mullerb's musings

We had a nice 3-day trip north of Melbourne. Not the kind of area many tourist would find themselves in. As you leave the coast and head north out of Melb, it gets flat and very agricultural. Loads of orchards, pastures and wheat fields mixed with the remnants of the eucalyptus forest. It's a bit like driving across the flatter parts of southern Michigan. About 3 hours north, you hit the Murray River which is the biggest river system in the country. It starts way up north and swings through this area on its way to Adelaide and the Southern Ocean. By the time it gets to this region, there is little water left: irrigation and reservoirs upstream take their alottment regardless of the drought conditions and needs downstream. We camped on a huge beach together with, get this, 67 other people. Holy cow. The organizers set up a kitchen that matches any army troop canteen! Pretty impressive. The 43 kids were served first followed by us adults, who all enjoyed a sit down meal with fine win

Alright, this is getting a bit silly. First the ears, then the toe, now a tooth?!? Cracked the inner side off a second premolar yesterday morning while munching on breakfast. Nice. I have an appointment set up for later this week. We'll see how it goes...

Here are some pics from a 4-day backpack trip we took a few weeks ago. http://picasaweb.google.com/mullerb/2008MarchWilsonsPromHike We went with a few of the girls' school mates and their dads. The hike was in a really nice national park about a 3-hour drive from Melbourne. It was a nice loop hike out on a peninsula that reaches into the Bass Strait. Tasmania is about 120 miles to the south and is about the only thing between the Prom and Antarctica. We had a bit of that gray and rainy weather that you would expect down here this time of year but it didn't spoil the fun too much. The scenery was awesome and the possums made for some exciting evenings. You'll find an account of possum encounters in Kelly's blog, http://kellysventures.blogspot.com/2008/04/easter-break-in-australia.html

The system over here seems like a decent one. Everyone has been covered with national medicare since 1984 and pays a 1.5% tax into it. (I think high income earners may pay slightly more.) You get all your minor and major ills taken care of with no deductible. Elective surgery is not covered. A govt selected list of medications are covered through a separate program. The list does not necessarily include the latests greatest drugs and there are restrictions on the more expensive ones. You can also opt to pay for private insurance. There are public and private hospitals but only private insurance holders use the private hospitals. There are good and bad public hospitals but all the privates are considered very good. Some elective surgery is covered in private plans. A couple of issues (there has to be a hitch or two!): minor non-critical surgery may have long waiting lines (as in months and months); if you have a critical illness and the best doc is at a private hospital, you have to pay

For the second time on this stay in Oz, I got to experience the local medical establishment up close and personal. The first time around, I had a friendly visit with a GP regarding an inner ear infection. Nice guy at the local office who took all of 5 minutes to look in my ears and to tell that both ear drums were being nicely distended. A 10-day round of antibiotics cleared it all up. Kind of interesting to go to a doctor's office and not see a single nurse in the process. And to only pay AUS$60 for the visit total. And to not have my blood pressure and temperature taken. This second time around is turning out to be a two-step process. Today x-rays, later this week consultation with a foot surgeon. Looks like my right foot has a slight fracture in the third toes' proximal phalange near the metatarsophalangeal joint (how's that for a mouthful). Darn windsurfing. This happened late in the day on Sunday April 6. The wind was letting down, and so was the sun, and as I came int