February
Australia - Day 9 blog
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By Tamara Connell
[Apologies for a late posting on these last few days - I got a bit sick]
Day 9 started with our last breakfast in Thredbo. Leaving our little home away from home, we ventured south now… checking constantly on the latest fire reports. We drove through areas devastated by fire - just brick chimneys standing where there once was likely a house, a barn, a play yard for the children. We drove along, humbled by nature’s power.
Further down the road, we encountered entire ‘forests’ of standing black trees - created, we assumed, by the changing water tables and salinity of the Murray Darling River Basin. Stopping at Hume Dam, we heard about this river basin and the challenge of balancing pre-existing water rights during a time of long-standing drought.
Next we took a tour through the Barnawartha Biodiesel Plant, where they are converting tallow to market-quality biodiesel for use in Australia. They have a great process, using or selling almost every single by-product of their entire processes.
From Biodiesel to Wines - we spent some time getting an introduction to (and taste of!!) organic and biodynamic wines at Pennyweight Wines. What I found most interesting here is that somehow their products have been more or less left alone by ‘pests’ and birds. No netting is needed for their grapes - which sounded like a large savings in terms of both time and materials.
Finally this evening ended with an outdoor dinner, sauna and swim at the luxurious Lindenwarrah Estate, an elegant 5 star resort adjacent to a vineyard. After many nights of YHA bunkbeds (although for a youth hostel, YHA is quite good), having my own bed with crisp sheets was heavenly. Zzzzz.
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We had been hearing about the fires while holed up in Thredbo village but for me this was the day when the reality of the bushfire devastation really hit home. A few things that stuck in my mind:
- The tragedy of seeing ‘For Sale’ signs by the side of burnt out farms. Clearly people were looking to sell up before this disaster for whatever reason.
- The irony of passing “Slippery when wet signs” as we drove through a blackened, parched landscape.
- the sight of charred kangaroos by the side of the highway
- a blood-red moonrise, the result of ash in the air
- fires visibly dancing on the hills a few kilometres away, fanned by gusty winds as we swum in the pool that night.
I was recently asked to give a quote about Hållbarhet 2009 for the next issue of The Stepping Stones and thought I could post it also here and take the chance to thank you the incredible efforts you did to put this incredible event togheter. Here is the quote…
“Hållbarhet 2009 was an entirely amassing and empowering experience – an overwhelming cascade of professional and emotional highlights. One of the most breathtaking moments happened in Thredbo. Sitting there with the group, in a video conference with other MSLSers around the world, I suddenly felt a profound inner peace. I realized on an even deeper level than before what a force we now have on our side – an utterly competent, self-organizing, unstoppable “sustainability virus”. I also felt very proud for having some part in the creation of this force.”
Thank you so very much for everything. You make all the efforts of our program team so meaningful and worthwhile. To me you are, together with my family, the primary source of inspiration, energy and hope.
Göran Broman