Merry (Aussie) Christmas !! #3 – 2014
Luke, aka Snorkel Santa We just finished our 3rd Aussie Christmas. It’s mid-summer down here, and an eight week school break, so the Aussie’s all take off to the beach for an extended summer holiday. They are really into Christmas as well, so the familiar trappings of (plastic) trees, Santas and Christmas carols are everywhere. […]
The Blue Mountains and a return to Sydney
The Blue Mountains- Luke Love! Sydney aerial We’ve been busy down under, settled into the inevitable daily routines of school, work, meals, laundry…..just living life. But every so often a really great opportunity comes along and we try our best to grab it. I had scheduled a Royal Flying Doctors Aeromedical Retrieval course in Sydney. […]
Winter Road Trip North– Up the Central Queensland Coastline- The Whitsunday Islands
Nolan family hello, from Whitehaven Beach Urangan Pier, Hervey Bay It’s now winter in Australia. The kids had a two week winter break in July, so we headed north along the vast coastline of Queensland, to get to some warmer weather… I guess we’re getting soft; mid-60’s just don’t cut it anymore..:-) ! Here, north […]
Our Southern Neighbor: New South Wales. Coast, Rainforests, Granite Belt Uplands
Coff’s Harbor from Muttonbird Island Luke and Claire on Muttonbird Island I got a recent offer to work as a Locums in the ED at Coff’s Harbor, a 5 hours drive down the coast from Brisbane in northern New South Wales. As it was school break, the hospital was kind to provide me with a […]
DDU Does NZ #3- Queenstown North to Christchurch
Aoraki/ Mt. Cook, 12,320 feet over Lake Pukaki Lakefront Kiosk I really don’t want to bore any of my fine readers, but the final leg of my NZ South Island adventure deserves a decent run-through, as it’s a very different environment once you leave Queenstown. And perhaps you’ll pick up a few pointers as you […]
DDU Does New Zealand #2- Hiking the Milford Track
Custom bus, Queenstown to Lake Te Anau So, onward to conquer the Milford Track…or, maybe not. First though, a confession. I’ve hiked backcountry all over the planet for over 30 years. Everywhere from Alaska to the Andes. Slept in a lot of rainy, muddy places and ate marginal food while swatting flies. Loved almost every […]
Aotearoa- DDU Does New Zealand….! Part 1
Hiking up the Clinton Valley, Milford Track, NZ Hard to believe it’s been six weeks since I returned from an 18 day solo hiking/ road trip on the South Island of NZ. Stephanie and the kids were back in the US for Christmas and January, I worked over the holidays, and then took the opportunity […]
Cheers! Part Three: “Rad”elaide and the Adelaide Hills
Welcome to “Rad”elaide… Botanical Garden main gate Welcome to Cheers! Part 3. Thanks for staying around…Tonight’s offering might be a little below my usual standard for scholarship and careful fact checking. I’m off solo to the South Island of NZ tomorrow at 0600, for 18 days. Bags packed, now only the waiting… I pick up […]
Cheers! Part 2: Barossa and Clare Valleys
Aussie Christmas, Sevenhill Cellars View west from the Blickinstal B&B Coming north through the Adelaide Hills, the windy roads straighten and flatten out and you arrive in an entirely different landscape, the broad, open, sunny and fertile Barossa Valley. This is the epicenter of the SA wine industry, which was begun by Prussian/ German immigrants […]
Cheers! Part 1: McLaren Vale and the South Australia wine country
Old Vines…cheers! Airbourne, sans children! More than 3 times closer to the South Pole than NY!! Stephanie and I recently had a chance to get out and see another part of Australia, the vast and dry state of South Australia. I had a five day EM conference in Adelaide and Stephanie came along for five […]