Travels with my blind aunt — Fifth Week, Kiama, Australia
A travel journal from illustrator Toby Melville-Brown on his two month journey around the world with his blind aunt.
Since the middle of September I’ve been travelling round the world with my blind Aunt, documenting her journey with ink and film. With her YouTube cooking programme Baking Blind, Penny Melville-Brown is on mission to change people’s perception of what blind people can do. We’ve travelled to California, Costa Rica, East Coast USA, China and now Australia where Penny has cooked with professional and home culinary enthusiasts, simply as a vehicle to show that anyone can do it.
A valiant and enlightening mission -though at times, exhausting. So I was more than a touch relieved to find Kiama to be a super laid back town. It has stunning green rolling hills, that steadily tumble to the coast, down from the Mountains in the west, although the area’s most famous asset are it’s blow holes — where the waves of the thunderous Pacific Ocean burst though little quirks in it’s rock formation. I suppose that should have warned me of the formidable power of this sea. More on that later.
Never been to Australia before and hadn’t reckoned on visiting. So I was keen to take this opportunity to explore. And so on my day off, I got the two hour train journey to Sydney. Arriving at the tail end of a huge downpour I set about seeing as much as I could. I had 7 hours before getting back on the train to Kiama. The challenge of exploring a city in limited time is super fun, though if you take a wrong turn and find yourself in a horribly recognisable Westfield Shopping Centre — it’s painfully stressful. Fortunately, I quickly got shot of said labyrinth shiney shit, and out to the glorious Botanical Gardens. From there, I predictably made my way to marvel at the Opera House. Everyone knows the postcard picture, but what I really enjoyed were the details; the modernist interior, the tiled surface of those iconic hoods and the perfectly formed Bennelong Bar. Then, time for a ferry to and from Manly Beach to experience the stunning waterways of The Harbour.
Our cooking engagements were fascinating. Most of all: our morning with Fred an indigenous guy, who was a specialist in bush tucker — understanding all the edible and non-edible delights of the wild. A fascinating character, with a perspective on his environment.
Unlike myself, who, whilst inquisitive to the aesthetics of his surroundings, can be fairly disengaged from their mechanics. Which is why, when I and a travelling companion went for a quick dip in the ocean, we quickly found ourselves unable to swim back against a strong rip current. Soon, we were 300 metres out to sea, our swimming capabilities no match. Waving my arms, I managed to signal to a lone family on the beach. Now, our only hope was patience. After 40 minutes of treading water and little sign of rescue, an incredible array of support came in the shape of; one incredibly decent surfer called Luke, one ambulance, two police cars, one beach rescue jeep and two helicopters. And so I was returned to dry land feeling very foolish, and eternally grateful — particularly as I wasn’t troubled by any of the local sharks.
Having left our wonderful hosts Rosemary and Ken, I am now at our penultimate destination; Melbourne. From the sounds of things, this is somewhere I’ll want to hang around. I’m truly excited about this cultural hot-pot.
Till next time xxx
