Giant Boab Tree Heads South

boab.jpgHave you heard that the plan to move an ancient boab tree to Perth has run into a few problems?

The tree apparently weighs almost three times as much as first thought. The bottle-shaped boab tree is being removed and transplanted 3 200 km from Warmun, in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, to Kings Park in the heart of Western Australia’s capital.

The 750 year old tree was estimated to weigh 14 tonnes. Instead, it was found to weigh a massive 37.2 tonnes. The project team has now found a bigger truck – a much bigger truck. The tree should arrive in Perth this weekend.

The tree is being moved due to roadworks in the area and it’s the first time that such a mature tree has been transported over such a distance.

Digging up the tree proved much harder than predicted too as it was embedded in granite rock, making removal extremely difficult.

They say that the boab is expected to live at least another 750 years after its journey and transplant. That’s not a bad innings for a tree. If I can get something to live for more than a couple of months in my garden I reckon I’m doing OK.



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An absolute tragedy

songstress.jpgThe Songstress at News from the Great Beyond needs your prayer and support.

Her incredibly well written post, This Sucks, is absolutely heart breaking. I don’t think I’d ever be strong enough to write a post like that under such terrible circumstances.

Please visit, read the entire post, assure her of your support, then tell someone close how much you love them.



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It was all yellow

tour_de_france_logo.jpgCadel Evans has gone into the first rest day of the 2008 Tour de France wearing yellow … by just one second.

The Australian rode an amazing stage in the mountains on a day when both the previous yellow jersey, Kim Kirchen, and the second favourite for the tour, Alejandro Valverde, cracked in the mountains and lost time to the Australian. Valverde has now slipped back to 14th place.

Of course the race is a long way from over and with eleven stages still to come, Cadel will have a big job ahead of him defending the yellow jersey.

One of the biggest stories to come out of the tenth stage was the strength of Team CSC who controlled the mountains and put many riders into trouble with their pace. CSC rider Frank Shleck was only a second away from wearing yellow with a tremendous ride up Hautacam.

Out of the eleven remaining stages there are five flat stages, five mountain stages and an individual time trial.

The race is a long way from over but it’s great to see Cadel in yellow.

Below are the top ten places overall from the official Tour De France website.

1. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE – LOTTO 42h 29′ 09″
2. SCHLECK Frank 17 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 42h 29′ 10″ + 00′ 01″
3. VANDEVELDE Christian 191 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 42h 29′ 47″ + 00′ 38″
4. KOHL Bernhard 115 GEROLSTEINER 42h 29′ 55″ + 00′ 46″
5. MENCHOV Denis 131 RABOBANK 42h 30′ 06″ + 00′ 57″
6. SASTRE Carlos 11 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 42h 30′ 37″ + 01′ 28″
7. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 42h 31′ 05″ + 01′ 56″
8. COBO ACEBO Juan Jose 173 SAUNIER DUVAL – SCOTT 42h 31′ 19″ + 02′ 10″
9. RICCO Riccardo 171 SAUNIER DUVAL – SCOTT 42h 31′ 38″ + 02′ 29″
10. EFIMKIN Vladimir 104 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 42h 31′ 41″ + 02′ 32″

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cadel lose the winner’s jersey for a few days at some stage but if that hapopens, his time trialling skills should see him return to the number one position on the day before Paris in the 53 km time trial.



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