Welcome to Victoria!...and Salad Farming

Ahhhhhhh YES we made it out of NSW and hellooooo VICTORIA! The feelings going through us as we entered this part of the journey was lightness. We felt light all over like someone had lifted a huge weight off our backs. Could be a mixture of that, and the beauty of the South Coast lifting our souls up. We had to get out of the car to take a picture of the AUM Mobile next to the 'Welcome to Victoria' sign. We made it!!

We still can't believe that we spent 4 months in NSW! Where does all the time go to? Its nice to have the blog to look back over...to see where we have been and how much these experiences have changed us (for the better of course).

The good thing is we had a job waiting for us when we entered VIC, weeding weeds at a salad farm. Yes really, people are paid to weed.

Below is Dom on our first day on the job weeding Baby Spinach.

Below shows rows and rows of Baby Spinach.

Ooh hello there! Slimy little slug making his way through the Baby Spinach early in the morning.

So weeding in your own garden is pretty easy, right? O.K then try weeding 2km rows of salad beds? This is how it goes down: Its 6am and our alarm goes off, we're tired and when we get out of the AUM Mobile we are greeted by early Winter frost. We then have to make the mad dash to the toilets for a HOT shower. 

We are then in the fields weeding at 6.50am, with our backs hunched over, and fingers nearly dropping off from the frost on the salad leaves that brush up against our hands as we pulled out the weeds. We entertained ourselves with talks about farming, what we would do, what we wouldn't do, etc.  When we had enough of our chit chat (and each other :) we turned to our iPods for music to get us through the rest of the weeding.

It was tough work! We finished at 5pm every day. Working a total of 9.5 hours. Repeating this day in and day out = you have very sore bodies. Legs, bum and thighs got the workout of their lives though! And a good tone ;)

Below is the walk back to the salad fields after lunch. 2 weeders to a row, one on either side.

Another break, this time leading us into a wonderful sunset.

I got a visitor, a little lady bird...this ones for you Tanya!

The birds and the bees...oh and the lady birds.

The salad farm looked good from the outside, but when you get up close and personal you really get to see what chemicals do to the earth.

The soil should be 'alive', it should have its own working Eco-System, generating the nutrients that goes into the salad and into our bellies for our nourishment. The soil should be moist to touch and what you are seeing in the below pic is 'burnt' soil. This happens when the farmer uses too much fertiliser year after year, and cementing it with harmful chemical sprays. The soil is exhausted.

Again, you can see just how exhausted the soil is. And the little plants have no nourishment.

This is what happens if you let weeding get out of control! Dom can't believe how many weeds there are amongst 'Coral Lettuce'. You can see to the top left of the picture there is some 'Coral Lettuce' but it is being over dominated by weeds all around. What The??? 

A week's worth of weeding and Leonie says 'I quit'! What really devastated us was the tractor in the background of this pic (to the right) spraying chemicals on the salad. It brings new meaning when you see this up close and personal and in practice. Our professional salad weeding days were over at the end of that working day. Time to move onto greener pastures...

Where too next???

Tuna...The Great Debate!

Study this picture well. It's an image you've probably seen so many times over the years. In your lunchbox as a kid, in your kitchen cupboard, in you local supermarket shelf, and in the sandwich you bought just yesterday.

THIS IS THE PRIZE! THIS IS WHAT ALL THIS IS ABOUT! 

Commercial fisherman bringing this tasty flesh to your table. BUT....what is the cost really?

Let's be honest...if you want to eat meat or fish, an animal has to die for that to happen. We all know that, but if you are going to choose to eat flesh (we are both meat eaters might we add), we should support a way of doing it that is most humane and most sustainable. 

Let's look at the way it's done. Here are the contenders. Let's compare and see the effects they are having on other wildlife and the oceans. Consider the big 4. In fact there are 5 main methods, but we'll talk about that final (and somewhat most unknown yet sustainable version a little bit later).

1. Trawling
2. Farming
3. Purse Seine
4. Longline

All very effective Tuna catching methods no doubt....BUT...?

1. Trawling is a very scary prospect indeed. Trawling is wiping out so much of our oceans. So much so, that more and more fish are becoming critically endangered species all the time. Not to mention the millions and millions of bycatch that helplessly die from being caught in these ginormous nets.

The above illustration is not too far off the real deal below. What you can see in this aerial view is just to tip of the iceberg, or net in this instance. The rest is below the water line. What you don't think about, is what else gets caught and killed inside. Not to mention the devastation that trawling has on the ocean floor, coral, natural vegetation, etc.

2. Farming is another method. We have overfished the seas, and species are struggling to come back from it. The world population is on the rise and we are always looking at cheaper and quicker ways to feed the masses. So we resort to farming the fish ourselves in huge manmade netted pools. Here the fish are bred and fed. Are they still fish then? They are eating what we want them to eat, they are swimming where we want them to, and living in an environment that we made up for them. Are they still fish in their purest forms? Or a manmade organism? We know, we'd rather be putting the real deal into our mouths. How about you?

The above illustration is exactly how it is. See below two pics showing huge farming pools if tuna. Encaged, imprisoned, and grow for our enjoyment.

3. Purse Seine is a way of fishing using a seine or dragnet. The top of the net is held by floats at the surface, while at the bottom are a number of rings. A line passes through all the rings and then gets drawn together similar to a traditional style purse, and this stops the fish from escaping downwards. This is the preferred method for catching fish that stick to the surface and also hang out in large schools. It's better for the ocean floor that trawling, but once again, the BIG problem is all the other sea creatures that get caught and get sacrificed in this process (as demonstrated in the second illustration).

4. Longline fishing is made out to be (certainly marketed by the big brand to be) better and more sustainable for our oceans and our fish. However the reality is that thousands of animals are unnecessarily killed each year using this method. You cannot stop a curious creature taking the bait on these ultra sharp hooks can you? Turtles, Sharks, Sea Birds (especially Albatross), Stingrays...are all getting caught up.

Here are some devastating results of the use of different types of commercial fishing for tuna (and most other fish types as well no doubt).

5. Tuna Poling! The winner by knockout!!! (THIS IS THE ONE WE FEEL IS THE MOST HUMANE, UNKNOWN, AND SUSTAINABLE OPTION). 

Tuna poling (catching tuna by hand on poles which are traditionally made of bamboo) is a rather simple way of commercial fishing that hasn't been done in nearly half a century in most places. It's making a come back now, as there is a market for it once again, since we consumers are more concerned with finding a sustainable way of getting our tuna, that limits the damage to our seas and to other sea creatures. 

Burley (churned fish such as mackerel & pilchards which is designed to attract fish to your bait) was thrown out alongside the boat, and a hose constantly sprayed water lightly on the surface of the sea to keep the tuna below excited and active. Men that were in small wooden or metal platforms that where connected to the side of the boats would then tuna pole standing from those spots. As a man lifted the huge tuna out of the water and into the boat, no sooner was he already throwing his line back in again. It wasn't the same as hooking a fish as you do today and having to take time to take the hook out. The hooks where designed for the tuna to simply hold in their mouths. It was quick, it was hard work, and each man potentially caught tonnes of tuna just themselves on a day out (still adding to the decline of fish is our seas YES for sure, but No other species affected, NO bycatch, NO turtles, NOTHING else).

The catch would then be chilled below deck before returning to shore for processing in the factory and eventually canned for our enjoyment.

See below description of tuna poling, as well as a photo and some raw 1960's footage of a commercial tuna poling boat in action, that we took from the Eden Whale Museum recently. They have a very interesting room there at the museum that is dedicated to the the old days of commercial tuna poling.

So where does that take us now?

Well it's important to be informed. Now that you're a little more informed about how it all goes down, you can make better choices for you and mankind.

When buying your canned tuna, check to see how the tuna is caught (if it's pole caught it will say so). There is a whole new line of canned tuna that is pole caught for the conscious consumer. ALDI is one of the best supermarkets for this. A German company with some forward thinking, they have been stocking sustainable pole caught tuna, salmon and mussels for years now. Recently we noticed that Coles have also released a new line of pole caught tuna too (obviously they are becoming more in-tune with the consumer demands).

ALDI brand

Coles brand

Also look for the MSC (Certified Sustainable Seafood) label on your can. It's your guarantee. 

ALDI uses it, but Coles are yet to catch on we think. It looks like this below.

A FINAL THOUGHT?

WHETHER YOU AGREE TO EATING MEAT OR NOT...NOTHING WILL CHANGE IF WE DO NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. IF WE CONTINUE TO TURN A BLIND EYE, WE'LL CONTINUE TO DAMAGE THE PLANET. IF WE DEMAND BETTER AND TAKE A STAND, WE ALL CAN HELP TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. 

ANIMALS WILL BE KILLED FOR OUR SUSTENANCE, LAND WILL BE DECIMATED FOR OUR VEGES, TREES WILL BE CUT DOWN FOR OUR WARMTH FROM THE WOOD, THAT'S THE REALITY WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH...

BUT HOW ABOUT DOING IT AS HUMANELY AS WE CAN?

Whales & Man, or...Man & Whales?

This is Eden, the last major town before hitting Victoria. It's a beautiful place and a beautiful wharf where the commercial fishermen work out of. We spent plenty of time down on the wharf (especially since the wharf had a free hot shower :) and observed the lifestyle, and the history there.

Eden has a major connection with whales and has had, since the early 1800's. Once....killing whales for their oil was how they made their money down here (whaling was one of NSW's first serious export businesses).

Now....they still make money off whales, but not by killing them. Instead whale watching tours brings in the tourists.

It's an interesting argument. They are still making money of whales in some way. Can we really blame them for what they used to do to whales? They thought very different back then to how they do now, don't they? Did those early settlers know that the whaling would eventually lead or contribute to the extinction of some of the whale species?

As we said...it's an interesting argument no doubt! But what is even more interesting and incredible is the work done here between beast and man. The town has a rich and remarkable connection to the whales. Read on below to find out more...

This is Leonie enjoying her morning coffee overlooking Twofolds Bay. It was here, up until the 1930's, that whales would be trapped in this bay and harpooned, before being processed at Davidson's Whaling Station just around the corner.

It's a peaceful place nowadays, but we wonder if that deep and dark energy (death) still resides here...long since the water ran red with whales blood.

The impressive fisherman's wharf where Leonie's wonderful image captures where all the local fisherman make their living now. Not much has changed here from the old days. Most of the day's catch still goes to market at Sydney for sale. There are a heap of wonderful mussel boats here too, and they sell mussels straight from their farms, straight from their boats.

Below is Eden whale museum, and the skeleton of 'Old Tom'....one of the most famous killer whales that helped the whalers catch their prize. Read the incredible stories below.

Tom was a fierce figure no doubt.

The story (in three parts)...

What whales were used for, before newer manmade inventions came on the market :/

"Old Tom's" story...

"Old Tom's" actual fin size....shiiittttttttttttttttttttttt!

The hierarchy of killer whales that helped man during those years.

Some ridiculously stupid wives tales, of how whales could help people with different illnesses.

Would you sit inside the whale carcass at 40 degrees?

This was almost a case of Whales 1 Man 0 (incredible that he survived really)

Shows just how large and majestic whales are. Blue Whale jawbone.

Same Blue Whale vertebrae. Just like ours, but the size of small ship propellers. It begs to ask the question...how could we slaughter such amazing creatures?

"We Whales"

.....an insight into a whales heart!

So....after all that, what to make of it? Should we be ashamed of our past as humans? Or embrace it as something to learn from and never to be repeated again? So many questions.....so many conclusions one can come to.

You be the judge (or not)..............

Mystery Bay...

We drove all night...! We came to a road sign that read 'Mystery Bay'. How could we refuse this? It was 8pm and it was total darkness. There were lots of trees and the sounds of crashing waves around us. We just had to stay here the night and awake to what they called Mystery Bay...and explore! And we are so glad we did.

We woke to golden pink light streaming through the cracks of our curtains, and with sleepy eyes we pokes our head's behind the curtains to see that we had parked our AUM Mobile on a cliff, with the best view of the sunrise. Oh another piece of heaven in Australia! We watched to sunrise from our cosy little bed. Yes it was very romantic, and something that didn't even cost a thing. Just an appreciation for natural beauty.

Below is a pic from our car as the sun passed by the clouds. We were off to a great start to the day!

Now lets explore this Mystery Bay.

It had been a few days of clouds and rain and we were super happy with the sun coming out on this day. Below Leonie capturing the sun kissing her.

One thing about travelling on the road is not having someone to take a picture of us, so its always to one arm held out arms length to capture it, this time we included the AUM Mobile too. Happy Days!

Leonie climbing trees again. You know there is nothing quite like taking your shoes off and channelling the 'inner child'. This tree was a beauty to just sit in and have a morning cuppa.

We let the waves lead us on our morning walk to this stunning bay. The pics are from Dom's camera phone, not brilliant quality but will have to do for now (Leonie's Big camera is out of action as the moment but when we get it cracking again we'll have a heap of new photos to share with you all).

Below is a really beautiful design of smoky quartz rocks 'placed' either by the tides or by 'someone' in all the little grooves in the rocks. Kind of a Mystery of how they got there?

Wall sculptured by the elements of change (this one reminds Dom of a finger print).

More Art work, like we said, its either by nature or by someone??

Below shows nature making a painting of different colours in the rock. At the minerals contained in the rock have contributed to this clash of colours. Special.

Below is Leonie holding this beautiful stone. All the formations of rocks were a mixture of smoky quartz and rock. This pic is showing the many different layers contained. It actually confirms what Rudolph Steiner said about the Eastern Hemisphere being over dominated by silica or smoky quartz. Those of you who don't know who Steiner is, he is the father of Biodynamics. Leonie is right into his work.

Below you can see in the large rock formation, small white veins of smoky quartz.

And welcome to our out-door-bathroom...complete with amazing view! We were so lucky to have this weather at the end of Autumn. Solar heated water bladders are the way to go. Put it up in a tree any where any time. Magic!

So...it started off as 'Mystery Bay' and by the time we left, to us it became 'Magic Bay'. Part of the South Coast of NSW, and truly amazing!

As you can see from our smiles, that turn off into Mystery Bay touched our souls and we will remember the beauty of this place forever!