On the Road Teaching: Urunga, Australia—2018

Australia is big. It was a whole day of travel to fly from Perth on the west coast to Coffs Harbour on the east coast. It was twilight by the time Caroline Sharkey, fellow fiber artist and my host for the second half of my Australia visit, took me shopping for a few a groceries for the efficiency apartment I would be staying in. I looked across the parking lot and in the light from the city I saw this flock of birds go by—and it kept going and going and going. I asked what they were. “Oh those are bats.” Fruit bats—seemingly thousands of them—were heading out to forage for the night. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that before. Five nights later, on my last night in Urunga where I would be teaching, I got to see and hear them as they took off from roosting—but more on that later. (BTW, pictured above is sliced polenta with melted mozzarella cheese (mine is a vegan variety), then topped with Vegemite and guacamole!)

Urunga is a short drive from Coffs Harbour. It’s a small town where the Bellinger River meets the pounding surf of the Tasman Sea. A kilometer long boardwalk allows people to safely cross over the sand and strong tidal currents, through the mangrove forests, and to the ocean beach. Perfect for morning walks.

I had my first day in Urunga off to relax before my class began at Caroline’s “Sewing Up a Coastal Storm” Retreat. That morning, I planned to head for the boardwalk, but as I was eating breakfast on my outdoor patio, a kookaburra landed on the chair next to me. He was interested in sharing my food. When I failed to produce anything edible, he made off with my Mother’s Day rose that I had left in the sun to dry. A small price to pay for such an up close and personal encounter with an iconic Australian creature. On the final night when I saw the roosting bats, I also got to hear the kookaburra’s call. It sounded like a troupe of monkeys or maniacal laughter.

I did finally get out to the boardwalk that first morning, and every other morning while in Urunga—it was just too beautiful not to. Starting days like that was a treat for the senses: a visual feast for the eyes, a touch sensation as I dipped my toes into the ocean (which was amazingly warm), and the sounds of the birds twittering away in the trees from sunrise to sunset will not soon be forgotten.

Morning Birds Audio

 

Sunrise Walks Slideshow

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Class

One thing common to both of my Australian classes was morning tea. Around about 10:30 each morning, I might be giving a talk and I’d notice some were getting distracted. They were doing everything except look at their wristwatches. I finally realized it wasn’t (necessarily) me.

“Is it time for tea?” I’d say.

The class would break, then sit for tea and snacks. Unlike here in the States, they wouldn’t bring their cuppa tea or coffee back to sip as they worked—or for me to finish my talk. No, it was sit and socialize for 10 to 20 minutes.

But if that’s what it took, it worked. Take a look at what my Urunga students accomplished in the slide show below.

Student Work Slideshow

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There were two classes going on at “Quilting Up a Coastal Storm,” my own four-day class and another three-day class who were painting and then stitching their creations. A lot of good energy all around.

On the third night, there was a group dinner—including any spouses or friends—at a local sports club. There were a few big screens set up and on the one closest to us, some of my students asked to change the station from the soccer match to the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Australia being a commonwealth of Great Britain, my students were very interested in the Royal Family, and the topic added another layer to the dinner conversation. I doubt I would have watched it at home, but I got caught up in the social drama and ended up watching the rest of the wedding later in my apartment.

Apartment and Birds Slideshow

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One of my favorite evening things was the sound of rainbow lorikeets which swooped around in great flocks their chittering and chattering drowning out all other sounds. They got especially loud at sunset, creating a din as they gathered to roost.

Lorikeet Racket

 

Out and About in Bellingen Shire

Caroline played tour guide my first day in Urunga. We went a short distance along Waterfall Way, up into the Gondwana Rainforest in Dorrigo National Park with its lush trees and tree ferns. The area is called New England (coincidentally, I live in New England as well) and some spots had fall color in the trees. It was the only time while in Australia that it felt like a typical (for me) autumn.

Caroline told me the area was know for public mosaics, and we did see a few examples without really searching them out. The crocodile above, is just a segment of a much longer mural that takes the viewer along a mosaic timeline through natural history.

Sightseeing and Mosaics Slideshow

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And then on the other end of my stay in Urunga, Caroline’s husband Wayne, drove me to a spot where fruit bats are known to hang out. You can just make out their hanging shapes in the photos above. Notice one or two start to stretch their wings for the evening. As the moon rose and night fell, the flying foxes took off and started swooping through the trees. You can see them, and hear their chittering noises, in the video below.

On my way home I had a layover in Sydney until the next morning. After I got my luggage into my hotel room, I set off for downtown Sydney and Circular Quay (pronounced “key”) on the commuter train. Climbing the Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout was something students had suggest I do. I got my steps in that day, let me tell you. But what a view!

Looking back to the ferry docks of Circular Quay, I could see the world famous Sydney Opera House to the left and The Rocks to the right, an area of first settlement and penal colony, now restaurants and shopping. By the time I walked back around to the Sydney Opera House, the sun had already set, but the city was still lit with lights of its own. I was getting a bit hungry and made a quick google restaurant search. If you’re ever in Sydney, I’d highly recommend Mother Chu’s Vegetarian Kitchen on Pitt Street for delicious Chinese food. I even got recommendations for the best train station to head to catch a ride back to my airport hotel.

My final adventure in Australia.

Sydney Sightseeing Slideshow

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