Xavier Rudd

I finally had the chance to see Xavier Rudd last night in concert and all I can say is... listen to me now, friends and family, far and wide... remember his name - when he plays in your area back home (and he does), do everything you can to see him.

He takes everything you may have heard from folk music, rock, jazz, and lifts it to a brand new level... all with his own personalized instruments that he is incredibly happy to sit amongst when he plays his own music for you.

It's one of the most incredible concerts I've ever been to (and Dave, you know I don't spoon that around lightly) and here's a few pics...

Xavier Pics

I never so much fun breaking my toe!

G'day to all my friends and family :)

I just came off of my 4 day weekend and it was an incredible one! Well, nearly... if you ignore Thursday when I spent the day catching up on house and paperwork.

On Friday I went up to Tablelands to check out a place called Lake Tinaroo; it's a manmade lake created by a dam and was entirely a boring paddle because the lake is surrounded by farm land created decades ago before man figured out clearing the rainforest for cows wasn't such a great idea. But come evening time, I was having dinner and drinks with Kim and Digby at their place on a hill that looks out over the Coral Sea. Kim's an American raised in New Hampshire (Rye Beach - how small a world is that?) and she married Digby, an Aussie she met in the States. It was a wonderful evening.

Saturday was an afternoon paddling Lake Eacham with my friend Jeff, who is over here with his wife Megan - both fellow Americans from NM (I did my undergrad in NM... small world again) doing some studies. He's a geologist and she's an ecologist - and we had an awsome time making our way around the circumference of the lake; so here are some pics:

Lake Eacham is an extinct volcano that is now a lake surrounded by rainforest and the pics you see are: 1) Geologist Jeff, an incredible guy who knows more about reptiles than I ever will, 2) a picture of a female Forest Dragon if you look close enough (click on the pic Meghan :), 3) those big leaves hiding in the vines are those of a Stinging Tree - be careful of these... if you brush against one and get stung by small thorns at the tip of each of the jagged ridges of this heart-shaped leaf, you're doomed to experience muscular and arthritic-like pain for the next 6 to 12 months! and 4) That's me at the base of a really big tree... where's a botonist when you really need one?

Sunday was the most funnest time in a long while when I went white water on my kayak down the Baron River with a couple of experienced paddlers. Bless their hearts, they took their time to explain to me how to best maneuver down each rapid and what to do if I was tossed from my sit-on-top boat. And as promised, they were there to help every time I got tossed :) And in the end, I made it through 2 rapids and got tossed by the others - Doh! But it was an incredibly exciting afternoon. So exciting I didn't even realize I had broken a toe on one of my falls until we were loading our boats back onto our racks. And no worries Pat, we'll be paddling the lakes so you won't be going home with any broken toes :)

That evening was spent with friends having dinner and drinks back home by the Coral Sea... 4 Americans, 2 Aussies, and a hell of a good time!

Anyway, that's my weekend in a nutshell. Life is good and I miss you all back home.

Cheers, Matt :)

Lake Eacham Pics

All my hopes

I awoke this morning to the horrific news about what happened in Blacksburg, VA and feel helpless to do anything but offer my hopes and prayers for everyone back home after such an assault on humanity. The pain is real and we feel it around the world.

I love you all.

Back to Lake Placid

Yesterday's paddle was so enjoyable I invited my friend Kathy along for another venture today. She hadn't paddled in a while but it came back to her like riding a bike as she christened the orange boat. There was a bit of rain, but even the rain is beautiful over here.

I hope you enjoy the pics of kayaks in action... and Happy Easter.

Cheers, Matt :)

Kayak Pics

It's a beautiful day in the Paddle-hood :)

G'day to my friends and family back home :)

With the end of the wet season coming near, it's getting easier to find days like these to get out and explore some more of Oz. Today was a wondrous day with only spotty showers, so this morning I headed out to Lake Placid for a paddle. It's a nearby lake that is a small outshoot of the Baron River that the salt water crocs rarely venture into and is constantly surveyed by the park service so it's nothing like Hollywood's Lake Placid ;) Folks swim and paddle in there all the time and it's a must-do when you come to visit because there's nothing like seeing Oz from the water.

And armed with my camera in my brand new dry bag, here are some pics of today's little adventure. The first pic, obviuosly, is my yellow kayak resting on tote wheels; it's whole lot easier than hauling a 25kg boat for a few hundred yard walk to the launch and you pull it along like a little red wagon with all your gear stowed onboard. I also have an orange kayak that fits easily on top for the haul down to a paddle with a visiting friend or family... hint - hint ;)

Pics 2 - 4 are of the scenery as I paddled. As you can see, the rainforest comes right down to the edge of the lake and there's a few spots where you can paddle under the canopy... it's absolutely awe inspiring! And the last pic is of a Spectacled Monarch (or White Bellied Flycatcher) standing on a rock in the middle of the lake. I tried to get a closer picture, but it flew away, apparently inspiring a couple of more Monarch to dive bomb my boat... Doh! But if you click on any of the pics, you can enlarge it for a closer view.

The adventure continues... Love and miss you guys. Cheers, Matt

Lake Placid Pictures

Still on Dry Land :)

Heya folks back home.

No worries... we're high and dry, as I'm sure you've heard on the news by now :)

Here's a pic from the top of Glacier Rock showing the Trinity Bay area (my beach is off pic toward the left) about 18 hours before the Tsunami Warning was issued this morning. The main wave was projected to hit our area a little before 10am so most folks evacuated to higher ground (or tried to... the traffic was horrendous) and waited out the wave that never came - just bit of a rise in water level (~ 1 foot). We all hung out at work because it's elevated and there's a knoll called Earl Hill between the coast and our clinic; but you can imagine the electricity in the air.

Anyway... Alls well that ends well. Have a great week!

Cheers, Matt :)