Centralian Advocate, Friday, August 9, 2013 — 29

If Prince George had been Princess Georgina

As the world is now well aware, the

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

recently welcomed their first child-

His Royal Highness Prince George.

The child is now the third in line to

the throne behind his father Prince William and grandfather Prince

Charles. However, for the first time in British history, if young George

had been a female, she would have been third in line for the throne

as well, regardless of whether she had a younger brother.

Traditionally, the law in the UK has dictated that male heirs would

become King, inheriting the throne ahead of their older sisters-

this was known as male preference primogeniture. However, the

Succession to the Crown Act 2013 (introduced in the UK this year)

has amended that law to provide that the first child of a future

monarch will be in the line of succession, regardless of their gender,

before any younger sibling. This law is only effective from 2011, so

the Queen’s younger sons (Andrew and Edward) are still in front of

their older sister, Princess Anne, in the line of succession.

The law must be accepted by the 15 Commonwealth countries to

make it consistent across the Commonwealth of which the Queen

is Head of State. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government

Meeting (CHOGM) held in Perth 2011, it was agreed that all

Commonwealth countries would introduce new laws, ending the

rule of males having preference over females. To date, only three

Commonwealth countries have amended their laws accordingly-

and Australia is not one of them.

Interestingly, the Succession to the Crown Act also provides that

marrying a Roman Catholic no longer disqualifies a person from

inheriting the Crown. However, the ban on a Roman Catholic being

a monarch from 1701 still remains in place.

LAWYERS & NOTARIES

with

Susannah Warrick

The Law and You

TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE

Set amid untouched beauty

Frolic with whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

Inside a Sal Salis tent looking across the dunes at Ningaloo Reef

Katherine Howell

IT’S late afternoon and I’mswinging gently in a shadedhammock in front of my tent,listening to the waves crash onthe reef just over the dune.

This is Sal Salis eco-camp innorthwestern Western Austra-lia between the white beachesand blue water of Ningaloo Mar-ine Park and the rugged red hillsof Cape Range National Park.

It’s the ideal place to stay ifyou’re after the glamping exper-ience with a minimal footprint.

We’re 1200km from Perth butit’s reachable by an hour and ahalf flight to Learmonth Air-port, then another hour’s drive.

Soon I’ll wander down to themain camp building for drinksand canapes, followed by dinnerprepared by the resident chef,remembering before I go to zipdown the flyscreen to keep outthe kangaroos.

The camp has nine tents andsleeps up to 18 guests. Because ofthis, and the fact that guestsdine together, the camp has adelightfully friendly ambience,though anyone who chooses canstill spend plenty of time alone.

Each tent is built on a sturdylog frame on a separate timberdeck, and has a veranda, a largeroom with a very comfortablebed and an ensuite with com-posting toilet, sink, and shower.

Protected by canvas and wideshadecloth awnings, the tentsare light and airy, with screenson all sides.

Boardwalks keep guests offthe fragile dune ecosystem be-tween the tents, and in the sandyou can see tracks of the roos,birds, insects, and other wildlife.

Dinner is a delight, as is everyother meal I eat here.

From her tiny kitchen chefShakira creates such miracles asjuicy prosciutto-wrapped scal-lops on green pea puree, crisppork belly with apple and beet-root slaw, and banana and coco-nut sago with mango ice cream.

The bar is open, with an excel-lent range of wines, and guestsare keen for the soft drinks andbeer out of the ice-filled eskies.

Guide and environmental sci-ence graduate Peta fits us withsnorkel gear, then leads us alongthe beach.

The water is refreshing, andwe start to drift over the inneredge of the coral reef. It’s estim-ated that Ningaloo Marine Parkis home to 250 species of coraland 500 of fish, and it seems likeI’m seeing most of them justmetres from the beach.

Two major ocean currents col-lide here, bringing plankton andkrill and attracting swarms ofhungry marine life such aswhale sharks and manta rays.

Tours to swim with thesemassive but harmless creaturesare rare experiences.

Nearby is the aptly-namedTurquoise Bay, and once we’resnorkelling it’s easy to see whythe staff declare it one of thebest spots around.

Parrotfish nibble at the hardcoral, the sound travelling easilyin the water, and a stingray thesize of dining table excavates thesand as a school of trevallyhovers hopefully nearby.

Damselfish of every colourdart in and out of the staghorncoral. I watch one disputingterritory with an octopus, the

fish careful not to get too closebut chancing the occasional nipat the tentacles.

By evening, the air coming inthe screens of my tent is cooler,and crickets chirp in the grass.

The location is unusual forbeing inside a national park, andmanager Justin tells me thatthis is only possible because thecamp operates under a modeleco-tourism agreement withWA’s Department of Environ-ment and Conservation and fol-lows strict conditions regardingland use, footprint, and waterand waste management.

Solar panels produce all thepower used by the camp, and inthe evening the dining table andtents are lit with candles andhurricane lanterns, which pre-vents turtles being drawn intothe camp as would happen withbrighter lighting.

All water and foods arebrought in, and every bit ofwaste is taken out.

Should the camp ever need tobe relocated, even the tanksbeneath the toilets can be liftedout, and the site returned com-pletely to its natural state.

This is a place beyond comparefor untouched beauty.

If you’re keen to camp in a waythat protects and supports theenvironment (a percentage of alltariffs is donated to the Austral-ian Widlife Conservancy), SalSalis is the place for you.

Sal Salis is an hour’s drive(70km) south of Exmouth, in theCape Range National Park.

Qantas Airlines operates atwice-daily service six times aweek between Perth andExmouth.

Globe artichokes an easyand attractive delicacyGLOBE artichokes are easy to growand prepare for eating, will producefor several years, and are a realdelicacy in the kitchen.

The globe artichoke (Cynarascolymus) is in reality a cultivatedthistle originally from the Mediterran-ean region.

It was used as a food by the ancientGreeks and Romans, was introducedto England by the Dutch in 1530 andwas introduced to America in the 19thcentury.

It is a perennial plant capable ofgrowing for many years, is quite alarge plant and will grow to 1-1.5metres in height and 1-1.2 metres wide.

It has large leaves that are smoothand grey-green on the upper surfaceand covered with a whitish down onthe under-side.

It is a most attractive architecturalform plant and can be planted in thevegetable patch or in other areas ofthe garden, remembering it is quite alarge plant that will occupy a fairspace.

Globe artichoke is quite a stunninglooking plant.

It enjoys a warm spot, resents severesub-zero frosty nights and likes moist,well-draining soils that have beenprepared a couple of weeks in advancewith a good blend of animal manureblended in at the rate of 1.5 kilogramsper square metre. It certainly growswell in Central Australia.

They are quite hungry feeders andenjoy being fed monthly with a bal-anced organic fertiliser like Grow-Better or Blood and Bone.

These fertilisers should be appliedeach month at the rate of 25-50 gramsper square metre.

Globe artichokes should be availablefrom your local nursery or they can begrown from seed.

The usual way to propagate globeartichokes is to plant off-shoots or rootsections selected from high-yieldingplants.

You need to pull the off-shoots fromestablished plants when the leaves arefrom 40-60cm long and prune each off-shoot back to about 15cm.

Off-shoots are best planted inautumn, about 75cm apart in rows 1.5metres apart.

Plants should produce for betweenfour and seven years, particularly iftwo to four of the strongest off-shootsare selected annually in early autumnfor replanting.

They grow well when the soil hasbeen well conditioned with a balancedorganic fertiliser.

Once they are mature, it is import-ant to feed the plants with potash asthis will promote flowering, thus theproduction of flowering buds the partof the plant we eat.

The potash will induce bud product-ion and will improve the quality of theglobe.

Harvest the globes twice a weekfrom early spring to mid summer.

Select those that have reached fullsize but have not started to open andcut the stems 15cm below the globes.Secondary buds will emerge from thecut stems.

It is important to select the buds atthe right time as they become toughand inedible if they are over-ripe.

Once the globes have been har-vested they should be stored in thecrisper in the fridge.

There are many ways of preparingglobe artichokes.

Reference should be made to cook-ing books or the internet for moreinformation.

Put simply, they are quite deliciouseaten when steamed having had theouter tough leaves removed.

Dipped in a butter or butter andgarlic sauce really adds to the delicacyof consuming the globe artichoke.

Managing the globe artichoke plantwill ensure the plant lives for severalyears and continues to produce prolifi-cally.

When the plants become semi-dormant after harvest, usually in earlyto mid summer, it’s best to cut themdown to within 20cm of the ground.

Globe artichokes are relatively easyto grow. Find the right location, pref-erably one where they are protectedfrom hard frosts, and feed themperiodically and prune them as re-quired to stimulate the next season’sgrowth.

They experience few real pest anddisease problems.

The most damaging pests are two-spotted mite, snails and slugs, aphidesand nematodes. Few diseases affectartichokes.

Grow them in the vegetable gardenor scatter them throughout the gen-eral garden as they are most attractiveplants. Give them a little care (remem-bering they are really a weed) and theywill produce annually for a number ofyears.

Be brave and broaden your gardenexperiences. You will not be disap-pointed once your have introducedglobe artichokes into your garden.