Wines and Dunes- January 10 and 11

I met Dane yesterday at the Gosford train station, about two hours north of Sydney. Excited, we traded travel stories and updates from home. The heat is unbearable, as I’m not yet adjusted, so we found a beautiful beach as soon as possible. I ran into the water, both for my love of the ocean and for the welcome chance to cool off. My first taste of Aussie camping followed. Since campsites don’t usually come with picnic tables or any of those luxuries we cooked dinner on the hood of our Holden Commodore station wagon and set up a bed in the fold-down backseat. Two girls sat in their car all night drinking beer and eventually fell asleep under the huge yard light they’d parked under. Is this normal here?
On Sunday we drove into the Hunter Valley Wine Region which is inland and north-west of Sydney. On our way to the first vineyard, we stopped for an ice-cream; it’s only 10:30 a.m. and already scorching. I saw a sign for a free horse whispering demonstration at a horse farm and vineyard up the road so we investigated. What followed was far from a demonstration and more like a lecture on the ways of people and horses from a lovely old cowboy named Diamond Porter. While he rambled a lot, he did make some good points. He said because humans are predators and horses are prey, our instincts are different which can make it difficult for the dim-witted humans to understand the horse. Humans use punishment as a means of getting what they want and while this will incite a reaction in a horse, it’s not the reaction that you want. Horses don’t understand punishment, according to Diamond. Horses have been doing their thing for many thousands of years before humans started messing with them and it’s our job to try and understand their herd mentality and communicate with them, rather than work against them. He also told me claustrophobic horses hate to be stabled and also hate to be alone. He said the happiest horse is one with a large pasture, plenty of water, shade and a caring owner who challenges his or her horse everyday with new lessons. I couldn’t agree more.
The vineyards were absolutely amazing. Rolling, green hills are spotted with cows and vines. Plenty of tropical trees line the driveways to the often ostentatious wineries. First stop was at one of my favourites, Rosemount, which makes the best Riesling. Lindeman’s also shares the cellar with Rosemount; I didn’t realize the two were connected but was happy for the coincidence. Moving along, we made a stop at Tyrell, which sits atop a tall hill overlooking large parts of the valley. Walking through the cellar, complete with the vats and huge oak barrels, I eventually tasted my new favourite Riesling. A touch sweeter but more delicate and fruitier than Rosemount, I wish I had bought a bottle to savour further.
The Hunter Valley is an intoxicating place. Roads wind through the regions’ more than 150 wineries and a person could spend weeks here and not get to them all. To top it off, tastings are free in the Hunter; all you need is a designated driver and a car and you’re all set! Luckily for me, Dane doesn’t like wine- it was a perfect day. We topped it off with a stop at a large dairy and bought some delicious soft cheese. On the way out of the Hunter, Wyndham Estates, the founder of Australian Shiraz, can be found at the end of a winding road which stops at the famed vineyard, complete with its own heli-pad. By that time of day, it was much too hot to even think about sampling their beautiful reds but I was equally content with a tour through their trophy room, which houses wine awards piled ceiling high from around the world.
Time to head back to the coast and we hit a gorgeous, sheltered inlet beach at Hawks Nest. A large, conical headland graced the south end and I later learned that Aboriginals were taken there and slaughtered in the 1830s. Many parts of this country house tales of a brutal history and I couldn’t help but think how this same tale is true in so many other countries: civilized Europeans come to a new land and meet savage natives and savagely dispose of them.
We camped in Myall Lakes National Park, a sacred place and home to many tribes. Monday morning we explored the huge sand dunes bordering the ocean. They’re steep enough to slide down and I imagine this must be what the desert feels like. This place is called Dark Point and it was a meeting ground for ancient tribes. A fenced-off area contains a “midden” where evidence of feasting areas and burial grounds were found.
The problems afflicting Australia’s Aboriginal population are severe and can be compared to those of Canada’s First Nations people. Both groups had their own distinct cultures and ways of life prior to Europeans landing and both were and are controlled, discriminated and murdered in varying degrees.
Here, many live in the outback in less than desirable conditions and the racism is undeniable, just as it is in Canada. Dane tells me that petrol in the outback is dyed and does not smell. It’s hard on vehicles but there’s a big problem with Aboriginals drinking the noxious substance.
The way I see it, we should never forget history or its’ lessons, we must also remember we cannot live in the past. In order to succeed, we must all look to the future and live in the present. We cannot blame our failures on those who came before. We have to communicate and try to understand the others’ different way of looking at the world. I think that’s where the major problems lie in both Canada and Australia.