Christmas 2020

Well - what a year it has been! From enormous climate-change-enhanced drought and bushfires; to an over-population-induced global pandemic with its lock-downs and faltering economies and a shake-up of the cruise industry; not to mention a New Zealand volcanic disaster on White Island, and an American election and all the Trump-enhanced hysteria that brought. The press must be exhausted and feeling washed-out – we the public certainly are. And more than ever, we flounder in an overly-complex world with no star of truth or reason to guide us. Won’t it all just go away? Unfortunately not - so you had better strap yourself in for 2021!!!! 

Last Christmas seems so far away – we spent it in New Zealand with our daughter Janet exploring the south of the North Island. We started with a visit to Mt Egmont, a spectacular but rather staid volcano. Then we hired two kayaks (Janet brought her own) and spent 7 days floating and paddling about 150 kilometers down the Wanganui River – a fantastic restful and scenic time with virtually no contact with the outside world except a small number of fellow adventurers.   This included having a remote campground to ourselves on Christmas Day, and plenty of space in other campgrounds on the other nights. The Whanganui trip is promoted as one of the Great Walks in New Zealand, and the river itself is sacred to the local Maori people, and a truly special place to visit. The river has enough current to make paddling easy most of the time, and lots of rapids that are reasonably straightforward and fun to run safely.

Getting ready to go - will it all fit??

Scenic camp spot above the river - we each had our own tent.

Looking ahead to a quiet stretch

NZ morning mist - we were very lucky with the weather.

Typical fast water and rapid

Admiring our Christmas tree

After our paddle, we visited the Tongariro National Park with its amazing volcanoes, great walks, the cable car ascent of Mount Ruapehu with great views - not to mention the great buffet lunch at the top.  We spent our final few days in New Zealand with Carol Smith, a Bribie cycling friend who has moved back to New Zealand and now is happily settled in Waipukurau the Hawkes Bay area (SE coast of N Island). and reasonably close to her family.  We returned home on 3 January.

The second-part of February we enjoyed a visit from Joyce’s brother Alan and wife Linda from Calgary, Canada. We spent a few days with them enjoying Bribie, then took eight days driving with them as far as Newcastle where we returned home by over-night train while they went on to visit Linda’s relatives in Sydney. As the growing concerns over the COVID pandemic cancelled the cruises they were booked on to return to Canada, they further explored southern Australia and the bushfire damage for a few weeks before flying back to Canada just as borders were closing.

The next event in our lives was the arrival of Joyce's new E bike.  Joyce's old bike 'died' of old age (16 000 km in just over 3 years) and a bit of neglect (i.e. rust!) during Alan's visit.   Joyce was able to pick up the new bike the day after we got home form Newcastle.  Since the bike was just plain black (with a large Riese Muller logo), Joyce use some of the paint left over from painting a large mural at the Art Centre last year to transform the bike, even before its first outing.   The new bike has already gone over 4000 km, proving its value as a true freedom machine.

Bikes are central to our way of life on Bribie for day to day transport, and both of us ride a couple of times a week with our local bike group, the Bribie BUG .    Probably about a third of our bike group of almost 100 members now ride ebikes.   These bikes help us all keep active and social, and maintaining joint flexibility, especially knees and are especially valuable for hills (very rare on Bribie) and strong headwinds (all too common). 

Our COVID lockdown started on March 23rd and shutdown the Butterfly House and golf and lots more – “State and Federal officials have said people should only leave the house to go to work or study, to exercise, to get essential supplies or medical care.”     We enjoyed our simplified lives, and and especially appreciated being able to exercise freely.  We  kayaked, and went on long bike rides and bush walks together to many places on the Island that Bob had never visited, and Joyce hadn't visited for a long time.  It was great to be able to take time to observe as we wandered, and we became especially fascinated by spiders and spider webs.




During the lockdown, Bob applied for grants for  vinyl flooring in the laboratory of the Butterfly House, and for solar panels. Both applications were successful with installation in the latter part of the lock-down when things were on maintenance and quiet. He also kept busy working to juggle finances to keep the Butterfly House ticking over without visitors to pay the bills.

By June 28th lock-down provisions relaxed sufficiently for the Butterfly House to reopen to the public under a SafeCOVID plan and with provisions limiting visitor numbers. Bob announced at the midyear AGM that he would be standing for his last year as Secretary and Treasurer of the Bribie Butterfly Volunteers (five years is enough), and he has started handing over his treasurer duties to a couple of enthusiastic helpers. The greater freedom has allowed him to increase his golf

playing to 3 or 4 days a week. 

Happy backyard frog

Our backyard pond - which fills about half of the backyard of our townhouse.

A few weeks into the lockdown, we had curtail on our happy 'exercise' explorations to give us time to drain, rebuild and reline our backyard decorative pools after a seam in the original 18 year old liner started leaking.  Many of our little frogs have returned and both they and us are enjoying the renewed vegetation in the pond.  So far we have seen up to 8 of them croaking loudly in the evening and early morning.  We also finally had time to do some paving of a weed-infested garden in the body corporate area, which now looks much tidier.

Most of Joyce's activities have also resumed post-lockdown - playing the recorder weekly with both a small group on the Sunshine Coast, and the Bribie Island Orchestra, a weekly Laughing group on the foreshore (now in its 13th year), a Christian meditation group, a weekly Wu Tao exercise group and a meditation group at the Art Centre Labyrinth which has evolved to include a very rewarding poetry sharing and lunch group.  Her poetic musings for this group, which summarise much of
her philosophical journey over the past months can be found here.  

Backyard greenhouse

A New Zealand snowman!!!

With Christmas approaching, we have some snowy scenes to share - though they are from Janet's garden in NZ of a late (and very short lasting) snowfall in September. Janet has now been in NZ for 2 years, and is enjoying life there - except that the current travel barriers to Australia are making her aware that NZ is not Australia, and she is slowly having to learn to love two homelands at the same time and like all of us, to face a world where our freedom to travel is greatly reduced. Craig is still happily living in Toronto Canada where he moved to just over a year ago.

Our civilisation this year seems to have reached a real turning point, whether you interpret the year as focusing on controlling a dangerous pandemic that has been reasonably well managed in Australia (as Bob does), or as economical and socially destructive hysteria and unnecessary and ineffective lockdowns over a virus that is not particularly deadly, and has resulted in little if any 'excess mortality' world-wide (as Joyce does).  This bringing to focus the long-standing major questions on why people choose to trust (or not to trust) a particular source of information - and the big mystery of 'what is the truth'?  And in the background of it all are very worrying changes in the Arctic and our weather patterns that will probably affect our future much more and much sooner than the virus ever will.

Perhaps the best way to close the year's musings in a world where our uncertain future makes every day is a blessing is the words of Lennon and McCartney:

When I find myself in times of trouble

Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom

Let it be

And when the broken-hearted people

Living in the world agree

There will be an answer

Let it be

For though they may be parted there is

Still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer

Let it be

And when the night is cloudy

There is still a light that shines on me

Shine until tomorrow

Let it be