East Bay Dinner: "Adventuring in Australia"

Thursday, January 25, no-host cocktails/social hour - 6 pm, dinner - 7:00, program - 8:00, Berkeley Yacht Club on the Berkeley Marina, one block north of the west end of University Avenue (ample free parking is available in the Marina parking lots).

In 2002, Bay Area natives Eric Armstrong and Sarah Baughn traveled to Australia, bought a four-wheel-drive Nissan Patrol, and took off for five months to explore Tasmania and the perimeter of this far-off continent. In their slide presentation, Eric and Sarah will share highlights from their 16,000-mile journey through Australia's wild, weird, and wondrous landscapes.

Much of Eric and Sarah's trip was spent in the remote Northwest, where time has worn the land into spectacular gorges and unique geological features. This is Australia's famous Outback, where sloppy packing can get one in a lot of trouble. They will go over a few of the essential items to have in the Outback, as well as show images from hiking in undisturbed wilderness, swimming in sparkling springs, searching for Aboriginal rock art, and diving on some of the richest coral reefs in the world. They will also touch on the history of settlement in Australia as an English penal colony, and on the modern-day environmental impacts of Australia's natural-resource-dependent export economy.

They may offer advice on how to spend six months in a car with your spouse, along with tips on avoiding very large spiders in the outhouse, not sleeping in bat guano, and getting around a whole continent with body and car in one piece.

Sarah and Eric are Bay Area natives; right now they live in Berkeley. Sarah is a freelance radio producer and full-time mom. Her radio pieces can be heard at www.bsideradio.org and occasionally on KQED. Eric works in information technology at Stanford as director of student financial information and systems. They have always enjoyed the outdoors, particularly hiking and camping.

Though they don't consider themselves intrepid travelers, they've made a point of setting off on adventures every couple of years. In 1998, after five years of numerous weekend camping trips, they quit their jobs, put everything into storage, and bought an old trailer and truck. They packed the cat into the back and drove 12,000 miles in three months, exploring 12 western states and two Canadian provinces, over 25 national parks and monuments, and numerous state and regional parks.

In June 2000, they moved to Melbourne, Australia, to live and work for a year. They loved it so much that, when they returned to the States, they vowed to go back to really explore the country. This led to their 2002 adventure. They have no idea what their next adventure will be, but according to two-year-old-Max, it must include blueberry muffins.

Cost of dinner and program is $23, including tax and tip. For a reservation, please send your check, payable to "Sierra Club", with your name, your telephone number, and the names of your guests, to:

Jane Barrett
170 Vicente Road
Berkeley, CA 94705
(510) 845-8055.

Attendance is limited to the first 115 reservations received. Reserve early, as these programs do fill up. Reservation deadline is Mon., Jan. 15. There is no admittance for program only.