Lake Eyre- Home to drought and flooding rain

For the first time in excess of 30 years as if by way of a desert illusion Lake Eyre’s estimated 400 to 500 million tons of dry salt pan last year was briefly covered to a depth of 5 meters in water to realize its status as the largest ephemeral lake system in the world simply teeming with new life. For If you were to take just a cup full of soil from below the surface to add water amazingly that small single sample would yield hundreds of varieties of vegetation from the seeds and fish hatchlings from the eggs even after laying dormant for hundreds of years.

The birds were instantly aware of this rare event and swarmed in their multitudes to claim their share of nature’s temporary bounty as scientists scratched their heads to ponder how they were able to locate the water so quickly from so far away. It is estimated that such an event attracts well in excess of half a million water birds to Lake Eyre including even the common variety Seagulls who fly 650 kilometers from the coast to set up their breeding colonies.

But many became stranded in such a short lived bonanza as the last of the youngest new born pelicans left it too late to depart as their food supply rapidly dissipated with the onslaught of evaporation as soaring temperatures in summer inevitably always reach the mid fifties Centigrade or 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Their fate was sealed in the form of piles of bleached white bones to serve as a salutary reminder of nature’s grim reality. By summer all that remained were residues in the highly salty sub lakes as the desert bloomed .

Lake Eyre Basin is the lowest point of the Australian continent to stretch across the most arid area covering a land mass equivalent to the combined area of France, Spain and Portugal and home to only about 60,000 people – principally grazers’, miners and Aboriginals living in small settlements. Many hardy tourists flocked to the region last year to see what they envisaged was a once in a lifetime experience but amazingly this year we are witnessing a repeat performance. Torrential rain in the far North this year caused floodwater to travel down the dry Coopers Creek – to create one of the few remaining pristine occasional wild rivers flowing alongside desert terrain on either side whose rainfall barely manages 5 inches per year before finally filling up Lake Eyre. The birds have returned but avoided last years gatherings postions where some perished, opting instead for narrow island pockets of land within the lake itself.

I wonder if indeed we need to believe in miracles when nature itself seems so miraculous. Click here for pictures. The punt used to traverse the Coopers River was last used over 30 years ago when the dry creek bed was last filed with water.

The Australian landscape I think was essentially captured by possibly our most famous poet Dorothea Mackellar whose poem ’My Country ‘rallied against the prevailing English nostalgia at the time to relish her new found fondness for the Australian landscape. The poem has become an Australian favourite.

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die-
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold-
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land-
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand-
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.

Dorothea Mackellar

River cruise

The Watershed ( highest point of the cruise) and presentation of certificates. The stadium in Nuremberg where Hitler addressed his troops and Hitler youth. Castle ruins at Heidelberg.
One of the 60 Castles along the Rhine river gorge.

River Cruise

Crusing along the Danube through the Wachau valley. The magnificant baroque Cathdreal at Passau and a street scene in Regensberg.

River cruise

Above is the cathedral at Cologne, the giant monument to celebrate German unification in 1870 and grape growing on the hills below at Rudeshiem.

Au revoir

Our cruise which encompased almost 1900 KM of waterways was over so it was time to say au revoir to those with whom we had shared our meals and many happy exchanges. The cruise linked 3 rivers 5 countries, 4 capitals and 68 locks. By then you are familiar with all of the 115 passengers and crew whose unexpected family friendly atmosphere adds to everyone's good spirits.

Click to enlarge the picture and read the caption of new found friends.

Au revoir

Betty & Bill were good company with whom we shared many a laugh. Bill as a Canadian seems to have an Australian tendency not to take himself or others too seriously so earnt the nickname Blinky Bill (Blinky Bill was the Koala character of a childrens story ) for seemingly disinterest in long winded stories. Another Australian presented Bill with a Blinky Bill Badge. I will post more pictures once I'm able to sort through our large collection.

Heidelberg & other Ports

Interestingly enough on the cruise we have not made friends with the Aussie contingent but rather 2 Canadian couples and others from Florida and California with whom we share breakfasts or sumptuous dinners.

After Wurzburg and Wertheim (largest city of Franconia whose origins date back to 1000 BC) our next scheduled stop was the city of Heidelberg. We docked at Miltemberg for a full day excursion to Heidelberg via a bus trip, to visit the castle and old town. The ship then continued on to Aschaffenburg which we rejoined from Heidelberg via the Autobahn. It costs 3,000 Euro for a drivers license in Germany and drivers are usually well behaved with limits of 80Kpm for Lorries, 100 kph for our Bus and cars wiz past unrestricted on the autobahns up to 240 kph.

Heidelberg is fondly remembered for Sigmund Romberg's 'The Student Prince' but Anne's humming of the tune ' When its Summer time in Heidelberg' was at odds with pouring rain and lush green scenery. Spring is very late coming to Germany this year after an uncharacteristically long severe winter according to the locals. We completed our tour of the castle perched high above the city (312 steps for those keen on walking) which included an interesting visit to a nearby pharmacy museum. The museum provided a comprehensive display of medieval applications based upon the premise of the 4 humours; body, blood, phlegm and black and yellow bile. Depending whether or not you were in balance and having regard to the stars and seasons dictated the treatment to add or detract in such a way to restore equilibrium.

After returning to our boat the weather improved as we left the narrow Main river to enter the busy Rhine and our next port of Rudesheim whose 10.000 inhabitants receive 3,000, 000 visitors each year. We enjoyed a cable car ride up to Niederwald recreational area for a view over the sloping vineyards onto the city located on the opposite bank and land which extends on for a further 200 Km annexed to Germany following the defeat of the French. The impressive Monument erected on the site celebrating German unification in 1871 stands proudly 114 feet tall.

Cruising the Rhine in the afternoon we passed by 56 castles and the dangerously shallow and narrow section known as Lore - Ley which prompted this poem by famous German poet Heinrich Heine. Heinrich Heine

The Lore-Ley

I know not what it should imply, that I am so forlorn;
A tale from times so long gone by
From my thoughts will not be torn.
The air is cool and it darkens,
And the Rhine does calmly flow;
The peak of the mountain sparkles In the sinking sun's last glow.
The most beautiful maiden so alights,
But wondrously up there.
It blazes, her golden bow, She combs her golden hair.
She combs it with golden comb
And thereby sings a song;
A seeming wonder-tome
With a melody violent-strong.
The seaman in his tiny yacht
It grasps with wilding woe,
He looks not at the rock-reefs as he ought,
He looks only up from below.
I believe the swells do devour,
In the end, both skipper and skiff;
Smitten, in his final hour, By the Lore-Ley with her riff.
-- translated Robert Clarke, 2001

Watershed

Our next 2 ports were Passau and Regensberg; cities of Celtic origins. In Passau we listened to an excellent organ recital and experienced the mighty power of over 17,000 pipes - the largest over 20 feet and the smallest the size of a thumbnail. The charm and mood of Regensburg was reflected in the sentiment depicted on a large sign -' Better to spend 3 times the amount restoring a 1,000 year old building than to build a new one the same size .'

After Regensburg our landscape changed to one of open meadows en route to Nuremberg via the newly created Main Danube Canal access which flows into the Main River and then into the busy Rhine.We reached the high point of our cruise along the canal at 134o feet (406 metres) above sea level and celebrated with a glass of champagne then presented with an 'A' class sailors certificate by the Captain. Since Budapest sailing was always against the current and assisted by numerous elevated locks but now on our downward leg the situation is reversed until our final docking at Amsterdam which is below sea level.

Excellent features of the cruise are the frequent updates and formal presentations on a variety of topics to keep one informed about forthcoming visits; varying architectural styles and more recently Germany history from the creation of the 3rd Reich to modern day unification between East and West presented by a political scientist. We toured the city of Nuremberg by bus and on foot experiencing the older city sections which were protected against invaders with a high perimeter wall and moat which proved impenetrable during the Middle Ages when ruled by wealthy merchants. The city was also the focal point for the meeting place of Dukes and Counts who swear allegiance to newly crowned Emperors. Seeking to replicate this past seat of power and because of the excellent rail network to everywhere within Germany Nuremberg became the ideological centre for the rallying point of the 3rd Reich. We visited an unfinished Coliseum and the Stadium where Hitler appeared to address the huge rallies of the military and Hitler youth. Our Tour Guide explained that in the first 2 decades after the end of WW2 the dark past was not discussed but then the full history including visits to former Concentration Camps became an integral part of the present day education system.

Our next port was the charming city of Bamberg which is afforded UNESCO listing for its historic medieval buildings which survived untouched by bombing during WW2 - unlike Nuremberg where 93% of the city was destroyed. The Bamberg people have a devotion to St Kunigunde, the wife of King Heinriach 11 and Empress of Bamberg from 1002, who they believe caused a cloud cover to prevent bombing

River Cruise continued

Vienna, inhabited by 1.7 million, lived up to expectations as the cultural capital of Europe; everywhere there are the reminders of the rich history such as the Hapsburg dynasty, Franz Joseph - but none more so than in music ; Figarohaus where Mozart received a visit from Hayden and where a young Beethoven first applied for music lessons.

We visited many historical places of interest but our highlight was the evening concert performed in the same building where Strauss first performed his waltzes. The splendid concert was presented in the original style of Joseph Lanner and Strauss who led the orchestra from the first violin. The ever popular tunes played included those from the golden era of Viennese Operetta such as the "the Bat' and Gypsy Baron and was complemented by individually sung arias from Mozart.

After we sailed from Vienna we docked later at Melk for a visit to the monastery.Melk monastery was fashioned in the baroque style which was designed for high emotional appeal- which is evident in its dazzling decorative architecture. The monks have lived and worked in the Abby for over 900 years which today is also used as a school for 800 students. Today it is occupied by 30 monks and the Abby attracts 600,000 visitors each year.

Budapest

Currently we are in Budapest to soon commence our river cruise to Amsterdam after flying in from Singapore. We noticed the expansion in Singapore since last there in 1983 whose population is now about the same as Victoria. The expansion has been up (high rise) since the small island land mass means it only takes you 40 minutes to drive from one end to the other. Getting around is easy with an excellent rail and bus system costing only $2 a day.The locals were friendly with mainly Chinese complemented with Malay and Indian influences to reflect traditional Asian values which tend to be more rules based than western systems. Even so a young man flashed by as we were walking under a bypass oblivious to the large $1,000 fine intended for those who failed to dismount.We enjoyed our stay to experience the best of the old and new with a river cruise and to view the incredible display at the Asian Cultural Museum.

Today we visited Budapest which is a city of 2 million and the capital of Hungary. In reality it is an amalgamation of 3 older cities with the not so blue Danube separating distinct cultural areas.The oldest city was Obuda built on the site once occupied by the Roman town of Aquinicum and boasts 123 hot springs. The Danube separates Pest - the largest of the three which is medieval in character with a fortress wall and houses the main business centre located on the eastern bank. Budda is located on the western bank built after the Mongol invasion in 1241.Our next port is Vienna