks vacation so there was no rush.

This year I cannot leave until 14 November our time. We will be flying non-stop to Melbourne. We are going to spend a day each at the Melbourne Zoo and at the Healesville Sanctuary before turning in our rental car. The documentary crew will pick us up for the drive to the French Island ferry. Maybe I will be able to find some bold young koala before they spot rangers. Once the koala to be re-located to hall's Gap have had their veterinary exams, we will follow them. It is interesting to see koala leaving their transport crates and getting used to their new home. While in Hall's Gap we will find some of the koala re-located there in 2009. From Hall's Gap we will be driven back to the Melbourne Airport for the flight to Perth. Probably we will only spend two nights in the field with the numbats because we have lots of meetings with experts and authorities in Perth. From Perth we fly back to Melbourne to connect to a flight to Wellington, New Zealand. Originally we expected to spend a lot of time in Christchurch, where I have never been. We are told so many construction people are there tourists are discouraged. So we will explore more of North island before flying home on 14 December NZ time.

So any of you who live near Melbourne, Perth of Wellington are welcome to send me PM if you want to have a meet. Last year we did that in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Everyone had a good time. As the dates get closer I will contact all who are interested with our exact schedule.

Like last year I will be wearing Tena underpants and slips while Down Under. I will buy those from local dealers.

[square_duck]

Take me with you! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

I've been dying to go down under for years and would LOVE to go to new Zealand

I don't take up much room, and don't eat much...I can even pay my way and such.......

Please...

Please....

P*L*E*A*S*E

I hear Koala Bears are very cuddly....just like ME!

*cough*

[Angela Bauer]

Take me with you! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

I've been dying to go down under for years and would LOVE to go to new Zealand

I don't take up much room, and don't eat much...I can even pay my way and such.......

Please...

Please....

P*L*E*A*S*E

I hear Koala Bears are very cuddly....just like ME!

*cough*

Hi Square Duck,

Should space become available, you have first dibs!

Let us hope you are way more cuddly than the average koala. Actually hardly any koala like being petted, never mind being cuddled. Unlike some species of monkeys, koala do not groom one another. In fact they do not hang out in groups where they can be recognized. So say that when it gets dark, so humans assume koala are eating leaves, what they really do is un-zip their koala costumes, leaving those posed high enough in trees nobody notices. Then in just their regular slender bodies they converge of road houses where they can drink as many stubbies (cans of beer) as they can afford and eat meat pies with sauce until last shout. That gives them enough time to climb back into their trees, put on their furry costumes and go to sleep. Humans assume koala are drunk all the time anyway. so the myth continues.

Yes, in Australia many people, including rangers, refer to koala as "bears" The term for the way some attractions earn money from tourists is "nursing a bear" which means letting a tourist, for a high price, hold a fairly tame koala for a photo. Those koala are rewarded. Some apparently make a career of being "nursed" More conservative koala refer to those as "sell-out 'Ho"

Previously I forgot to mention that I am carrying my laptop on the expedition. When I have the chance and an internet connection, I will be participating in DD.

I also forgot to say that from dawn on Sunday 7 November until late afternoon Saturday 13 November I am teaching a continuing education course on litigation presentation and electronic media support. On that trip I will not have enough privacy to visit any AB/DL sites. Sorry about that.

[DailyDi]

Fun! have a great time!

[timmyc]

Would love to see a picture of you with a Koala

[AlliR]

Have a great time Angela! Regards to Don.

AL

[TheMagicDragon]

The cost to ship a duck in a perforated cardboard box on a transpacific flight into tommorrow? $142.99 + insurance fees

A piccy of Square_Duck fending off amorous drunken numbats? - PRICELESS!

[square_duck]

Hi Square Duck,

Should space become available, you have first dibs!

Let us hope you are way more cuddly than the average koala. Actually hardly any koala like being petted, never mind being cuddled. Unlike some species of monkeys, koala do not groom one another. In fact they do not hang out in groups where they can be recognized. So say that when it gets dark, so humans assume koala are eating leaves, what they really do is un-zip their koala costumes, leaving those posed high enough in trees nobody notices. Then in just their regular slender bodies they converge of road houses where they can drink as many stubbies (cans of beer) as they can afford and eat meat pies with sauce until last shout. That gives them enough time to climb back into their trees, put on their furry costumes and go to sleep. Humans assume koala are drunk all the time anyway. so the myth continues.

Yes, in Australia many people, including rangers, refer to koala as "bears" The term for the way some attractions earn money from tourists is "nursing a bear" which means letting a tourist, for a high price, hold a fairly tame koala for a photo. Those koala are rewarded. Some apparently make a career of being "nursed" More conservative koala refer to those as "sell-out 'Ho"

Oh my GOD thats funny! I had no idea you had such a silly (awesome) sense of humor! I love the "sell out 'HO' hehehehehe

and as for the "amorous numbats, its better to fight them than a bunch of 'amorous' dingbats! or numbskulls!

Thank you Angela for yor response and for making me laugh...I can just see those sneaky koalas slipping into town to get a drink or 3..I imagine they get rather thirsty just sitting up in the trees all day eating eucalyptus leaves all day...ugh! I'd need a beer too

and the ell out HO is just hilarious!

I hope you have a G*R*E*A*T trip, and get some great footage of these wonderful critters. Weather they like to be cuddled or not, they are still adorable....and I imagine it's fun to watch them in their native habitat. What a treat and privilege!

{waves}}} and {{{{{HUGS!!!}}}}

qwack

[leafgoalie]

Wow .... that sounds like a wonderful trip!! I know you and Don will have a great time! My Leafs are looking better this year ... how are the Ducks shaping up?

Enjoy the time down under!

[Angela Bauer]

Hi Leaf, the net minder!

Sad to say neither of us has been to a Ducks game this season. I am working especially long hours because I will be teaching a continuing education course in litigation technique from 8-12 November, flying out to do that on 7 November. I get back from that trip on 13 Nov and we leave for Australia that same night.

Don and I hope to catch a couple of Ducks games in January.

Wow, your beloved Leafs are off to a good start. This well could be their season. There are still many games to be played. It should be interesting. For sure NHL is exciting. It is possible that while we are in Perth we can attend a cricket match. The few cricket matches I have attended were a lot of fun.

Wow .... that sounds like a wonderful trip!! I know you and Don will have a great time! My Leafs are looking better this year ... how are the Ducks shaping up?

Enjoy the time down under!

[Angela Bauer]

Hi my fellow Daily Diapers members!

Tonight is the last time I will be sleeping at home until we return from Australia and New Zealand about 22 December. Tomorrow morning I fly out of town but still in the USA to teach a class until early on 13 November. Then we catch the plane to Melbourne that same evening. Probably I will not even have time for a nap at home!

Once we reach Australia I will do my best to post progress reports. All of you members who have contacted me will get individual e-mail confirming when and where we will be eating together.

[Angela Bauer]

Okay, here it is 14 November and I am still at home. What went wrong? Don and I had reservations for a direct flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne the evening of 13 November.

Some of you might have read or seen on TV reports of mechanical problems with the Rolls-Royce engines of A380 long-range planes. All of the Qantas A380 are still grounded. There are also some problems with engines on 747 planes. This has resulted in a lack of seats to Australia in general, especially non-stop service between LAX and Melbourne.

While I was away teaching the class out of town, Qantas contacted Don to say they were having difficulty re-booking us on another flight. Qantas are wonderful people and they are doing their very best under difficult conditions. All the still cameras and lenses we had previously shipped to Melbourne by our freight forwarder/customs broker are there and have cleared customs. Right now they are being securely stored by our freight forwarder until Qantas can find us seats.

The downside is that the re-location of koala must proceed as scheduled. The Australian crew who will be doing the actual video recording might just have to start doing their thing marvelously without Don being there in person. Don has been in contact with them. He has total faith they can press on until we get there.

This also means I probably will not be able to meet the AB/DL pals in Melbourne, which greatly disappoints me. The good news is that we fully expect to also be in Melbourne in November 2011.

[square_duck]

UGH! That sucks! Sory to hear of the hitch in your travel plans That just makes a trip like this more difficult. I also can't imagine a non stop flight from LAX to Australia! !/2 way around the world in an airplane....GAD! . I flew to japan back in 1970 when I was 9 and we had a lay over in Hawaii, and that was bad enough...I cannot imagine being stuck in a plane for 13 or more hours....but I guess thats progress.

Hope they get things fixed in time for you to be on your way and you don't have much more delay. It sounds like a fun adventure, and one I hope to make one day.

Good luck

[Angela Bauer]

UGH! That sucks! Sory to hear of the hitch in your travel plans That just makes a trip like this more difficult. I also can't imagine a non stop flight from LAX to Australia! !/2 way around the world in an airplane....GAD! . I flew to japan back in 1970 when I was 9 and we had a lay over in Hawaii, and that was bad enough...I cannot imagine being stuck in a plane for 13 or more hours....but I guess thats progress.

Hope they get things fixed in time for you to be on your way and you don't have much more delay. It sounds like a fun adventure, and one I hope to make one day.

Good luck

The first few times I flew to Australia it was on older 747, so there was a re-fueling stop in Hawaii, which only took about an hour. The first trip I made to Australia after I married Don was in 1992. We deliberately scheduled the return flight so we could get off the Qantas 747 in Honolulu, clear customs there, and spend a couple of days on Molokai. That way Don could show me his island, the place where Hawaiians go to escape tourists!

With the introduction of the advanced 747 which have a longer range, LAX to Sydney non-stop became possible. The A380 can carry more passengers or have a longer range, more than enough for LAX to Melbourne non-stop. The flight time is about 15 hours. Flying West the darkness goes along with us so it is comfortable to get quality sleep on the plane. I have never flown in an A380, so I am still looking forward to doing so ASAP. Personally I have faith in Qantas and Rolls-Royce jet engines. Probably we will be on a different route going there. But, I might get lucky for the return. Qantas might well have solved the engine problems by late December. Since we are scheduled to fly from Melbourne to Wellington, NZ, then a round trip from there to Christchurch and the return flight to LAX, I assume the return would not have been on an A380 anyway.

A really good friend of ours is a judge in Los Angeles. His idea of vacation is to fly vast distances for a long weekend. He was one of the first to fly out of LAX on the A380. Trust me, he brags about the A380 at every opportunity. Unfortunately we have not seen him in a few weeks, so I do not know how he feels about the engine problems. I do know he went somewhere on an A380 operated by an airline that uses the other brand of jet engine, but since until recently that was not an issue, we have not discussed this with him.

Actually I am sure within our family Eukie was the most disappointed about the delay. For over a month Eukie has been bouncing off the walls in excitement about seeing his koala relatives. Eukie has often told me about growing up in Hall's Gap and sometimes playing in the snow there in July. Of course that was before he moved to the USA and adopted me about 1978. I have reasons to suspect Eukie is very happy here. For example, there is a eucalyptus tree on our property much taller than any on French Island and most in Hall's Gap. Eukie sees that tree daily and has never tried to climb in to take a nap in the branches. According to the keepers at the Los Angeles Zoo, our tree is considered prime grade A feed for Victoria koala. They come and collect branches to feed their koala. So you would think if Eukie was all that homesick he would have a go at his own tree. Out in the field it can be very hard to understand what one koala is saying to another. It is like they talk in code so non-koala cannot understand. Eukie is polite enough to translate for me. I am not saying he does not always tell the truth. Perhaps he is more interested in protecting my feelings that being word-for-word accurate. Just from being around koala so often I understand some of their lingo. I believe one of the Hall's Gap bound koala was telling another she did not believe Eukie had his very own eucalyptus tree. Bummer about that because she would be an adorable mate for Eukie.