Classical music in the Whitsundays

It’s not often we are treated to world class classical music in the Whitsundays, so when the Chamber Philharmonia Cologne was advertising a concert in our local church we were keen to attend.

St. Martin of Tours Church was abuzz with the cognoscenti of Airlie Beach, interspersed with visiting grey nomads, and the likes of us. With front row seats, we were looking forward to the program of popular works from well-known composers Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Bach.

The mesmerizing Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons featured two different soloists, and took us to the interval nearly one hour later. The second half of the program featured Tchaikovsky’s somber Pezzo capriccioso (Dmitri Gornovsky was entrancing on the Violoncello); Mozart’s Divertimento in F major followed by soprano Sabine Könner and her magnificent rendition of the Eucharistic Latin hymn of Ave verum corpus; and Bach’s Suite No.2 in B Minor with flutist and composer Michal Rosiak.

The Chamber Philharmonia Cologne tours the world over with the objective of inspiring as many people across all generations to enjoy classical music. Playing 300 concerts annually, you are sure to catch them somewhere near you. Don’t miss it!

Electric power in the Whitsundays

I was lucky enough to have a ride in a visiting new Telsa MS85 around Airlie Beach and Cannonvale in the Whitsundays. Thanks to Marc Talloen and his enthusiasm for electric powered vehicles, I too am now hooked. Not that we can afford this model car - we'll have to wait for the cheaper version to be released in Australia in a few years time - but it certainly looked great parked in our driveway!

Tesla Motors is an American automotive and energy storage company that designs, manufactures, and sells electric cars, electric vehicle powertrain components, and battery products. They are taking the world by storm - well the U.S and Europe at least - and are starting to make a presence here in Australia.

The electric vehicle will be a perfect complement to the solar farm we have on our house roof. It will cost us nothing but the power from the sun to charge, or a minimal amount if charging from the grid. There is very little maintenance required on electric vehicles, and best of all they produce no emissions. Here is the car of the very near future!

Charging at the local sports ground with 3-phase power

Art Whitsunday Exhibition

The 28th Annual Art Whitsunday Exhibition was on last weekend at the Whitsunday Arts and Cultural Centre (WACC), coinciding with the Whitsunday Reef Festival.

Judged by Chris Saines, Director of GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) in Queensland's state capital of Brisbane, he had his work cut out for him determining a winner for each of the 12 categories, which included the theme climate change.

The WACC is a spacious and newly renovated venue; perfect for an exhibition. Well done to all the entrants. I am inspired to get creative myself!

The inaugural Whitsundays annual regional art show is coming up in October. Unlike the Art Whitsunday exhibition, anyone can enter, so it's time to whip out the paintbrushes and paint pots.

These would look good in our garden - company for the chickens too!

28th annual art exhibition

Art friends

My favourite medium - watercolour

Belinda Curry's take on climate change

Textiles

Wendy Eriksson's infamous boats and fish

People's choice - and the only one sold!

Shark Bay revisted

Flicking through the July issue of The Wanderer, I came across a very familiar motor home. "That's Delvy!", I announced proudly, "and that's my photo!".

Disappointed I didn't make Campervan & Motorhome Club of Australia calendar again this year, I was pretty happy my photo, unexpectedly, still got into print. Although, using it to advertise insurance wouldn't have been my first choice. But, hey, what does it matter - they gave me credit for it, and it's a great photo worth sharing. So much so that it's in the August edition too.

Advertisement in The Wanderer - July & August

The photo was taken at Shark Bay, Western Australia in June last year. I tossed and turned all night as the glow of the full moon was so bright. When colour began to emerge in the dawn sky it was time to get the camera out.

Here's what I wrote about that camp and the area the night before the photo was taken....

Shark Bay –13.6.14 

                                     

I am writing this on the shoreline of Henri Freycinet Harbour at Fowlers Camp in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. The shadows are lengthening, there is just a ripple across the clear water and a lone Caspian tern is relaxing on the sand spit: sunset is not far away.

Another big day driving, but then this is big country and one has to drive a long way to see the sights. Once we turned off the North West Coastal Highway, surviving the many road trains that overtook us, and once again waving to fellow travellers (now the caravans are coming thick and fast!), it was a bit of a drive between the tourist spots. Hamelin Pools boast the best example of stromatolites in the country, with scientists visiting from all over the world to study these ancient living organisms.

A loop walk in the area takes you through a shell block quarry. Fragum Cockle shells washed with rain water cement together to form a solid structure (called coquina shell) which can be used for building blocks. They came in handy when there was no timber or stone around. Shell Beach up the road (in WA terms this means at least 50kms) lives up to its name as the cockle shells are up to ten metres thick and stretches for 120kms.

The Eagle Bluff boardwalk is a good vantage point to spot marine life in the shallows. We saw a ray of some kind as we were taking in the view of a disused guano island and the stark coastline.

Off to see the dolphins at Monkey Mia tomorrow, before we drive back out of here and head for Carnarvon.

Original photo - Full moon at dawn, Shark Bay