Have a little faith!

When discussion turns to the origin of the universe, it seems to be one of those points where the Christians start getting nervous. Science seems so sure of itself these days and we Christians seem still to be relying on some very old and tatty texts. So - it's the Big Bang and Evolution, and to think otherwise is to betray yourself as stupid, irrational, and ignorant of the facts. After all, when put on the spot, it seems creation can only be explained in terms of faith, not science.

But I remain unconvinced that science offers a better alternative. For example...

Genesis' version of the creation of man is that God took some dust and shaped it into a person, breathed in life and - shezaam! Adam! Admittedly, it seems far fetched. Fortunately we have scientific investigation to correct the record and give us something we can hold on to. Our body is formed not from dust but atoms. These atoms are wonderful things. To date our technology is struggling to create atoms, although we have now been able to blow them apart for 60 years or so. Clever! Atoms can be categorised, and we have identified over 100 different ones. Mostly our bodies are made up of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and all sorts of others.

So - where did these atoms come from? Well, we would be fairly sure they cannot be created out of nothing, and most of the ones that are in our body now were part of the earth not that long ago. Almost like dust...(sorry - ignore that). Mostly, they come to our body through the food we eat and the air we breath, and some pretty clever celular programming has evolved that does the rest and makes our bodies from them.

So - how did the atoms get there in the first place? Science seems to agree that atoms of a greater weight than hydrogen (which is all the rest of them) were not around at the big bang time. They have been created since. So, it is a fortunate situation that the right atoms have been manufactured and are here on this planet at this time to enable life to happen. It is - of course - a self-fulfilling argument. If the right atoms weren't here, no life would be created. We are the fortunate spot it happened, there would be plenty of others where it didn't. I have no argument with that.

So - where were they actually created? About this, there is apparently very little argument. Heavy atoms (including even oxygen and carbon) can only be created in the heart of a star where immense pressure and heat can do what has never been achieved in our labs. The nearest star is 150,000,000 million kilometres away, so I guess the bits of me I hold so dear must have somehow found their way across that space and fortunately coalesced here on earth.

But, here lies a problem. The heavy elements thus created in our star (the Sun) are in fact too heavy to escape its immense gravitation pull. It seems very few if any of the heavy atoms on Earth came from our Sun. The only way to liberate such atoms from a star is when it explodes - goes Nova! That being the case, we have to assume that the atoms on Earth came from another star somewhere else that exploded, and came into our region about the time that the solar system was forming, and found themselves in a band around 150,000,000 kilometres from the central point of this new swirling mass, and therefore began to become attracted to the newly forming planet we would one day call Earth.

It kind of seems a bit far fetched. But - as my scientific friends would remind me - its only a theory at the moment and its the best they can come up with so far. Have a little faith!

What was the one about the dust again?

Bridging the gap

I love the engineering of bridges. Mum tells me that in my earliest days, I would carry a small collection of toy cars with me when we went on holidays, and the moment we were settled somewhere, I would be outside playing on the ground - creating a road system for them. Whether I ever got to just drive the cars about on the roads is unclear, but I do know I used to love the opportunity to put in a bridge or two, supposing there were suitable building materials around the place.

The great bridges of the world are some of the most extraordinary man-made things on the planet.

My personal favourite is the Milleau Viaduct in France. It is slightly undervalued because it is "just a freeway bridge over a valley" - but what a thing. Not only does it look amazing, but the method of construction was fascinating. The entire bridge deck was constructed on the hillside and pushed out onto supports between pylons and eventually all the way to the other hillside, almost 3 kms away. Clever, I thought. And very good OH&S compared with trying to do things out in mid-air.

Australia lacks super-bridges. I think this comes down to a simple lack of traffic volume compared with the USA or Europe or even Japan, who all have some amazing bridges. Or for that matter China - an emerging force in bridge building. Ever since they have taken control of Hong Kong, they appear to have wondered - how do we upsize everything here to the rest of the country? Incredible.

So - a question. What is the longest bridge in Australia? This is in fact more a debate than a question, because as soon as you ask, you have to start qualifying what you define as a bridge. But, I will keep it simple by saying I think there are two major methods of measuring... first - what is the longest distance covered in a single span? And second - what is the longest distance over which the supported roadway has no contact with the ground? On a world picture, Japan has a suspension bridge almost 2 km between spans to win the first of these, while the cross-lake viaducts outside New Orleans win the second at a length of almost 40 kilometres - for now. So, what are Australia's longest?

Sunset at the Breakaways

I took this photo around ten minutes after sunset on Tuesday June 20th of this year. It was a bit of a special moment!

Leading a convoy of 12 vehicles over 6,000 km to Central Australia and back was bound to have moments of disaster, and in retrospect I think we all got back to Melbourne relatively unscathed. The exception was one couple who's caravan decided to part company with a wheel, some 20 km short of Coober Pedy. The van was severely damaged. Although the rest of the group continued into Coober Pedy and started to settle into our camp for the night, I ended up with 1 vehicle disabled, 2 staying back to help, 2 wanting to cook a community meal for everyone, and me trying to reorganise everyone's accommodation to cover for the loss of the van. The rest of the group were a bit depressed about developments, and almost decided not to follow the program and head out to the Breakaways - 25 kms north-east of the town. Although running a bit late, 3 vehicles suddenly decided they still wanted to do it, and off they went. Obviously I couldn't go because I had plenty of coordination still to do in town. But, 15 minutes later I got radio contact with the people at the breakdown site who announced they were able to get moving, and the cooks said they were under control with dinner, and our hosts had found the extra room I needed for my homeless family. I was free to go. Although running late, I set out in hot persuit to catch the others and watch the sunset.

On such a trip, UHF radios are invaluable. As I left town, I made radio contact with the three others to discover that they were lost - their road had deteriorated beyond expectation and they didn't know where they had gone wrong. They were coming back, unless I could tell them how to get out there. I stopped and studied the maps and soon worked out what had happened - they had left town on the wrong route. By the time I had talked them through the change, they showed up and announced they would be perfectly happy (thank you very much) simply to follow me to get out there. We left on the Oodnadatta Road until we reached the dog fence, and then turned left. This is when it got really interesting, because this road headed back to the west parallel with the dog fence straight into the setting sun. A badly corrugated, twisting road is very difficult when you can't see anything, and I was not only driving it but trying to give radio warnings to the three vehicles behind me as to the worst of the hazards we faced. Fair enough too - because they had the added complication of huge amounts of my dust to deal with. Try travelling into the sun whilst in a dust cloud some time!

Somewhat fortunately, we arrived unharmed at the lookout about 5 minutes after the designated sunset time, and indeed a couple of vehicles were already leaving. But to us, it was thoroughly worth the effort. The colours are incredible, as well as the contrast between this broken escarpment and the dead flat horizon in all directions beyond. We stood and enjoyed it for almost 2o minutes, by which time it was completely dark. I took a couple of dozen photos, including quite a few that didn't really work out in the fading light. But I was very glad to have made the journey out there and enjoyed the moment. Next time - I am going to leave town a bit earlier!

A Gorge-ous Experience

So, they say, thinking they are offering you a chance to sum up your life experiences - what is your favourite place in Australia?

In fact I have dozens of favourite places in Australia, or almost as many as Marcia Hince has favourite songs (based on her comments when "judging" in Aussie Idol). Sorry, I know how that implies I don't know what "favourite" means, but it varies depending on so many criteria, and so it is very hard to tie one place down. Still, if I could be transported to any place in the country for a day, and then had to come home again, there is one place I would pick more often than any other - and so that is probably not a bad way to assess favouritism.

Nitmiluk doesn't quite roll off the tongue that way that Uluru does, but in similar style - it is the indigenous name of a National Park in Northern Territory that features a remarkable geographic formation. In this case, it is more widely known as Katherine Gorge. I first encountered it when it was simply the gorge outside the township of Katherine, 300 kms south of Darwin on the Stuart Hwy. Despite being more than 3,0oo kms from home, I have been back five times, and Nitmiluk continues to inspire me. My next visit there is planned for Friday, 20th July 2007; which might seem a bit silly if you don't know me well, but it does tend to illustrate that I like to plan things... I can hardly wait to be there again.

The gorge is 30 km from the town of Katherine, and a nice camping ground has been established at the downstream end of it. To see the gorge you must walk or get in a boat. A few hundred metres upstream of the camp ground is the jetty where various cruises go from. Once on your boat and heading upstream further, the rocky walls rapidly close in beside you until you are confined between sheer cliffs of around 50 metres in height and less than 100 metres apart. After 1,500 metres or so, the deep water is unexpectedly interrupted by rock falls that create a series of small waterfalls in the river. The cruise boats have to stop, you get out and walk along, before getting into another cruise boat and on you go - now in the second stage. This process can be repeated over and over, as Nitmiluk consists of 13 such stages. The general fare on offer via cruise boats includes the rush-job 2 stage look, a half-day 3 stage cruise, or an all day 5 stage cruise. I've done them all, and heartily recommend... none of them.

The way to truly appreciate the gorge is not by cruise boat, but canoe. Even if you aren't the athlete - let me tell you; this is worth the effort. A two-person canoe can be hired for well under $50 for a day, and is a very stable and easy craft to pilot. As you go upstream first, it is always easier to get home than go out, so you are not at high risk. The advantages over the cruise boats are huge. First - it is quiet. The wildlife loves you. Second - you go at your own pace. Third - you can explore from side to side and poke into the caves and... whatever you want. Fourth - you have the perfect platform for photography, just juggle your angles and pick the spot. Fifth - you can stop on beaches and rocky outcrops, have little rests, and really get to know the gorge. Sixth - admittedly you do have to drag the canoe through the rocky outcrops between stages, but unlike the nearly 1 km you walk between stages 1 and 2 in the cruise boats, it is 2 or 3 little gaps of 20 metres each you traverse, as the canoe needs far less water than a tourist boat. And finally - at the end of the day, you can feel like you have really DONE something special! It is fantastic!

If you have reasonable fitness, you will have no problem getting up and back through 3 stages in a day. Stop and swim whenever you like - have a great time. When you get back, go and treat yourself to some barramundi and chips at one of the little local cafes in Katherine and toast to what I would have to call "one of the great experiences of the outback".

What is that thing in New York?

OK, confession time. While I have travelled a lot within Australia, when it comes to going overseas, I have not been there that often. In fact, to my great surprise, I realised I have never even once dipped into my own pocket and purchased a ticket to fly out of Australia. My parents took me to India, Malaysia and Thailand in my early teens. A few years later I flew to New Zealand for a month to stay with my sister - again a present from my parents. For my honeymoon, I used frequent flyer points to fly to Norfolk Island... then I have done work trips to New Zealand on a few occasions. So - I've done a few trips, but they still haven't cost me anything.

I certainly would like to spend some time in my life touring in the United States. And if there is one city in the world I would want to explore, it is New York. It's sort of built up to be the "ultimate city", and as such, I'd just like to see it. For now I am limited to reading about it, or having a look at one of the hundreds of movies shot in and around the city. I love the idea of Central Park - great concept to have such a big tract of land set aside to green space in the middle of a city. Anyway, I was looking at it on Google Earth the other day, and saw "something" in the reservoir in Central Park. Have a look at this...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=central+park&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=40.782564,-73.962386&spn=0.002449,0.005375&t=k&om=1

What is that line in the water running off to the north from the boatshed (or whatever)? I started looking it up on web sites and viewing photos, reading text and trying to sort it out. In reality, I could find no reference to it at all. Then, it turns out an acquaintenace of mine happens to be in New York, so I asked them to investigate. He tells me that you can't see anything from the surface at all. Maybe it is an underground pipe track or something? He pointed out that the huge ornamental pond in front of the Ballagio Hotel in Las Vagas also looks like it has "something" in the water, but it is in fact well under the surface. Have a look;

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=bellagio+las+vegas&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=36.112769,-115.173347&spn=0.002613,0.003626&t=k&om=1

Well, I don't know. It's still a mystery to me. Someone must know!