Some of the sights of Sydney

Our visit to Sydney is pretty much over so I figured I would take a few minutes to recount some of the high lights of our 2 and a half day visit.

An advantage of staying in the down town core is that you are within minutes of all the main sights that Sydney has to offer, especially the Opera House and the bridge. On my previous visit here, back in February of 2008, I was in Sydney for less than a day but spent most of my available time walking around and got to see quite a bit. We stayed at the same hotel as I did that trip (the Radisson on O’Connell) and were down to the harbour within 10 minutes. Janice wanted to see the zoo, as already reported, and others had recommended a ferry tour of the harbour. So we bought tickets first to take a ferry to the zoo for Sunday that also included the ability to hop on and off the ferry where ever and when ever we wanted in a 24 hour period. And we bought tickets for a buffet lunch cruise of the harbour for today, Monday.

While in some ways we got to duplicate the same areas two days in a row it did have the advantage of being able to provide additional insights the second time around. The reason for this is that while we had not planned on taking advantage of the hop on-hop off portion of our zoo tickets we did and got to see everything from Darling Harbour, to Fort Denison, Shark Island and Watson Bay, including a view of the entrance of Sydney Harbour and the Pacific Ocean, many of which were repeated with the luncheon cruise.

Here is a view to the west as we took the ferry to Taronga Zoo:



Out in the middle of the harbour is a small island on which, back in the 1850’s, they built a small fortress called Fort Denison to help defend the harbour and which is now a National Park:



As the city is built all along the harbour and as it is so large we got to see parts we would not have seen any other way. Here is a short video that shows most of the south side of Sydney Harbour, including the Royal Australian Naval base, downtown Sydney, the Opera House and the bridge. Pardon the commentary as I have not altered what was recorded at the time. While we looked at getting tickets to a performance at the opera house there wasn’t anything available in the price range we were willing to pay for Madam Butterfly.



Here is a picture of the bridge from the west side as our ship was moving into Darling Harbour, the next cove on the harbour west of Circle Quay (or Key as they commonly pronounce it here):



And here is a picture of a reconstruction of the Endeavour, the ship that Captain James Cook (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook) was aboard when he came across what is now Sydney Harbour, located at the Australian National Maritime Museum on the west side of Darling Harbour:



Here is a view of Darling Harbour looking north with shops on both the west and east sides followed by a view of a paddle wheeler, one of two, docked at the east side of the harbour, just north of the bridge you can see in the first photo:



Another “tall ship” that we saw is the James Craig, a steel hulled sailing ship from the late 1800’s that is still in use today. In fact they were just getting ready to sail out just before we left Circle Quay this afternoon:



So this brings to an end of my latest commentary. It has been an interesting trip. I have no idea if either of us will ever be this way again. Sydney, while I enjoy the sights, is just too expensive to spend much time visiting. Outside of going to MacDonald’s one can expect to pay close to $20 and over for just a burger! Maybe we are seeing just what the tourists are expected to pay with better prices elsewhere, but somehow I don’t think so. Personally I am glad to have given Janice a chance to see the place too but if I ever come back again myself that will be too soon. Shame to say that for such a beautiful city but it seems you have to be a millionaire to live here (both Russell Crowe and John Travolta own places here). Apparently the median price for a 3 bedroom bungalow is around the $350,000 mark but don’t expect to be any where near water. Noumea is much more affordable in comparison from a travelers perspective. Now, that is one place I would go back to if I ever get the chance, even if I have to learn to converse in French!

A Day at the Taronga Zoo

One of the highlights of Sydney is their Taronga Zoo. We booked passage by ferry to the zoo with our tickets including admission to the zoo. It is about a 15 minute ride over with a stop along the way at Fort Denison, a small island in the middle of the harbour with defensive battlements built in the 1850’s. The zoo itself is built upon the side of sandstone bluffs with an excellent view of Sydney proper:



At the zoo they have the usual collection of primarily African animals (lions, gorillas, etc.) with a smattering of others from around the world such as Asian elephants and a Kodiak bear. But what we wanted to see were examples of Australian wild life and there they did not disappoint! At one of the first stops along the serpentine trail down the side of the bluffs was a building with platypus. While it would have been nice to take a picture they are nocturnal creatures and as a result their enclosure is kept fairly dark and not conducive to photographs without a flash.

But right next door is an area where people can pay an extra fee to get up close and personal with several varieties of Australian animals, in particular Koala’s. That we did not do but we did get to see the Koalas, even if they were mostly snoozing! Here is the most lively of the bunch that we saw:



And of course what would an Australian zoo exhibit be without Kangaroo’s and Wallabies! We learned what the difference is between the two in that Wallabies have more pointed snouts. Here is a picture of a Wallaby:



Another native animal, or at least native to the island of Tasmania, is the Tasmanian Devil who are currently under stress in the wild due to the presence of a cancer causing virus whereby, once infected, they usually die within about 6 months. Right now the zoo, in partnership with other Australian zoos, has a breeding program ongoing with the hope of raising enough disease free Devils that they can start releasing them back in the wild. Here are a couple of pictures of a pair of juvenile Devils and a single one:



And here is a video of an emu getting a bath!:



So far the visit to Sydney has been an interesting one. The city is far more people friendly than say, Toronto.

Adieu la Nouvelle Calédonie!

Well, our visit to New Caledonia is at an end! Both Janice and I were shocked at how fast the second week went by. We had a good time here, especially since the weather has cooperated quite well. Janice managed to get around town a fair amount by bus; there are two lines that both go downtown with one traveling right in front of the hotel.

Both weeks here she joined an informal group of English speaking women residing in Noumia who try to meet every Thursday at a place called The Coffee Club, afterward some of the group go to lunch.  A fair number of course have husbands connected in some way to Vale so several are from the Sudbury are. Here is a picture of Janice with the group at lunch this past Thursday:

One of the popular past times here is taking advantage of the usually present breezes. This includes wind surfing and sailing, but also includes paragliding and most spectacular of all (to me) is kite surfing! Here is a picture of a paraglider suspended above Ouen Toro, the high hill just behind the hotel:

And here are some kite surfers just off the point beside the hotel:

One thing we noticed is that Noumia is a popular destination for cruise ships such as this one:

On Friday, the day before we left for Sydney and the beginning of our return trip to Canada, we went out for supper with our hosts Andre, Stacey and their young son John. We were late getting to the restaurant due to some miscommunication problems and so had problems getting a table at the restaurant that was chosen which continued with we not getting our meals to almost 2 o’clock! Here all of the businesses seem to run on very laid back schedules. For example, Andre and Stacey had been trying to buy a car for the last two weeks. One day they went to a used car dealer ship at lunch time. Well, the dealership was closed for lunch too, but for two hours! And while many of the super markets sell beer and wine the have odd hours for when they can sell them. For example forget about it if after lunch on Friday and Saturday!

Before I close here is a picture of Andre and his family at the water front:

It has been a great visit and both of us would certainly like to come back if we could but that is probably unlikely. Still it is a lovely place and without a doubt we both felt very comfortable here, even with the struggle speaking French. I am still amazed at how much French vocabulary I remember from grade school but even so I had a tough time stringing together enough to even strike up a casual conversation. But with rare exception most people here could speak some English so that was not a major impediment.

A Day On A Coral Island

Well, here it is, just over the half way mark for our stay in Noumea, New Caledonia. I had a good first week becoming familiar with the data I need to process, the scripts I will be using to process with as well as a review of what the job I will be doing entails. I spent my time with Andre, a former colleague with the department I used to work for with Vale who is now responsible for long term planning here at the Goro mine.

We have also met his family consisting of wife Stacey and young son, John. Having only recently moved here from Brisbane, Australia, they are adapting well to life here in New Caledonia. Stacey has also shown Janice around and helped introduce her to some of Noumea’s finer points.

They hosted a party at their apartment yesterday that Janice and I were also invited to attend. We had a good time meeting some of the people that are parts of their lives here, whether from work or just acquaintances.

Today, Sunday, September 23rd, Janice and I spent a good part of the day over at Iles Aux Canards, a small island out front of our hotel that we had been told provides excellent snorkeling of the local coral reef. We walked over to the local water taxi depot and took a boat over to the island. I will be the first to admit that we were not well prepared! Here is a picture of the island from the main land:

While I should have known better the island is the result of accumulations of storm produced fragments of the local coral barrier reef. While we were expecting coral sand instead we found ourselves on an island made up primarily of chunks of coral that make walking in bare feet difficult! Should have brought water shoes! Here is a picture of some of the detritus in front of a set of loungers we rented:

Even so we did manage to get in the water to snorkel and the advance billing was pretty much bang on even though we only saw a small part of the local reef. Wherever you find growing coral there are a multitude of fish; small ones, large ones, blue, yellow and all colours in between! I only recognized a small number such as brightly coloured parrot fish. Here are a few pictures showing some of what we saw:

I would have liked to have taken more pictures but I hadn’t made sure the seal on my camera case was clean and so some water had started to leak in. Fortunately not enough to harm the camera.

Off to Noumea, New Caledonia

I have started a big job through my consulting company for a division of my former employer, Vale. This will involve updating several resource models. But before I can begin, the job requires a site visit so Janice and I jumped on an airplane and flew half way around the world to Noumea, New Caledonia.

For those of you who do not know where New Caledonia is check out this link:
https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=noumea,+new+caledonia&hl=en&ll=-22.309426,159.038086&spn=27.944094,53.569336&geocode=+&hnear=Noumea,+South+Province,+New+Caledonia&t=m&z=5

While here for the 2 week site visit we will be staying at the Royal Tera hotel. Here is a view of the bay from our hotel room followed by a view of the hotel from the other side of the bay.

 

And here is a short video showing our suite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-5cc_fJJrIk

Right now we are enjoying some R&R recovering from the flight over. I will post some updates during our stay here.

Living with Nature!

One thing about living where we are is that there is no shortage of natures creatures that we live with. Out at camp we have quite a few snowshoe hares that like to graze on our lawn.



Or dragon flies, some that seem to hover in the same spot, like this one, for minutes at a time!



Or the hummingbirds that come to our new feeder.



Or the chipmunk that comes for peanuts that he will take right from out of your hand.



And I can’t forget the Spruce Grouse that came to inspect my yard work one day up close and personal!



And at home, besides the white tailed deer that frequent our place we also have a ground hog who has taken up residence under one of the sheds.



An occasional pileated woodpecker drops by to check out the grub situation.



And our most recent visitor, a lynx!



The town motto is “Nestled in Nature” and they are not kidding!

A Busy Summer

It is amazing how fast this past summer went by! I suppose one reason is because I was pretty busy with my various home renovation projects. And during that time I also acted as general contractor for some renovations at my mothers place as well as trying to maximize time spent at the summer camp.
At the end of July Desiree and Daelyn spent some time with us out at camp. Desiree had even come with a to-do list of activities she hoped to accomplish. I can say with confidence that we were able to do them all, from blue berry picking, making a pie, to metal detecting and fishing!

Here they are swimming with Janice:



Daelyn enjoyed herself down at our little beach digging in the sand:



And how can someone be camping and not roast marshmallows!



As usual the fishing was pretty good too as the small mouth bass were very cooperative!



I took a big bite out of the home renovation master plan by finishing to lay the new bamboo flooring in all the rooms except for the kitchen plus painting the master and spare bedroom. On the outside I took advantage of the fact that Jordan came to stay with us for almost a month and a half. During that time we stripped off the rest of the siding, put up foam board insulation on the 3 sides that had not yet been done followed by plywood sheathing. Then we took out the last of the old windows, replaced them with new and then put up house wrap. I then finished up by replacing the soffits and fascia as well as a new storm door on the porch.

Here are some pictures I took at various stages of the exterior work.

Jordan stripping off siding from the west side:



The house with the foam board, plywood sheathing, new windows, house wrap, soffits and fascia plus new gutters installed:



The next job planned is to put up either siding or some other exterior finish but that will be next years project!

In addition Jordan, myself and by sister Nancy and brother Stephen put up siding on 3 sides of my mothers house. There we did like at our house in that after the old insulation was removed we put up foam board insulation followed by plywood sheathing and house wrap before installing the siding.

Here is the south side of the house after the siding had been removed.



And here is Jordan screwing down the plywood sheathing on top of the 2 inch foam board on the north side. Together with the house wrap this will make her place much less drafty as well as warmer come winter time.



Here is Nancy finishing the south side with siding:



And Stephen and Jordan doing the same on the North side.



And here is the back:



Now our mother can live more comfortably this coming winter. Next year our brother David will act as general contractor as we will need to replace the roof!

Let there be Lights!–installing a solar electric system

It has been great having our camp out at Firehill Lake, especially since it is only about a 10 minute drive from our house to the camp. While there are poles in place and telephone service available there is no hydro power. The poles installed were designed to manage hydro as well but issues cropped up such that no power has been yet been brought in.

I did spend about a year trying to get that off the ground again, including doing a survey of the existing pole line. But Hydro One, the public utility responsible for construction and maintenance of the public electric distribution system, have proven to be anything but helpful. For example they were insisting that all the cottage owners at the lake put up 25 years estimated maintenance costs ahead before they would proceed. This doubled their estimated cost of installing the power line with the estimate being guaranteed to be +/- 50% of the actual cost. This therefore made this totally fiscally unreasonable.

As I wanted to do some of my consulting work while out at camp I decided to spring for a small solar electric system. Nothing too elaborate with just 3-190 watt solar panels, an inverter, a 300 watt true sine wave inverter, 4-6 volt deep cycle batteries and an auto-transfer switch if and when I wanted to run off the generator.

After doing a careful site study I decided the best thing to do was to make an external battery box and box to host the electronics as I don’t have enough room in the camp and the small shed hosting the generator is too far from the solar panels. Both to be placed on the outside of the camp.

Prior to installing everything I built the two boxes, primarily out of 1/2” pressure treated plywood that I had on hand. The battery box I built just large enough for the four batteries plus 2” thick foam insulation as I will be leaving everything there during the winter time too. The electronics enclosure is large enough so that none of the components inside is cramped and with a sloped roof to shed rain.

The first thing I installed was the battery box. I have it on frame made of pressure treated 2x4’s strong enough to support the weight. The batteries fit inside just like a glove when the insulation is in place!

Next came the wall mounted box with all of the electronic components: Blue Sky Energy Solar Boost 50 charge controller, Morningstar Sure-Sine 300 watt pure sine wave inverter (as will be powering electronics I wanted good clean AC power), circuit breakers for the charge controller, the grounding plate and a 30 amp auto-transfer switch (when the generator is fired up the charge controller and the rest of the solar related components will be isolated from the camp to prevent any electrical damage.

Once in place it was time for the wiring. While not complicated, my supplier gave me very good sketches and made sure all connections were colour coded so that there would be no mistakes.

Once I was happy with all of the connections I then installed above the electronics box high up on the wall, just under the cabin eave, a combiner box whereby I tied in the feeds from the panels to a single output lead to the charge controller.

Next came the installation of the panels. These I just fastened using the provided clips to the roof right up by the peak. Fortunately the roof slope angle is very close to the 20° that my provider recommended as being the most optimal all-season angle for our latitude.

Then I ran all of the leads to the combiner box. Now this is where I ran into one minor snag; my supplier had pre-attached all of the wire needed to each of the components with extra to allow for margin of error, except for two of the panels! Each was about a foot and a half short! So I spliced in some heavy gauge wire that I had on hand and made the final connection.

The last step before powering it on by flipping the breakers was the installation of a simple on/off switch inside the camp so I could turn the inverter on or off as needed as it will draw a little bit of power even if in stand by mode. So at night, when nothing is running, there is no sense wasting battery power on an inverter that isn’t being used!

The moment of truth went flawlessly! I turned on the breakers below the charge controller, then went inside and turned on the switch for the inverter. I checked out my cell booster that I had installed last year (as we are on top of a large hill the cell signal here is rather poor) and it fired up nicely!

Since then I have been out to camp several times with my computer and it is a great feeling to be working away surrounded by peace and quiet and able to overlook the lake when ever I want! Perfect!

I’m now in the Sawmilling Business!

A number of years ago we bought a property near Schreiber, Ontario (http://schreiberproperty.blogspot.ca/). Because of the numerous large white spruce on the property, and because of my long time desire to build a log cabin. But not just any cabin; I wanted to build with squared timbers. Since I didn’t know of anyone nearby with a sawmill I decided to build one.

After much research I settled on buying plans from Procut (http://www.procutportablesawmills.com/). Here is a picture of the mill just after I completed building it.

As I was still working and living in Thompson, Manitoba at the time I hauled it to Nipigon in preparation for taking it out to the Schreiber property, once I had some timbers available, but that never did happen.

When we bought our camp at Firehill Lake two years ago the Schreiber property became redundant as did the usefulness of having one’s own sawmill as there is no suitable timber of the new property.

So I mulled over the idea of selling the mill even though I had enjoyed using it the few times that I had. I know a friend locally with a bush lot and who had a small pile of logs that he wished he could cut into lumber. So I offered to cut them for him on condition that I got a portion of the product. So I hauled the mill out to his place early December of last year and started cutting away.

Using my Procut Sawmill

It sure didn’t take me long to realise that a chainsaw powered mill, while very economical, is not one to rely on for relatively fast output. But while cutting away before long 2 others surfaced who had the same problem: a small amount of wood that didn’t justify hiring a truck to haul to a sawmill but would be suitable customers for someone with a portable mill like mine but with a faster production rate than the chain saw mill.

After more research, and the fact my consulting business has done reasonably well financially in its first 2 years, I decided to diversify my consulting business by expanding into custom sawmilling. So I went to the local Wood-Mizer dealer (http://www.woodmizer.ca/?gclid=COjUlvmO4rACFcHPKgodZTdcVw) and bought an LT35 with the manual log loading package as I didn’t feel comfortable spending the extra $5000 for the fully hydraulic version, the LT35HD.

I set the mill up at another friends place as he had a pile of wood he wanted cut and he was willing to learn to operate the mill when other activities wouldn’t allow me. Here is a video of him operating the mill.

Well, it certainly didn’t take long for me to realise that I had been penny wise yet pound foolish in not getting the hydraulic model as manually handling large logs, especially by one’s self was just an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately Wood-Mizer offers a one-month money back guarantee if not satisfied. And since I was still within that month I took the LT35 back and exchanged it for the LT35 HD. The best decision I could have made as this new machine is absolutely fabulous to work with!

Since I no longer had a need for the chainsaw mill I sold it, although I did keep the chainsaw; a Husqvarna 3120xp. While big for day to day cutting it may prove useful, or I may end up selling it too.

Here is a recent video of the LT35HD in operation.

Since buying the mill I have put on about 60 operating hours and it works great! Having the hydraulic log loading arms is fantastic as are the log rolling, dogging and toe boards, all hydraulically operated. While initial business has been on the slow side it will just take more word of mouth and advertising so that people know that I offer the service. This should provide a fun way of keeping myself busy if the geology consulting side falls onto slow times!