After our layover in the Fijiian Islands we finally make our way to the land down under.
Oz
(click to enlarge)
February 7th
It is a 5 hour flight to Cairn's on the north east coast (with a 3 hour time shift) from Auckland, and then a 1 hour bus ride to Port Douglas. The condo we found is a beautiful place, there is birds eating berries right outside our window, it's only 1 block from the 4 mile beach, and 2 blocks from the small town center. It's also very central for heading to the Great Barrier Reef.
We walk down to the massive 4 mile beach, there is hardly any people and the first thing we notice is an enclosed swimming area and all kinds of warning signs up and down the beach. Apparently October to May is Box Jellyfish or 'Stinger' season, so they create a penned area for swimmers to avoid the tentacles of these nasty beasts. Unlike that episode of Friends, you can't just pee on the burn to make it better, almost 100 people have died from the stingers. Also strange to discover, October to May is Summer, everything is backwards in Australia, even the toilets swirl in the opposite direction.
February 8th
The next day we take the Quicksilver catamaran out to the Great Barrier Reef, it's a little over an hour to get to the site. You can see how the water starts changing colour as you get closer, the entire area is mottled with varying colours of blue and green, what looks like little islands is actually the reef poking above the surface of the water. We tie up to an anchored dock, and are ready to snorkel... it's a little surreal to be there, after reading and hearing so much about it. Didn't even think about sharks.
Almost immediately we see how the reef is alive, as soon as you put your face in the water. There is fish of all sizes and colours, coral of amazing variety and colours. We float at the surface and watch as the aquarium below us comes to life, a puffer fish, a clown fish, little neon fish, big schools of fish, big fish, long before "Finding Nemo" we found Nemo.
Time is lost, and we continue to float around the reef, following interesting fish, after a period of time we are yelled at, and a spotter comes roaring out in a Zodiac. Apparently we had floated to far away, and were crossing to the far side of the reef. We are scooped up and taken back in closer to the boat. Apparently there are these bigger fish out there, much bigger, and they have fins, and big teeth, luckily we never saw any, or we would be doing laundry that night.
After our little adventure on the surface floating above the reef, we took a lunch break on the boat, and then took an underwater tour in a Submersible. Below the surface, we are able to see more fish, more coral, but no sharks here either.
We talked to some of the people that were diving on the way back to Port Douglas, apparently there was reef sharks below us, tucked up under the coral out of our line of sight, always good things to learn after you leave. I don't think we would want to know that in advance.
Later that night we take the short walk into town and find a nice BYO restaurant... BYO = Bring Your Own... they allow you to bring in your own wine or beer, as they aren't licensed to sell/serve it. Its a lovely dinner as we watch a giant Flying Fox (huge fruit bat) as it swoops around across the street and back into it's favourite Beach Nut Tree. It's wingspan is easily 4 feet or more, and we aren't surprised when our waitress tells us never to park under that tree. Some bird droppings don't come off as easily as the ones we are used to.
February 9th
That morning the coach picks us up and takes us to Kuranda. Our first stop is the Tjapukai aboriginal center, where we learn all about how terrible the aboriginies were treated. We see all kinds of displays and demonstrations of their culture, including the dress, dance, and makeup. We see first hand how a boomerang works, and learn how to play the digeridoo.
Our second stop takes us deeper into the wilds of Australia, starting with a Gondola ride through the canopy of the forest. The views are amazing, birdlife abounds with wild birds of all colors, and incredible views of waterfalls. Once in Kuranda a Boardwalk takes you through more of their rainforest, and another gondola ride takes you to the Kuranda Train, a historical train that winds through the hills. As we disembark, a flock of white headed cockatoo's are foraging in the grass.
The Bus ride back was entertaining, we meet a local woman from Port Douglas, she tells us all kinds of stories about the sharks, stingers, and the crocs. She asks us about Canada, where we live. When she finds out that we have dogs, she asks "Oh really, are they malamutes or huskies?" We laugh at the stereotypes that people have about us Canadians, with our igloos and sled dogs, and the bears in our back yards... well that part would turn out to be true many years later 8-)
February 10th
Today we took the 4x4 bus to the Daintree rainforest, apparently when traveling to the rainforest you need a 4x4. We quickly discover this after crossing a river on an open ferry pulled by cables. It can get wet, and the roads are the straightest path for creeks and rivers to get through.
The rainforest is also our first exposure to Australian Mosquitos (mozzies), apparently black is their favourite color, and both Norine and I are wearing black. Today is the day that we come face to face with the rumoured size of their critters, there is gigantic spiders building webs in the ceiling of the display area. The little ones are the size of your hand, these colorful spiny beasts are not like we have at home. When the guide jokingly says, "that's the accurate leaping spider" Norine just about loses it. Seeing the size of these spiders up close re-affirms the rumours we heard.
After lunch we are back in the 4x4 on our way to Cape Tribulation, where Captain Cook landed and damaged his ship on the reef. There is strange formations in the sand from sand bugs, bush turkeys wandring around, and big-ass spiders in webs along the trails. Norine stays remarkably calm, at a distance, but can't wait to get away from webs and onto the water. We take a River cruise on the Daintree River and we saw 2 small crocodiles that are about 1.5 metres long (5 feet) and one large one that is 3 meters long (you can do the math). Can you see the eyes and snout of the croc in the picture below? (Hint: he's right below the rock) Once we finish the river cruise, it's back into the 4x4 and back to our condo for our last night in Port Douglas.
February 11th
On my dads birthday we take the coach (bus) back to Cairns and fly to Brisbane. No more buses for a while, we pick up a rental car, a Mitsubishi sedan. I'm doing my best to not drive on the wrong side of the road, The drivers seat is on the right side of the car, and I constantly turn on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signals. We pass our first kangaroos standing in a cow pasture on the 3 hour drive up to Hervey Bay where we are catching the ferry to Fraser Island.
The 45 minute ferry ride was very interesting, we arrive at dusk, and thousands of bats were making their nightly trip across the bay. They were bouncing off the windshield of the boat, you had to strategically position yourself on the boat to watch the amazing show and still avoid shrapnel, the boat crew had to do a cleanup once they arrived on the other side.
The Kingfisher resort is huge, very nice, but expensive meals, huge cockroaches, and not much time to explore. Apparently Prince Charles and Princess Diana stayed here. We hike up to the lookout, a pcturesque view of the bay and the mainland, and a better view of the downpour that is headed straight at us. Apparently there is a large pack of Dingos on this island, we never saw them, except in the zoo. I guess we should have had a baby to draw them out.
We got soaked as we made our way back down the hill. We avoided the downpours until our ferry took us back to the mainland, and we drove to a little town called Apsley just outside Brisbane where we found a cheap motel for the night.
February 13th
Today we decide on the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary... Wombats, kookaburra, tasmanian devils, bandicoot, cassowary, we get a good overview of the animals we may see in Oz.
Kookaburas
WombatWe get our pictures taken holding a Koala, and learn the hard way that they have sharp claws.
There is even a feeding area, and a natural area where you can hang out with the roos and joeys. It's a little odd to be feeding a kangaroo, when another one is looking at you from the pouch.
We head into Brisbane, and check out Gondwana, a re-make of the tropical rainforest on Southbanks parkland (Brisbane River). We use their form of rapid transit, a City Cat Ferry takes us up and down the Brisbane River, and we watch commuters using this transit system.
We return to the Southbanks parkland, and they have several sandy beach lagoon-like smimming areas, they are free to use, and they are lit up as it gets dark, so we take the opportunity to cool down under the moonlight. It was about this time that I decided, if we ever had to move to a city in another country, this is the place I would want to move.
February 14th
On Valentines day we attempt to drive from Brisbane to Sydney, over 900 km's. We Stop at a mall to get my head shaved, it's much cooler now. We pass through Surfer's Paradise... all Hype and High-rises, you can barely see the beach, and it is packed. We drove on a little further and found Kirra beach, just off the main road, totally deserted and with a gorgeous sandy beach. The fine sand squeaks when you walk accross it. A good place to hang out for a while.
As we are driving away from Kirra beach we are hit with a downpour that windshield wipers just won't help. The rain subsides a bit as we get into Byron Bay, a very nice hippy beach area, with a lot of similarities to Salt Spring Island in BC. If the weather was better we'd stay here too.
We don't make it to Sydney, and get as far as Coff's Harbour. We are getting some odd looks from the locals, as apparently shorts and t-shirts aren't the norm, it's still hot out even if it is raining. After dinner we luckily find a room at the Ocean Palms, as all the beach hotels are full. I kill what appears to be the only coackroach in the room, so it's ok to go to sleep.
Our Mitsubishi rental at The Big Banana, Coff's Harbour
The next morning after a brief tour of Coff's Harbour we drive the rest of the way to Sydney, we manage to navigate through the narrow streets, and the roandabouts, while driving on the wrong side of the road, on the wrong side of the car, but eventually we do find our hotel.
Sebel of Sydney is quite a posh hotel, and it's nice to spoil ourselves for a little while. Stately furniture, dark wood, huge shower, and even his and hers terry towel robes. We raid the mini-bar, and then make our way to MacLeary street, the restaurant district, and find a Japanese restaurant where they chop, spin, toss and cook your meals right at the table.
February 16th
We get up early, grab our city map, and head to the Sydney Opera House for a tour. There are 4 venues in the Opera house, and it is really quite spectacular to see, the seats and walls are made of white birch for acoustics, most people think the unique shape of the roofs are for acoustics too... untrue, it's just a beautiful roof to shelter you from the weather. The white shells of the building are unique when you are close up, they are covered in ceramic tiles, in an interesting pattern of off-white and cream.
We take the ferry across Sydney harbour to the Sydney zoo. The ferry is actually better and cheaper than the harbour tour boats. We spend 3 hours at the zoo and check out the exhibits and actually get to see an echidna and a platypus. We also got to watch a tasmanian devil as it ran around it's "environment". The last part of our time was spent watching the large tribe of Gorillas.
Later in the afternoon we ferry back across the harbour and find the area known as "the Rocks". It is a unique area with narrow cobblestone streets, and tons of vendors, shops, bars and restaurants. As we ate dinner the flower vendors gave everyone mini roses as they were closing up for the day. Norine gave hers away as we were flying out the next morning, and we walked back to the hotel. Sydney is a great city to visit, one of the best.