Roos: The Whitetail Deer of Australia

When our Southern friend, Deb, visited us in northern Wisconsin and saw a whitetail deer for the first time, she screamed, “Stop the car! I want to take a photo!” Really? It’s just a deer for heaven’s sake. Deer that I fed through the chicken wire fence at Prentice Park when I was a kid. Deer that eat my hastas (beautiful leafy plants) and anything else I care to plant at the cabin. Deer whose frequent and erratic presence warrants yellow diamond warning signs every mile along the roadsides. Deer that lounged daily in the backyard of our Minnesota house near the heart of the city without being phased by the presence of people. Deer that almost everyone I know has hit  with their car (we’ve hit two ourselves). That is the animal that merits a stop for a photo?  Whatever….

So now we are in Australia where we see a kangaroo for the first time! “Stop the car! We need to take a photo!” I imagine the smirk of the passing Aussies. But these animals are amazing! They are so different from any other animal we’ve seen. Sure, we’ve all seen them in a zoo, but here they are in the wild – in the bush! – in their natural environment. Their meaty hind quarters dominate their slender upper body and slim head. With rabbit-like (or deer-like, if you will) ears they look inquisitively in our direction, then return to their grazing. After a few minutes their graceful, effortless jumps propel their pear-shaped bodies across the field to the safety of the woods. Our first siting – how exciting!

We pull up to the first campsite on our two week RV trip from Sydney to Melbourne. On the clearing we carefully watch every step to steer clear of the copious amounts of dark animal droppings. Could this be from our beloved roos? Wouldn’t it be great to see them again? Near sundown, our hopes are rewarded as we peer into the woods at several kangaroos munching on the tall grass. The next night, the roos boldly come onto our clearing. We’re in awe. We watch as their thick, muscular tail acts as a fifth leg as they meander on the lawn. Front paws lead, tail moves forward between sturdy back legs which follow the tail. Their strange walk fascinates us.  

At the next campsite, roos are everywhere. Leisurely lounging in the campground like they own the place. Now we are noticing the high frequency of dead roos along the roads as we drive along the Aussie highways. Roos seem to be everywhere.

They're everywhere!

 Another campsite….the roo poop is so thick we need to get out plastic bags to pick it all up before we set up camp. Now we’re turning up our noses a bit.

Yes, roo poo..

 Could it be?  Could these unique marsupials possibly be the whitetail deer of Australia? Yes, yes they can….

The Gold Mine...by Bear

We, on Oso Blanco, (Ann, Eric and me, Bear) went to a gold mine in Walhalla, Oz. The mine tunnel was about 10 feet, 3 meters, across and about 5-12 feet high. We had to wear hard hats it was so low!

Inside the tunnel

Did you know that back then it took one week to make one meter of tunnel? The way they made the tunnel was like this. One person had a drill bit (metal rod), the other had a big mallet and they made a hole by whacking it. They filled it with gun powder, lit it and ran for the door!

The thing I liked the most was the fact that man can go so deep -1000 meters! The thing liked the least was the cramped conditions. I actually bolted for the door but I (surprisingly) went back in. And I loved it!

A miner's life was bad. There were 8 ways to die! That is a bad life!

The adventure was fun and I learned a lot. It was a once in a life time experience.

Blue Mountains with Old Friends

After a week of city life, we escaped to the Blue Mountains with our good friends, the Giffords.

Totem and Oso together again!

We first met Jamie and Behan Gifford and their three wonderful kids (Niall – 12, Marin – 9, and Siobhan – 7) in Monterey, CA in 2008. They were aboard s/v Totem and we had heard about them for months. When they pulled into the Monterey marina, six year old Bear yelled to them from the pier – “Hi Totem!” When they looked questioningly at him, he was baffled. “It’s me – Bear!” We had talked about meeting Totem so much that Bear was sure we knew them already and, of course, they knew him. They just laughed at this boisterous kid and continued to their slip. Within the hour, our families converged on the dock and met properly. We became instant friends. The girls came back to our boat to play for the afternoon and we made plans to explore the Monterey Aquarium the next day. We’ve been cruising buddies on and off since – California, Mexico and through the South Pacific. In 2010 when we turned south to New Zealand, s/v Totem continued on to Australia where they would stop and work for a while to refill their cruising coffers. Although we were sad to depart company, we knew we’d be together again.

So when we planned our land yacht cruise in southeast Australia, we were thrilled that the Giffords could join us!

First stop: –the Blue Mountains, just a two hour drive from Sydney. Behan, who had to fulfill her day job requirements, was able to meet us via the train for the weekend. In addition to watching kangaroos at the campsite, we went hiking in the gorgeous rainforest to a railway tunnel that contained a multitude of glow worms.

Sundowners around the campfire

We spent nine fun-filled days and nights together in various campsites between the Blue Mountains and the southern end of the state of New South Wales.  The kids had a fabulous time exploring their surroundings, sleeping in tents, playing games and even doing school together.  The pools, peddle go-carts and jumping pillows at some of the commercial campgrounds were probably their highlights. The adults enjoyed drinking wine around the fire, relaxing, catching up on each other’s lives and dining out sans kids a couple of times. Our highlights were having happy kids and being together again. 

The kids explore the coastline

Siobhan bounces high on the jumping pillow

Marin shows her stuff on the go-cart

Bear looks up to Niall like a big brother

Twenty-two year Reunion

Ann and Tracy

I met Tracy in 1987 when I moved to Orange County, California to work at a regional office for a large health insurance company. Tracy was the office manager of the four person outpost and she was subversively the one in charge. We had an incompetent (at best) boss and we teamed together both at work and socially.

Tracy was the only true friend that I made in the three years I lived in California. We enjoyed movies, theater, the flea market and exploring new places. Tracy was always in the know about where to go and what was happening in the area. I left California in 1990 and Tracy left soon after to join her husband in Malaysia. We stayed in touch through the years and I vowed to visit her one day. I thought that would be in Malaysia but reset that plan when she moved to Australia (her home country) five years ago.


I met Tracy in the hotel lobby and recognized her immediately! She hadn't changed a bit. As it is with longtime, good friends, we picked up where we left off as if twenty two years hadn't passed since our last time together. We were able to get together several times over our week in Sydney and meet each others kids (she has two: 19 year old Katie and 16 year old Shane). It was a wonderful time and we hope she can visit us next year on the boat in northeastern Australia. 

On the Road

We left Oso Blanco safely tucked in near Brisbane a couple of weeks ago and flew south to Sydney to explore southeast Australia. Staying right in the heart of Sydney, we enjoyed all the city had to offer: museums, the Opera House, harbor ferry cruises, and great restaurants. Sydney was surprisingly smaller than I had envisioned and easy to navigate. The public transportation is superb and inexpensive, offering a tour of the city and harbors (via ferries) at a reasonable cost. Most tourist areas were overpriced (per usual) but many museums were free and inviting on rainy days (which were all of our days in the city!). Overall, we ranked Sydney high on the list of very cool cities to visit.

View of the Sydney Opera House from a harbor ferry

Sydney Skyline