15. March 1998 10:54
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Port Macquarie ( 1998 ) . . .

15. March 1998 10:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

During my first year in Australia, after coming from Denmark, I was contracted out to work at Port Macquarie - a quiet, but beautiful and peaceful seaside town a few hours north of Sydney. The first pictures were taken in Port Macquarie during Easter 1998.

Lance, Anne and Graham, some good friends of mine, decided to do some exploring around the area...

Graham here, on the right, The Admiral himself... (also called "Wobber") "Is that a chicky-babe in the water ?"

The photo is taken on "Kermit" (Note, the green seats...) in the river at Port Macquarie.

Lance - sleeping

Lance seasick ???? No, just a little tired !

This is one of many photos I have of Lance sleeping - he has a knack for taking a nap just about anywhere - just ask Anne! *smile*

It's a great day to sail on "Kermit".

Rene up front onboard!

Whereas, who do we have here?

Me! I love sailing, and as usual, like to be a'head' of things...

"Clear water ahead Navigator?"

"Aye-Aye Admiral!"
Graham picking on Anne!

"The Admiral" is giving Anne a good whacking.

Poor Anne...

Lance and The Admiral in front of the lighthouse at Port Macquarie

Hundreds of crabs!

In the mangrove at Port Macquarie, there are millions of these small blue crabs (Taste like shit). It's pretty amazing though - crabs do not exist only on a beach. They live wherever there is enough water and they can burrow quickly and easily away from danger.

The photo above is taken on a sandbar in the river at Port Macquarie.

There are also a lot of pelicans in Port Macquarie. I managed to get a picture of one flying. And one yawning!

There are quite a few pelicans here in Narrabeen, on Pittwater Rd - a main street near where I live. Narrabeen lakes draws its salt water from the sea, and at one point on Pittwater Rd, there is a bridge. This is where I see most of the pelicans - perched on top of the flat heads of street lights! It's quite funny to see them there, and have never managed to get a photo of this yet, as I usually see them when I am driving over the bridge.

We went bushwalking in the mountains and forests at Port Macquarie and found this beautiful rockpool. We used the opportunity to go for a swim.

Me!

Off the beaten track in the forests around Port Macquarie!

Me!

Moi!

One of the few pictures of me (as you will notice in this whole website). I tend to prefer taking pictures of other people and places - but my girlfriend is trying to remedy that! (she's still trying not get blurry pictures...)

Me
eating lunch

As you can see, this place is really good for getting comfortable, enjoying my lunch, no worries, good place to get a bit of sleep...

Me under the bushes...

Like my new haircut?

I wanted to do something radical. I needed a change, I wanted people to look at me when I was walking down the street. So decided to change my hairstyle. By the way, you like it green? I can't be a dumb blond forever...

Lance & I

A picture of Lance and I with the beaches at Port Macquarie and one of the Brothers in the background !

The hugest waves!

There was a storm in Newcastle. These were the biggest waves I had ever seen - some were 7-8 meters high. The waves were washing all the way up to where I am standing taking the picture.

The kids in the photo were waiting for a big wave to hit them and wash them into the rock pool. You know the big wave coming towards them? They were still a couple of hundred meters away from it...

Dinner with the Lenehans, Henrik & wife

Henrik, Lance and I made a bet with Anne about whether or not we would be able not to use a computer in our sparetime for two weeks while we were up in Newcastle. We accepted the bet and won it simply because it was impossible for us to lose since we didn't have access to any computers!

That meant that Anne had to cook us a dinner... Australian Style!

Who looks Aussie now?

Aussie?

We had to dress "Australian style" for the dinner (at least to start with). Reckon it is Aussie with a billabong hat? (Need some flies for the corks to chase away). But it is DEFINITELY Aussie with that holey surfie t-shirt and a Fosters (disgusting) in hand!

Henrik

Can't see, can't hear and can't talk, who am I?

No actually he was trying to wear his wife's earrings but didn't want it on a photo!

I have often said that Port Macquarie was a beautiful place, but it is much too quiet for me in the long run. Working there during 1998 was good, but I was also glad to be back in Sydney!

15. February 1998 10:54
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Anne's Birthday ( 15th Feb 1998 ) . . .

15. February 1998 10:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We celebrated Anne's birthday at a restaurant called Pete's Bite. The only access to the restaurant is by seaplane or boat. It is located 2 hours north of where I live.

The food is marvelous and bloody expensive. It is definetely worth trying (once)!

Me feeling hot

It was 40-45 degrees that day and no wind so everybody moved out on the lawn in the shade of palms!

Me definitely feeling hot

So this is what a heat stroke looks like !

15. March 1997 11:14
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Narrabeen Beach . . .

15. March 1997 11:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Narrabeen Beach . . .

My apartment is situated right on Narrabeen beach - one of the nicer and quieter northern beaches.

Now that I've said this, you're probably wondering about that surfer in the middle of that photo... and is the wave real?

You betcha!

I even have a photo of this surfer being 'chased' by this HUGE wave, on the wall in my apartment.

Narrabeen beach

Narrabeen is renowned for its great surf and dangerous rips. Many famous lifesavers come to surf at this beach. However, usually after a big storm, the beach is closed as the waves can get pretty rough and dangerous rips pull you out to sea.

These photos were taken outside my apartment during the annual National Surf and Lifesaving competition.

Narrabeen Beach

Newer posts
1
2
...
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
Older posts

15. September 2000 11:05
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

New Car in 2000 . . .

15. September 2000 11:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In September 2000, just after I returned from my trip to Borneo, I had to buy this new car because my girlfriend had written off my car whilst I was away! *smile*

I did not look forward to hunting around for a new car, but I found a good buy locally. This car is a 1997 Ford Futura, with 4.0 litre, 6-cylinder, 220-horsepower, power-steering, central locking and electronic windows (I think I am starting to sound like a car advertisement...)

Frontal view of car

It is pretty much the same colour as my old car, and it feels so nice to drive!

As you can see, pretty similar, but I also really miss my old car! It had a lot of computerised features - from a digital odometer, to adjusting the internal temperature of the car. It was a pretty cool car and wished I could have kept it for another few more years.

Frontal view of car

A huge contrast to my first car!

It is a red hatchback that I bought early 1998, a few months after I arrived in Australia. But someone wrote it off a few months after I bought it. It was a pretty bad accident, but luckily I was alright. I was only covered by Third Party insurance, and to go through a lot of paperwork just to get reimbursement for the car!

15. August 2000 10:43
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Away from Headquarters . . .

15. August 2000 10:43 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )


Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

Away from Headquarters . . .

I managed to explore the villages at Silam.

The people here wore this white stuff on their faces - I guess their form of sunscreen.

These people were refugees from the Philippines.

Kids in the village

The kids were fighting to fit into the photo!

Kids in the village

The kids here were really cute. Caught Monkey

These kids here, had caught a monkey and was trying to sell it at the camp for 5 ringgit (AUD$2.50).

No-one wanted to buy it because they knew if they bought it, and set it loose, the kids would just catch it again, and try to sell it.

In general, there were lots of great photos at Silam village.

Car in a ditch

One of the helicopter pilots was driving through the jungle roads, took a corner too fast, and had a minor mishap.

All of us having dinner

We headed into Lahad Datu to get some seafood!

An escape from camp food. Camp food was disgusting. There were live worms in the vegetables (yes, after cooked). Most of the food was not fresh, and was pretty boring. The seafood was fantastic here. Whenever we had the chance, we ate lots of seafood.

Yum... Paul did not get to eat all of the crabs - all of us had a portion of it.

Huge lobster

Yummm... they were huge, but we did not eat them. They were too big for us to eat, pretty impressive though. They were the biggest lobsters I have seen in my life. We saw these at the same place we ate our seafood and frogs (below).

Frog

We had this frog for dinner about 2 min after I took the photo.

This was actually when I went out with Glen in Kota Kinabalu - he asked me to pick some food and to surprise him.

I did not tell him till a year later that he ate frog meat. He asked me what it was, because he reckoned it tasted funny, but I did not tell him at the time.

I think he will only eat it again. Only if he really had to.

The tallest building in the world

Petronis Towers - the tallest twin towers in the world.

Actually, they are the tallest buildings in the world, followed by the Sears Towers in Chicago.

The towers are joined by some sort pedestrian platform.

These towers are located in Kuala Lumpur.

I went to Kuala Lumpur to pick up my Permanent Residency for Australia.

Woohoo!!! After 2 years of lots of paperwork, and correspondence back and forth with Berlin, I finally managed to get it!

The inconvenience of it all, was that I actually had to leave Australia ie collect my PR before re-entering Australia.

Below, is the only photo I have of the Lateral Linking Team that I worked with during the race.

The radio communications team

15. August 2000 10:42
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Helicopters . . .

15. August 2000 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )


Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

Helicopters . . .
The radio communications team had to arrive a few days before that because we had to hand out over 2,000 pieces of radio equipment. We had problems getting the necessary approvals for helicopters so they were grounded! I ended having to hand out most of the equipment as Glen and Paul had to sort out our use of the helicopters.

We had to fly all the equipment to Silam before the start of the race, and our team managed to fly to Silam the day before the race started.

Do you believe that Paul managed to take a photo of me whilst I was flying the chopper? He was standing to the side of me, and took the photo at night time, with the door open ...

Jeez, I would love to be the pilot!

Don't you think I look good as the chopper's pilot?

Just kidding.

A couple of days before the race started, I was at the airport most of the day. We had some problems with the radios in the helicopters... I must have been in and out of those helicopters at least 200 times.

I did manage to get someone to take some photos of me in a helicopter, looking very much like the pilot!

I had hoped that I had the time to explore Kota Kinabalue, but we were so busy, it had to wait.

Helicopters at HQ

Here is the 212 or "Huey" - a twin-turbine Vietnam helicopter taking off. It is a hell a lot more powerful than some of the other helicopters we were using, which were 206s.
Landing at HQ

Here are the medical guys practising abseiling out of the helicopters (Aussie style)!

At the start of the race, I was sitting there listening to the first rescue on the radio.

3 hours after the start, four boats had capsized... helicopters and boats were very busy!

The competitors were due to arrive at Silam (another checkpoint) the next day (21st Aug).

For the first few days after the race started, I had to help organise to get the fuel to the top of the mountain.

After that the helicopter came in useful. It brought up 100 litres of fuel on the 4th day so I did not have to ferry fuel anymore!

Glen with repeater station

At the end of the race, we had to sling-load the repeaters, to get them off the mountain. That means we had to strap them onto the helicopters, and pull them off the mountains that way - quite effective really.

Transporting Equipment Photo 2

Repeater station finally airborne!

You can see a pole in the right photo.
My girlfriend asked me what it was for - it helps balance the load so that it does not keep swinging whilst airborne.

Below, you will see some pretty good photos from the chopper.

View from chopper - over the river

Towards the end of the race, we had to scan the rivers for the last competitors coming in - to make sure they had completed this section of the race course. It was low-altitude flying of the river-bed.

The photo on the left shows the chopper approaching Silam Village. This village was located just outside of Silam HQ.

Aerial view of the village

Glen liked wanted to have a photo of the back of my head - and I ruined the photo by turning my head as he took it...

Here's a sunset shot of the helicopters flying around.

I had to put in this fantastic photo - the lighting gives a really nice feel to the photo.

15. August 2000 10:42
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

The Wildlife in Borneo . . .

15. August 2000 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )


Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

The Wildlife in Borneo . . .

The jungles in Borneo are really dense, dark and humid.

You will find that some of the photos look as though they have been over-exposed, but in reality, it is just the humidity in the air.

Me in the jungle

I have a photo of this at home - Glen enlarged it for me, and framed it!

Don't ask me why - I think I look rather wasted there.

Glen and I tried to race through the jungle.

The climb to the top of the mountain is rated as a 1.5 hour climb... Glen and I have done it in 26 minutes... actually I was confident that I could do it in less than 20 and so I did!

I held the record of taking 17 minutes to race to the top of Mt Silam, covering a distance of approx 4 kilometres through the jungle, up a mountain.

I was getting really fit (My girlfriend was proud of me).

Glen in the jungle

This photo shows how dense and dark the jungle can be. It was so humid there... no, not because I hadn't cleaned my lenses.

Glen in the jungle

You can see how muddy it is in the jungle - I became quite dirty after many trips into the jungle.

Look how big these trees are!

Me standing in front of one of these big trees!

They look almost as big as the Californian Redwoods!

I think these trees are just as big as the Californian Redwoods. They might not be as old, but definitely just as big.
Beetle

This was taken with a 300mm lens, from 1.5 metres.

The most amazing thing about them, is when they are scared, the curl up into little "marbles".

It looks like a small bug, but it is actually at least 7cm long, which is actually quite big.

Moth in palm of hand

I noticed in Borneo, most of the insects there were huge.

The wingspan of the brown moth was about 15cm wide - huge!

They are mostly active at night, which is quite common for creatures in the jungle.

A couple of the girls stationed in the jungles, was stationed here. Not a wise decision, considering these girls were paranoid about the insects.

(Note: in the photo below, I still had conjunctivitis) I had the red eyes for most of the trip.
Moth on my elbow

Big and beautiful, don't you think? You can see how big the black moth is compared to the size of the telephone.

These plants were kind of special because each branch split into two, so by the end of it, they formed a hexagonal pattern.

Below, are plants known as the "pitcher" plant.

The pitcher plants are meat-eating plants - you have watch out not to fall into them because they will swallow you whole.

If you just believed that, you are very gullible! *laugh*

The pitcher plant, like other carnivorous plants, feed on insects.

They have sweet-smelling nectar that attract the unsuspecting insect to it.

When the insect lands, it finds the surface slippery and fall straight into the “pitcher”, where the plants juices drowns it and is digested by the plant.

You may have heard of other type of carnivorous plants such as the Venus Fly Trap, and the Sundew plants.

Me holding a dead snake

Yes, you see me holding the snake with a leaf.

It was a poisonous snake, and I was worried about it's venom getting on my skin.

For example a puff adder, contact with the venom numbs the skin.

I was not familiar with the snakes in Borneo, and was not about to risk it.
A Tarantella

The tarantella was sitting inside the catering tent hunting.

Everyone was looking at it and admiring it, which was pretty amazing, considering I know many people who would willingly kill a spider in sight.

Back to Top
Return to Borneo Homepage

Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:41
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Repeater Stations . . .

15. August 2000 10:41 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )


Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

Repeater Stations . . .

Paul and repeater Station in aircraft

Here, you see Paul and I transporting some of the repeater stations by air.

From Silam, we flew down to DFVC. We stayed there for three days before going back to Silam.

Me at site of repeater station

I am at one of the repeater sites. Here, the top of one of the mountains was cleared, so we could safely land a helicopter there.

Oh... did I forget to mention that I almost chopped one of my fingers in half at the repeater site?

On top of my infected eye, I had another thing for the medical team to look at. The fingernail had been chopped in half and there was not much I could do about it except clean it up and try to avoid infections. The medical team was great there... they were extremely good.

Site of Repeater Station

We had a few problems with some of the communications gear.

Paul and Glen were handling it, and at times I tried to assist.

The first few days had been really tough.

Solar Panel Photo 1

The top of Silam is covered in clouds for most of the afternoons, so the solar panels are quite useless. A survey of the conditions made prior to the race was useless.

If you ask any of the locals, they would have told us that the peak is always covered in clouds... but apparently no-one asked them!!!

Generator

We had problems keeping the generators running - they were using more power than predicted and there was no sun on the top of Silam to recharge the batteries.

The generator itself was a re-built petrol engine with a car alternator on it.

We basically tried to use a system where we used a jerry can, cut holes into it, and relied on the force of gravity to transport the fuel to the generator.

This design ended up working best for us.

Site of repeater station

Our helicopter pilot sitting on the side there, just grinning...

On the third day of the race, I hiked up the mountain three times. I was really tired and all I could think of was getting a bit of a rest and some food. I managed to get a bit once I got to Danum. In Danum I managed to get 6 hours sleep before someone woke me up and told me that the repeater had died in Silam... again all the cars had to leave in a convoy... so rush, rush to find my driver and managed (just) to get into the convoy!

The road to Danum closes at 6.30pm and all the cars had to go in the convoy.

Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 1

The helicopter flew all of us to the top of the mountain, and waited there for us till we were finished. Glen quite often told the pilot, "You don't have to shut down, because we'll only be here for 5 minutes." Well... quite often, we were there for as long as an hour and half! (Don't worry, the pilot was sensible enough to shut down immediately... he got to know Glen very well.)

I went up there often make sure that it was still running. It is much better getting a helicopter to fly me up there so that I can bring some fuel with me !

Glen fixing generator Photo 1

Glen has mostly been on top of the mountain getting the generator back online.
We have to keep the generator running 24 hours per day until the end of the race.

Glen fixing repeater Photo 1

On the third night after the race started, one of the repeaters went dead.

I had to hike up the mountain on the previous day as the generator had died.

I did not leave the mountain until it was dark, so I had to climb down through the jungle in the dark!

Fortunately I had my torch with me!

Glen fixing repeater Photo 4

Paul later gave me strict instructions to make sure that I leave the mountain so that I could be back at HQ while there was still light!

I found out that I did not have any problems navigating at night... I even offered Paul to go back up when the repeater died!

Anyhow, we ended up having to send the airborne repeater up!

Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 3

15. August 2000 10:41
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

The Competitors . . .

15. August 2000 10:41 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )


Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

The Competitors . . .

The competitors did not rest... three of the teams were half way through the 600 kilometre course after only three days... pretty amazing!

Two of the teams were Australian. 18 teams were out of the race. At least 10 of these were due to medical problems.

Hardly any people around here get enough sleep... the place is active 24 hours per day because there are always competitors coming in!

I was keen to find out how the Danish team would turn out. At the beginning of the race, they were not very sociable. But by the end of the race, I think the tension of the race had gone, and I managed to have a chat with them. By the third day, the Danes are doing pretty well... they had a 22nd place!

Race on mountain bikes

This was the mountain-bike leg of the race.

The guy you see being transported to hospital in the helicopter (photos below), was doing this part of the race. He was rounding a corner on his bike and rode straight into a large branch.

Rush to medical facilities

We had a lot of medical urgencies... we almost lost a guy with a punctured lung !
I got some great photos and helped getting the guy into the mobile hospital. There was a lot publicity on the website and through the media about it.

Fortunately, he was only 15 minutes away from HQ, so it was possible for us to get him to the helicopter very quickly, and to the nearest hospital.

River Race

Another leg of the race involved rowing in these “sampans”, a Malay term for “boat”. At some point, the teams in the race had to also split up - some of them swimming, some of them rowing, to complete the water leg of the race.

Below, the competitors had to use a flying fox to cross the canyons. I managed to have a go at it - compared to rock-climbing... well, I found it pretty boring *smile*. I imagine most people would find it quite fun though.

Setting up of flying fox

There are no places to climb here.

I had hoped to take one of the helicopters to Madai Caves to check out the 200 metre abseil. The road to the Madai Caves lead directly through the tiny village of Gua Madai - a small cluster of homes, their wood bleached grey.

The town’s main sources of income are tourism and birds’ nests. The nests are found high up the walls of the cave, tucked away in cracks and crevasses, and can command thousands of dollars. They are harvested about three times a year.

My girlfriend mentioned trying "bird's nest soup" whilst I was there. She said normally the bird's nest they use belong to the swallow. It is a delicacy to many Asians, and similar to shark's fin soup - that is if you have tried it. Normally the nests are made out of the birds' saliva.
Headquarters flooded!

There was so much rain at Silam that HQ was often flooded.

Many of the competitors took the opportunity to get some sleep and the slept on whatever they could find.

Back to Top

Return to Borneo Homepage

Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:40
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Silam and Jungle Ops . . .

15. August 2000 10:40 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )


Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

Silam and Jungle Ops . . .
It is so bloody hot in Silam! It must have been at least 40 degrees and 100% humidity!

Silam was the overall headquarters, and Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC) was referred to as Jungle Ops. Jungle Ops controlled all radio communications and conducted the race through the the jungle.

From Kota Kinabalu, we flew to Lahad Datu and drove the rest of the way to Silam. Silam was the site of one of the repeater stations. We had to set up a HQ a few kilometres from this station... heaps of opportunities for a few walks in the jungle.

The operation at Silam was huge!... I had never seen such a busy place before. The place was crawling with energy. It was bigger than any military operation I had ever seen! You would be amazed to see the logistics involved in this project ! At the time I did not have the time to take a lot of photos.

We had many army trucks transporting the competitors' equipment - very good cooperation from the military. They helped out with the preparation and set-up of HQ, and with the transportation of fuel.

Arrival of army trucks at Silam

This is the headquarters on the left.

The whole Ecochallenge race is governed from this office.

The map in the background contains the position of all the checkpoints at which the competitors have to go through.

View from helipcopter

Both of the above photos are aerial shots of HQ and were taken from a helicopter.

I managed to get a nice aerial shot of Silam HQ. The big white patch in the middle is where the competitors stored all their equipment. Just to the left are the containers from where the race is controlled. The 4 'finger-like' white pads on the right are the heli-pads. The long rectangle to the left is the eating area, and just above it is the hospital.

Aerial view of Jungle Ops HQ

Approaching DVFC in helicopter.

This is actually a research centre in the middle of the jungle - commonly known as DVFC (Danum Valley Field Centre).

DVFC is not normally accessible the tourists and the general public, only to researchers.

DVFC is concerned about contamination into the jungle.

Jungle Ops HQ

Outside Jungle Ops HQ.

The green boxes contain bottled drinking water.

By the time the race was over, most of this had been consumed - quite amazing really, considering there were really only 10 people at Jungle Ops.

During the competitors were not allowed any help from us, and that included the provision of drinking water.

Paul at HQ

Paul with some of the radio equipment at Silam.

He is standing next to the HQ matrix, which contained all the communications equipment for headquarters.

Paul is also standing next to the only 2 beds in the HQ building. These were used by the radio operators to nap in between shifts.

Below, you see me sitting in the catering tent at Silam.

I think it must have been a good day, to have been sitting there, smiling... I am just guessing here, because obviously I did not take the photo, and I cannot remerber the place.

Me relaxing at Silam

Bad hair day?

I did not have a shower for a very long time, and to hold my hair in place, I adopted various techniques, such as the sunglasses-hairband...

This place is a breathing ground for tropical diseases!

As you can see, my right eye is really red. I somehow managed to get conjunctivitis and did not know it was contagious. I did not want to trouble the medics as they were pretty tied up with the competitors. When my vision on the left eye was getting blurry and I had problems seeing what was in front of me, I was ordered to get it checked. Just as well I did!

In Kota Kinabalu, I had the same problem on the other eye... at one point both my eyes were infected. It started on my left eye on the way to Kota Kinabalu in the plane ! It then spread to my right eye. The nurse at Silam told me that I should be careful because it could re-infect to my left eye. It started to look and feel a lot better after using the eyedrops that they gave me.

Back to Top

Return to Borneo Homepage

Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:39
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Preparations at the Magellan Hotel

15. August 2000 10:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )


Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

Preparations at the Magellan Hotel
( Kota Kinabalu ) . . .

All the Ecochallenge teams gathered together at the Magellan Hotel in anticipation of the race, which was due to start on 20th August.

During our stay at Kota Kinabalu, we were staying at the most extravagant hotel - as pictured on the right. It is huge! It has 3 swimming pools, and takes us an hour to walk around the perimeter.

The radio communications team had to arrive a few days before the start of the race because we had to hand out over 2,000 pieces of radio equipment. We had problems getting the necessary approvals for helicopters so I ended up having to hand out most of the equipment whilst Glen and Paul sorted out the issue of the helicopters. We had to get all the equipment and our team to Silam before the the race started.

Paul & Glen preparing the equipment

Glen and Paul checking all the equipment and re-programming some of the radios.
Yes, I'm busy working too!

Behind me are all the radio equipment, ready to be handed out. I am standing here waiting for the competitors to arrive as I have to sign out the equipment as I give them out.

We had to improvise a lot of the furniture, using old crates to set up tables.

Vegging in really nice rooms

After the race, Glen and I decided to make most of the luxury and just veg... aaahhh... bliss!

Relaxing on our balcony

Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:39
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

15. August 2000 10:39 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )


Arrival	Silam / Jungle Ops	Repeater Stations	The Competitors	Helicopter	Jungle Around Us	The Village

Click here for full size map of Sabah, Borneo

Ecochallenge in 2000 was held on the east coast of Borneo, in the jungles of Sabah. It was an extreme race where the competitors taking part have to endure 10 days of running through the jungles; kayaking and swimming many kilometres offshore; and mountain-biking for 150km on dirt roads. All in all, the fastest competitors travelled 600km in a space of just over 5 days!

I had the privilege of being there, being the developer of software that was used by the radio communications team. I also helped out with the setting up of all equipment and made many trips to the repeater stations.

Being in the jungles of Sabah, let alone part of the Ecochallenge preparations, has proved to be a challenge and an experience worth remembering, and hope to be part of any future Ecochallenge events.

As shown in the map, the red trails are where most of the competitors either ran or walked. The purple trail was the kayaking/canoeing leg. The orange trail was the mountain-bike leg and the blue trail was where the competitors had to swim with all their equipment.

Back to Top

Return to Contents page

Created: 7 Dec 2001

4. March 2000 11:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Chilli Festival ( 4th March 2000 ) . . .

4. March 2000 11:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On this particular Saturday, I drove to Terrigal to see the Mexican Chilli Festival... it was excellent. I shot two rolls of film up there. Some of these pictures have turned out beautifully!

A couple of my Mexican friends were doing the entertainment there. Victor is very good at playing the mexican harp. His wife, Shiraz, is an excellent dancer.

I took a series of shots in colour and a series in black & white. I shall first show you the ones in colour and then in b&w, as the b&w ones are very artistic!

Victor playing the harp

Victor plays the harp like a dream!

I was once at Lance's place - Lance was helping Victor record his music onto CD. The harp does not look like your ordinary orchestral harp. It was ornate and somehow different. It is was a very beautiful instrument.

One of 3 dancers

As you can see, these women are gorgeous! Something about silk stockings, I think...

Shiraz is the photo in the middle. She did quite a few numbers, and this was one of them. All 3 girls danced in a colourful combination!

Dancing couple

Here you see Shiraz dancing in a duet.

I have seen her do this dance at a similiar concert May last year, here in Lindfield. Victor and a couple of guitarists provided accompaniment to the dancing. Shiraz moved so fast that at times, all you could see was this colourful wave of skirts.

Her partner's costume reminded me of the costumes the Spanish toledos wore (except without the cape).

Shiraz in white

As you can see, Shiraz danced a number of dances that day.

It takes a lot of energy to do those dances!

Get notified when a new post is published.

Enter your e-mail

29. June 2015 13:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Phuket - Tuk Tuks

29. June 2015 13:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The traditional Tuk Tuks of thailand are now completely gove from the Phuket area and have been replaced by mini taxis.

These have been fitted with big music subwoofers and tv's in the passenger compartments.

The Kids loved riding them...especially the 'green' ones. We used them to transport us to most places.

25. June 2015 12:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Phuket - Hotel swimming pool

25. June 2015 12:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The pool at the hotel was great.

The kids loved it and it was nice jumping in the pool after an excursion out and about.

It really boosted the kids confidence swimming there.

If it had been up to Kim's family then they would have stayed at the pool the entire trip and not have left the hotel.

24. June 2015 11:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Phuket - Monkey show

24. June 2015 11:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

There was also a monkey show with a larger trained monkey.

Apparently in the past they used trained monkeys to fetch coconuts for them and they demonstrated how they trained them.

Kim's dad had his photo taken with the monkey.

23. June 2015 11:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Phuket - Snake show

23. June 2015 11:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

They also had a snake show at the elephant place.

Some of the snakes were very poisonous such as this monocled cobra.

And the huge king cobra (which kept coming over the safety barrier).

Chong and I volunteered to hold the python.

I wonder how often the snake guy has been bitten by his snakes.

22. June 2015 11:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Phuket - Small monkeys

22. June 2015 11:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At the place we went riding elephants they had a group of little monkeys that we could hold and feed.

They were chained to their little houses which was a bit cruel, but the kids loved seeing the monkeys up close.

The kids thought it was very funny when one of them grabbed my nose.

21. June 2015 11:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Phuket - Elephant ride

21. June 2015 11:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One morning we went on an elephant ride with the family.

Kim had been on elephant rides before and is terrified, but she was still brave enough to do it again (She was screaming that she wanted to get off most of the way).

It was an amazing experience for the Kids.

They got to see the big animals up close.

20. June 2015 08:07
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Phuket - Kata Beach

20. June 2015 08:07 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One one of the first days we went to the beach at Kata. The hotel had a shuttle bus to the beach which was an easy 10 minutes walk away.

The beach was actually surprisingly nice with warm water.

About two months ago a sailing boat stranded on the beach during a storm. No one has claimed the boat and a few attempts of lifting it off the beach has failed.

We told the kids that it was a pirate ship, so they wanted to have a closer look.

Kims dad didn't want to go in the water, but decided to keep to his thing with wearing warm clothes in hot humid weather.

19. June 2015 08:26
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Phuket – Travelling

19. June 2015 08:26 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This year we traveled to Phuket in Thailand along with Kim's sisters family and her dad.

We had to fly via Bangkok, so we were a bit worried how the kids would handle the long flight (especially Lucas), but everyone handled it reasonably well.

The boys were very excited to be going on a big aeroplane.

Once we arrived to Bangkok it was pretty obvious to see that they were very excited.

The only thing that never made it all the way to the hotel was our stroller. We lost it somewhere between Phuket airport and the hotel...but wasn't a big loss and hopefully someone puts it to goo local use.

20. May 2015 12:05
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Passport photo session

20. May 2015 12:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It is time to renew Aiden passport and like last time there were a lot of outtakes that we could not use, but which were quite funny.

20. May 2015 11:05
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Grandma and grandpa

20. May 2015 11:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Here is some more photos of my grandma and grandpa on my mothers side.

Here she is with her sisters (my grandma on the far right)

Here is some of her when she was young.

Here is one that I assume was taken in 1969 based on the date of the photo.

I think this one if my grandpa when he was young.

And here is some more.

And here is some family gathering photos.

I think it is her brother on the left. And my cousin Mette on the right.

And this is with my grandparents on my fathers side (left to right bedstefar, mormor, morfar, bedstemor, mum and Claus).

1. March 2015 09:03
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Swan Lake

1. March 2015 09:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Kim and I went to see the Swan Lake with the Australian Ballet at the Capitol Theatre this season.

Neither of us had ever seen the swan lake and really wanted to see it. My dad was here at the same time but he was happy to babysit the kids while we we were going.

It was a beautiful performance and without a doubt the best ballet I have seen.

19. February 2015 14:02
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Kims Babtism

19. February 2015 14:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Since the kids were babtised last year Kim though it would make sense that she would be babtised too.

So, early January it was her turn with just the immediate family around.

19. February 2015 14:02
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Kenya Tribes

19. February 2015 14:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It was a privilege to live in Kenya during the 80's. Much of the the country had seen very few (if any) white people.

So, everywhere that we went we seemed to be the main attraction (especially me and my brother with our blonde hair).

To be honest I can't identify all the tribes anymore, but I know that a lot of them are from Samburu, Turkana and the northern part of Kenya.

I suspect that if you went to those areas today then they would all be wearing T-Shirts.

28. January 2015 16:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Kenya - Animals

28. January 2015 16:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Needless to say that I saw a lot of animals while in Kenya.

I don't know how it is today, but back then they were everywhere in the national parks.

Here is some of the Rhinos we saw.

Elephants were plentiful.

Lots of cheetahs.

And lots of lions.

Their kittens.

Lots of Hippos (Lots of these in Lake victoria) and they would be grazing on the golf course across the street.

Hyenas

The vultures eating the remains of the kills.

And of cause loads of zebras and various gazelles.

23. January 2015 15:01
by Rene Pallesen
1 Comments

Kenya - childhood

23. January 2015 15:01 by Rene Pallesen | 1 Comments

My time in Kenya was every kids dream.

I got see and do things that few other kids had a chance of doing and it definitely had a big impact on my adult life.

Living at Lake Victoria gave me the chance of catching the biggest fish I have ever caught (A 56pound/25kg Nile Perch).

I also caught the smallest fish I have ever caught in that same lake.

We didn't need fancy fishing gear, just a stick with a piece of line on it.

Life, going to school and emerged in a different culture was a different kind of life (This is our house maid, my brother and my grandmother in front of our house).

This is Filistus another of our house maids. She was working for us most of our time there (we found out the she died from a bad case of malaria years after we left).

Here we are riding a 100 year old turtle.

Life with my brother was also very different. He discovered his talent for Tennis in Kenya and could whoop most of the adults arse when he was 12yo.

No hair dressers around so we also had the worst hair cuts.

There wasn't a lot of Europeans around so we'd know most with a 100km radius.

Family life was simple (not TV) but good.

Our dog was part of the family and made quite a few trips to Kenya.

Every afternoon was spent at the Nyanza Country club where Claus played Tennis and we went swimming.

I taught myself to swim and owe these days to how solid a swimmer I am today...I got really upset that I couldn't swim and my stubborness kicked in and I became determined to learn...fast.

Some of the less memorable moments were the school plays where I was dressed up as a big bird.

Here is one of Claus singing in the choir.

23. January 2015 07:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

1981 Kisumu Primary School class photo

23. January 2015 07:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I have started going through some of the old photos on my computer and will start post some of them on my blog.

The first one I stumbled upon one of my class photos from Kenya from 1981/82 when I went to Kisumu Primary School.

I was the only white person in my class (we were 5-6 europeans in the whole school)

16. January 2015 15:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Alpaca farm stay - hunter valley gardens

16. January 2015 15:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One evening while staying at the farm we went to the Hunter Valley gardens to check out the light show and the mega bugs.

There were lots of really creepy insects around the garden and they were all moving and making sounds.

The light show was also really good and there were a couple of new things compared to last year.

And we also spend a bit more time in the story garden.

And the story about girls and boys is 'different'...

...but maybe true for these little monkeys.

16. January 2015 14:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Alpaca farm stay

16. January 2015 14:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

At the end of the summer holidays we made a trip up north to Broke (Hunter Valley) with the kids and some friends to stay at an Alpaca farm.

It didn't take long for Aiden to get comfortable with feeding the Alpacas but Lucas was a bit more hesitant and was happy to just observe or throw the food at them.

The Alpacas also provided them with a biology lesson teaching them about the bees and the flowers.

We also did a bit of wine tasting while we were in that part of the hunter.

But the kids were more interested in playing outside and chasing the cat.

16. January 2015 10:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

NY resolution - Get healthy

16. January 2015 10:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

My New Years resolution for this year is to get healthy.

By this I don't mean that I will try and become super fit and start running marathons. No, I just mean that I want to get to a stage where I feel healthy, do a bit of exercise, have a healthy mental state and generally eat healthy.

I started really well on this last year, but about half way through I started getting sick all the time (like every 2-3 weeks).

This time around I want to have 2 months without getting sick and then I will start some easy to moderate exercise again.

I want to see if I can get back to running again.

16. January 2015 10:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

A place to stay

16. January 2015 10:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Here is a fun little street sign. This is a place I wanna live...

10. December 2013 12:11
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Christmas Photos 2013 - Candles

10. December 2013 12:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Christmas is approaching fast. The Christmas tree is up and Kim is busy shopping for presents for the various people.

The other night I managed to slot in 10 minutes for the first set of Christmas photos of Aiden and Lucas.

I was shooting these with a 50mm f1.4 lens to get the nice blurry Christmas tree lights. This also meant that I didn't have much room to play with when it came to focus...almost impossible with two moving kids whily trying to get the right mood with facial expressions, tantrums etc. Aiden couldn't sit still and Lucas refused to wear his hat. What do they say...never photograph wild animals and children!

7. December 2013 07:54
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Christmas Concert 2013

7. December 2013 07:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The other day it was Aiden and Lucas Christmas concert with their daycare centre.

This year they were supposed to dress up in some country's national clothes.

We borrowed some Chinese clothes from KC and they looked very cute in it.

The concert went very well. We were especially impressed how well Aiden was able to follow the instructions and the moves to the various dances.

It was especially funny when they were singing this song with Konitchiwa...Namaste....BULA!!!!

Lucas was also in the first part of the concert sitting down the front with one of the carers.

6. December 2013 07:18
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Big foot playing soccer

6. December 2013 07:18 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Aiden is still playing soccer once a week. Last week he insisted on wearing my shoes instead of his own.

Maybe he was hinting that his old shoes are getting too small.

6. December 2013 07:16
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Fun on a rainy day

6. December 2013 07:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We have had a lot of rain lately. On one of the days I was showing Aiden and Lucas how to make a pair of funny glasses out of an egg crate and a piece of string.

They got to paint the glasses afterwards.

6. December 2013 07:14
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

A helping hand vacuuming

6. December 2013 07:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The other day I picked up Aiden and Lucas pretty late from daycare.

They were in the process of cleaning and Aiden was eagerly waiting for them to turn on the vacuum cleaner so he could play with it.

20. November 2013 10:15
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

De knoklede - page 007

20. November 2013 10:15 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I have already gone out too far. I cannot return and jump over the stream because it is growing inside of me and is becoming a roaring river.
What are these strange thoughts I am having?
Were these free farmers in the hills above Varde Aaa more free at year 900 than they were in year 1100?
The only difference was christianity.

Off to the library
The landowner at Noerholm
The Herredfoged.
The Bishop in Ribe
It is all written here

I start thinking about hunting
A good hunter makes sure that they keep a healthy game on the property. He will feed the game during tough winters and make sure that the the overall health is there and have to most productive game survive.
No, it is not right to have these thoughts here in the library when it is the farmers I need to find information on.

Queen Margaret..
Make a claim on Noerholm..
Maybe there is something here..

Wasn't it the landowner of Noerholm that owned Noerholm?
Has he just built up Noerholm and then put his filthy hand on every surrounding piece of land and property?
Which the church was claiming that it should own?
Or was it the Bishop in Ribe?

This was not what I was supposed to find here at the library. It was the farmer - farmers!

Hunting...

What rubbish was that. I must get rid of these thoughts, this has nothing to do with hunting.

20. November 2013 08:59
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

De knoklede - page 006

20. November 2013 08:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It wouldn't have been the lord who was out there beginning to move large boulders.

And not the bishop -

Christianity had just been introduced but building that many churches required a lot of workforce.

My thoughts are diverted.

Has this big change in faith based activity created communities, something in common because surely it was the farmers who built the churches.
This introduction was it something that made the existence easier for the farmers, my old roots.
It must have been, a lot of other things to believe in has been forgotten and the church is now a gathering place.

You should never start researching your ancestry.
You encounter one surprise after another and will never finish. There is always more.
There is changes in ones beliefs for every new discovery.

Of cause it was the farmers who built the churches. Who else would have?
They probably started with the words; "On the day of honour I am with you".

My thoughts are again left astray.

Russia build the aswan dam in Egypt.

Yes, I saw it myself with my own eyes. I drove in my car along the large canals they were digging.

How was it that they explained it to me?
This canal was to be dug 5 metres deep, 100 metres wide and should extend 800km out into the desert.

There were thousands of workers, it all looked like a large ants nests.
Men with baskets full of soil on their heads.

There was not a single Russian in this ants nest.

- Who actually built the Aswan Dam? -

20. November 2013 08:48
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

De knoklede - page 005

20. November 2013 08:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Farmers

My grandads memoirs.

-

My Memoirs.

-

But there has to be something before us.

Our family of farmers from Kongeaaen at Toboel to Lyngbakkerne across Varde Aa - Mejls - Hornelund - Sig.

How did they live in the last 1000 years?

I rush to the library but it feels like hitting a miss in the lottery.

Have my ancestors, the farmers, not accomplished anything that made it worthy for a couple of pages in the danish history?

Yes, they have of cause not walked about killing each other to get hold of their neighbors possessions. Rather the opposite, from the looks of it, it was the farmers that were killed.

And for this the killers deserved a rather prominent mentioning in the history.

Yes, there was built a number of churches in the 1100's, but my relatives, the farmers are not mentioned.

I start to think.

- Who actually built these churches? -.

20. November 2013 03:11
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

De Knoklede - page 009

20. November 2013 03:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

..as a couple of cows and a bull out on the feeding grounds. Something that can work and reproduce.

There is an old say like this - The devil looks after his own.
Let me immediately point out that the Devil didn't look after the farmers in the area around Varde and it was obvious that it was the met in power that were looked after by the Devil.

Here I would like to jump forward to 1300-1400 in the Danish history (Queen Margaret I). It is like my ancestors roots here start sprouting quickly. It is not quite clear who owns then, the church or the landowner at Noerholm.
Queen Margaret interfere in the argument and this gives the farmers a bit of breathing space.
A few farmers become more established and become independent (owns their land).
How should all these farmers see all the trouble ahead? Yes, even the Danish history has forgotten them.
It is only all the bad evil, power hungry people that are written about.
The more bloodthirsty the more pages they get in the book.

How mush is described about the farmers fight for independence against Kristian the 3rd?

The farmers at Varde invaded the river fortres at Varde and destroyed it but then had to retreat north with Captain Clement pursued by Johan Rantzau the kings right hand.
The farmers were at last defeated at Aalborg so that they would not appear in the history books. Not even crying and mourning by women and children behinds the hills at Varde river.

Honour becomes he who should be honoured.

20. November 2013 02:57
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

De knoklede - page 008

20. November 2013 02:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I am stuck.

There is something peculiar about this study.

Why do I still return to - in a time of hunting?

Right! I remember, there is a book by that name.

I tell myself to think about something else - And he thoughts saw wide views.
And the neighbours wife said to her mum - That decease looks just like...

No, this is enough...

Were the farmers the hunted game or not?
Were the king, the lords, the church, the bishop the hunters?

Were the farmers the game and the hunting so good that the hunters couldn't agree on splitting the game?
Was it like that all over Denmark? Of cause it was. the Varde area was no exception.

It is something strange you are getting involved in when you study your ancestors.
The farmers had to live, otherwise there was nothing to hunt, but when the land owner was about to loose his hunting rights then the hunting escalated to the point where the game was about to go extinct.
The hunters would then loose interest and start hunting elsewhere.

Here we can mention the war against Sweden with its following plague as well as Napoleon with his Spanish troops in Denmark.

The farmers always recovered, because they were the lifeline for Denmark.
Children are born and new generations grow up between the marshes and hills without knowing whether they in years to come will be valuable as game and hence again be hunted to extinction.

It is the owners of the hunting grounds, their mentality and actions that is written into the Danish history. They have been lifted onto the podium for their dishonest behaviour.

On the contrary is just mentioned as an afterthought...

3. February 2017 08:02
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Zimbabwe - Flying out

3. February 2017 08:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Leaving Zimbabwe we had the experience of the aircraft (an old B737) breaking down with engine problems prior to our departure. Although this is not uncommon, most international airports would have a team of aircraft mechanics along with spare parts to fix problems.

Victoria Falls do not have all the same facilities due to the low volume of aircraft, so in our case the pilot and co-pilot stepped up and went out to fix the problem themselves. With just a two hour delay we were back underway.

I doubt a pilot from a big international airline would step up and get his hands dirty or even have the skills to fix basic and common problems....credit go to bush pilots!

1. February 2017 15:02
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Zimbabwe - Victoria Falls

1. February 2017 15:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The main reason why we made the trip up to Zimbabwe was that our trip to South Africa would be our best opportunity to see and experience the Victoria Falls (and also give Kim and the boys to opportunity to visit another African country).

It is an amazing sight as the entire area around the falls is completely flat. The Zambezi river is at the point of the fall over a kilometer wide and the entire river suddenly drops into this narrow gorge.

The falls themselves are on the Zambian side of the border, and most of the lookouts are on the Zimbabwe side.

The effect is that the water spray gets pushed several hundred meters into the air above the gorge and creates a perpetual plume of rain clouds and spray making it impossible to stay dry.

This also meant that it was a challenge to keep my camera gear dry. I did bring a waterproof case for my camera, but after a few minutes a stopped using it because I couldn't mount the camera on a tripod at the same time. Instead I opted for covering the camera with a microfibre towel that somewhat helped, but otherwise I had to rely on the weather sealing on the Nikon camera and lenses.

To make it easier to dry we had dressed the boys ourselves in rash and sports shirts. This dried very quickly after getting wet unlike cotton clothing. We did bring some disposable ponchos but only Kim used hers a little.

31. January 2017 13:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Zimbabwe - Big (Baobab) Tree

31. January 2017 13:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Just outside Victoria Falls there is this Baobab tree that they keep showing to tourists (behind fencing so tourists don't vandalise it). We were brought there on the way to the Boma restaurant because the other people in the bus wanted to see it.

They all went Ooooh and Ahhh by seeing it, but I must say that it is neither big or beautiful as far as Baobab trees go...even the fig trees here in Australia are bigger (and better looking).

31. January 2017 12:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Zimbabwe & Zambia - Sunset cruise on the Zambezi River

31. January 2017 12:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

In the evening we booked a sunset cruise on the Zambezi river.

It was a beautiful calm evening and the boat slowly cruised in and out between the river islands within Zimbabwe and Zambia. In the distance there were clouds and rain forming beautiful rainbows.

There were lots of hippos around and we also spotted a couple of crocodiles and other wildlife. This time of the year there weren't any elephants as they don't need to go to the river during the rain season.

30. January 2017 14:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Zimbabwe - Instant Billionaires

30. January 2017 14:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One thing about Zimbabwe was that everything is quite expensive for tourists in Victoria falls.

Back in 2008/09 the whole economy collapsed and the local currency was worth less than the paper it was printed on. As a result the entire country started using stable currencies such as US dollars.

In Victoria falls this means that everything is paid for in US dollars and since everything is more or less government controlled they try to milk tourists for as much hard currency as they possibly can.

As a result most tourists stay for a shorter duration as they probably would otherwise which is a pity as the benefits of tourism isn't shared with the rest of the country.

The country also has all the typical African inefficiencies and illogical processes which I experienced back in my days in East Africa, but which greatly annoyed Kim.

She was however greatly amused when I came back after a walk telling her that I had made her an instant billionaire - with the note here held by Aiden with a smug on his face.

30. January 2017 13:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Arriving to Zimbabwe

30. January 2017 13:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

During the break we decided to make a trip to South Africa and on the way do a quick detour to the Victoria falls on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The first evening we book dinner at Boma restaurant. Even though it is a bit touristy (everything around the falls are) they promised a buffet dinner with various game meat and dancing/drumming.

On the menu was Mopani worms, Wort Hog, Elan, Guinea Foul and spit Lamb.

Poor little Lucas was so tired that he fell asleep in the car there and slept the whole way through.
Although Aiden was tired he did enjoy the experience (in his silly fashion).

The drumming was very interactive and the dinner guests could join in.

Good start to the trip.

19. December 2016 13:12
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Christmas family photo 2016 - Naughty Elves

19. December 2016 13:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

It has been another year and again Merry Christmas 2016.

Following the tradition I have created another family photo for this year. Aiden and Lucas are growing older and also more naughty, so this year we decided to do something different and let the parents have a quiet evening while we let the boys 'hang out' together.

9. December 2016 17:02
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Botany Bay walk

9. December 2016 17:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

There are some interesting areas around Botany Bay. One of the is the old WWII cannon positions and ammunition bunkers along the coast line to protect against Japanese invasions.

We have been there quite a few time and here are some of the photos from our last walk there.

9. December 2016 15:02
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Photos as Boralee Park

9. December 2016 15:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

One day we went down to Boralee park to take some photos of the boys with Kim. Here are some of them.

9. December 2016 15:02
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Canoeing at Royal National Park

9. December 2016 15:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

This winter during school holidays I took a day off to look after Aiden. I asked him if he wanted to go canoeing at the Royal National Park about 30 minutes drive from our house.

It was a beautiful sunny morning with not a wind or any other people in the creek.

Afterwards we went down to Wattamolla to have a look at the waterfall and play at the beach.

At Bundeena we had fish and chips for lunch.

He totally crashed on the way home.

10. January 2003 10:53
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Mum and Dad in Sydney 2003

10. January 2003 10:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

My mum and dad spent some time in Sydney over christmas and New Year.

While they were here I raught my dad how to absail.

And for Christmas I gave my parents some tickets for the Sydney Harbour bridge walk (they gave Arumi a ticket too).

1. November 2002 11:19
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

My brothers funeral

1. November 2002 11:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

My brother passed away in the end of 2002. He had been suffering badly from his disease for almost a decade and eventually it got the better of him.

I still miss him a lot even though we weren't close when he was alive....but I still feel him close to me to this day!

I still light a candle for him once in a while.

His two biggest wishes in life was to become a professional tennis player...he was a pretty damn good player and I never played against him because I didn't have a chance.

His second biggest wish was to get himself a girlfriend. This is one of the last photos that was taken of him.

I still blame the psychiatric system in Denmark for what happened. They were too focused on treating his disease with medication and never paid any attention on teaching him to live with his disease and provide quality in life.

I still love him very much and I really miss him. I also regret that I wasn't there more for him.

He always looked after me and he has never hurt anyone.

This is the last family photo that was taken.

I would appreciate if you click here to see some of the photos from my brothers life: May he not be forgotten

26. October 2002 11:12
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Growing Up . . .

26. October 2002 11:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Invitation for Claus' confirmation ceremony

26. October 2002 11:09
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

My Memories of Claus . . .

26. October 2002 11:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Amstmester - Claus Pallesen (newspaper article)

Before Claus became ill, he was a rising star in the world of tennis. He was featured in the local newspaper as Amtsmester - he came first in the local "Amst" - level similar to state-level.

Trip to Karrebæksminde, during René's and Arumi's visit to Denmark (June 2002)

Claus loved being out in the wind and the sun. He was also prone to seasickness.

At my old apartment in Narrabeen, Sydney

Claus and my family came to visit me in Australia in 1999. I think he liked it here - warmer winters and friendly people. I really like the top middle photo, of Claus eating oysters. He looked very happy. They did a lot of sightseeing here, and even visited my apartment on Narrabeen beach.

At airport - when René and Arumi leave Denmark

René & Claus at Sonja's 60th birthday celebrations

The following are the last photos that were taken of Claus, on one of our sailing trips.

26. October 2002 11:08
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

My Dear Big Brother...

26. October 2002 11:08 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

My brother had schizophrenia, and he passed away not long after his 33rd birthday.

I love my brother, and I regret not telling him this. My girlfriend tells me that Claus knew I loved him.
I am not convinced of this, so I wrote him a letter, in the hope that he will read this, wherever he is.

There is so much I wanted to say to him.

I want to remember him when he was not sick, when he was happy, and when I was last in Denmark in June 2002. I want to remember him, as you will see him in these photos.
blue line

26. October 2002 11:01
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Always Part of My Family . . .

26. October 2002 11:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Last photo with Claus - Home in Denmark 2002

26. October 2002 10:35
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

My Big Brother

26. October 2002 10:35 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

My Big Brother . . .

Sharing toys

Created: 8 Oct 2002 Last Updated: 24 Oct 2002

10. June 2002 11:47
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Singapore

10. June 2002 11:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

On the way back from Denmark we made a stopover in Singapore to have a look as well as do some shopping.

Here a photo from Little India in Singapore.

4. June 2002 11:36
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

My mums birthday

4. June 2002 11:36 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

We surprised my Mum by turning up in Denmark before her 60th Birthday.

She had a big party where a lot of her friends and family turned up.

While we were there we also got to visit some of my friends and family as well as do a bit of Sightseeing in Copenhagen and Legoland. Click here to see more photos from: Mums 60th Birthday/Slideshow

29. March 2002 02:52
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

Drive in Australia

29. March 2002 02:52 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Over the Christmas holidays we went for a drive through some of the most scenic parts of Australia.

First we drive down to Melbourne and then along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide.