The Lonely Planet has 10 rules that should be followed to ensure a great holiday here. Some of them are practical and I'll leave those out however I thought you'd enjoy these:
- Willingness to call absolutely everyone "mate" whether you know them or even like them.
- Sunscreen, "sunnies" and a hat to deflect the fierce UV rays.
- Taking yourself less seriously for the inevitable times when locals "take the piss".
- A suitcase size wardrobe that anticipates the country's climatic variations.
- Extra strength insect repellants to fend off merciless flies and mosquitoes.
and our very personal favourite....and we DO MEAN FAVOURITE!!!
- Memorize the meaning of the word "irony"!!!
Before we leave I hope to devote an entry to how to speak the language. It has been so much fun to hear English as spoken by the Aussies. Here's a taste: A park ranger we met asked us where we were from and when we said "Canada", he asked if that was three words.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Bundaberg to Brisbane
March 24th we moved along to Bundaberg and found it to be ugly on the outside and pretty on the inside. The port sends huge exports of coal all over the world and the mountains of black stuff certainly do nothing to enhance the entry to the town. Once in town however, there is a pretty downtown core. About 30 km outside of town you will find some of the prettiest beaches in Australia.
March 25: Hervey Bay is not really a town as much as a cojoining of 3 burroughs. The main drag is a street that runs 10 km along the ocean. The ocean side of the street is all parkland while the other side is filled with hotels, backpacker units, restaurants and shops. It seems to be safe to swim without stinger suits here because we didn't see one in two days and there were many people in the water. We learned our lessons well however and spent time in the camp pool instead of the ocean.
Hervey Bay is also known as the gateway to Fraser Island where you find white sand, dense forests and humpback whale watching (May - Nov). A nine year old boy was killed by dingo's on the island a couple of years ago. Wildlife experts feel it was either because people are feeding them or threatening their habitat. Although we had heard from various sources that this was a "must see", we decided that our experience sailing to truly secluded bays and islands in The Whitsundays would suffice.
I have told you about some of the wildlife we have encountered while travelling in Australia however in Hervey Bay we had another new experience. Following a downpour, we saw wee frogs the size of houseflies, hopping all over the pavement. Everyone was attempting to avoid them because they were so cute. We also saw the night sky filled with fruit bats! Now, we know about bats because we see them all the time; some in Toronto and many at the marina....HOWEVER....nothing like these bats. I swear they had 10 foot wing spans.....yes, I'm back to normal. Thought you'd missed my exaggerations so hellooooooo, I'm getting ready to return home........ Seriously though, these were huge beasts and they hung around, quite visible in the daylight hours.
A newspaper article today mentioned that Matthew McConaghey and Kate Hudson have been filming on Fraser Island however in-water shooting is being moved to another island due to the Kurandji (deadly jellyfish) being spotted in the water. This is the first time they have been spotted this far south.
March 27: Noosa Heads
Now here is a town where we'd all love to have purchased real estate 20 years ago! It is where surfers mix with the insanely wealthy and they actually seem to get along. The homes are spectacular and the surfing fulfills the dreams of the truly rabid surfers.
Photo's: Surfers on Noosa Main Beach (too bad about the sewage pipes!.....KIDDING!!!); Noosa Heads from the lookout; Treats brought directly to you on the beach
We had lunch at a lovely tiny Asian restaurant called 'Black Bamboo'. The owner, Chris is originally from Melbourne. She, her husband and three children moved to Noosa 11 years ago with the intention of retiring. Her husband is building homes around the area and she is running the restaurant. They built their home on Sunshine Beach and next to the National Park that you can see above the beach in the first photo.
The restaurant was quiet that day and we were delighted to have her regale us with stories of life in Noosa (lonely due to the transient nature of the town) and the wildlife she has encountered here. She said that no one warned her about the creatures she would see and in all her years in the Melbourne area, had never even seen a snake. Their home has many water features and one day she arrived home to find a 7 metre python in the swimming pool. They currently have a Taipan (deadly!) in one of their fountains. Their son has many parrots in a huge cage in his wing of the house and one night, came home with his girlfriend to find (in the dark), his parrots screeching. He put his hand into the cage to calm them down but they pecked at him. His girlfriend turned on the light and found a python 1/3 into the cage, attempting to make a meal out of the birds. He got a pillowcase, picked up the python and released it into the park. The vet said that if they had been any later, any parrots that didn't get eaten would definitely have died of shock. I was dying just hearing the story! Chris told us that she loves the place and leaves doors and windows open all night.... however, she DOES check under the sheets before getting into bed each night.
March 29: We drove along the coast beside beautiful surf and gorgeous homes until around 50 km north of Brisbane, we took a detour and visited the Steve Irwin, Australia Zoo. We didn't know what to expect and must say that it is a perfect example of what a wildlife centre should be. It was emotional and spooky to see some of Steve and Terri's clips and out-takes on the huge screen in the educational area. The handlers they hire are very involved in their work, always hands-on and you know that they are high calibre people with a deep love of nature and preservation of the planet and the creatures that live here. There is a message in every demonstration with an emphasis on what we can do to help protect the planet; much of it directed at the children....a great place to start.
Following are some examples of the beautiful wildlife and the habitat we saw there. The grounds are immaculate and the pens
March 25: Hervey Bay is not really a town as much as a cojoining of 3 burroughs. The main drag is a street that runs 10 km along the ocean. The ocean side of the street is all parkland while the other side is filled with hotels, backpacker units, restaurants and shops. It seems to be safe to swim without stinger suits here because we didn't see one in two days and there were many people in the water. We learned our lessons well however and spent time in the camp pool instead of the ocean.
Hervey Bay is also known as the gateway to Fraser Island where you find white sand, dense forests and humpback whale watching (May - Nov). A nine year old boy was killed by dingo's on the island a couple of years ago. Wildlife experts feel it was either because people are feeding them or threatening their habitat. Although we had heard from various sources that this was a "must see", we decided that our experience sailing to truly secluded bays and islands in The Whitsundays would suffice.
I have told you about some of the wildlife we have encountered while travelling in Australia however in Hervey Bay we had another new experience. Following a downpour, we saw wee frogs the size of houseflies, hopping all over the pavement. Everyone was attempting to avoid them because they were so cute. We also saw the night sky filled with fruit bats! Now, we know about bats because we see them all the time; some in Toronto and many at the marina....HOWEVER....nothing like these bats. I swear they had 10 foot wing spans.....yes, I'm back to normal. Thought you'd missed my exaggerations so hellooooooo, I'm getting ready to return home........ Seriously though, these were huge beasts and they hung around, quite visible in the daylight hours.
A newspaper article today mentioned that Matthew McConaghey and Kate Hudson have been filming on Fraser Island however in-water shooting is being moved to another island due to the Kurandji (deadly jellyfish) being spotted in the water. This is the first time they have been spotted this far south.
March 27: Noosa Heads
Now here is a town where we'd all love to have purchased real estate 20 years ago! It is where surfers mix with the insanely wealthy and they actually seem to get along. The homes are spectacular and the surfing fulfills the dreams of the truly rabid surfers.
Photo's: Surfers on Noosa Main Beach (too bad about the sewage pipes!.....KIDDING!!!); Noosa Heads from the lookout; Treats brought directly to you on the beach
We had lunch at a lovely tiny Asian restaurant called 'Black Bamboo'. The owner, Chris is originally from Melbourne. She, her husband and three children moved to Noosa 11 years ago with the intention of retiring. Her husband is building homes around the area and she is running the restaurant. They built their home on Sunshine Beach and next to the National Park that you can see above the beach in the first photo.
The restaurant was quiet that day and we were delighted to have her regale us with stories of life in Noosa (lonely due to the transient nature of the town) and the wildlife she has encountered here. She said that no one warned her about the creatures she would see and in all her years in the Melbourne area, had never even seen a snake. Their home has many water features and one day she arrived home to find a 7 metre python in the swimming pool. They currently have a Taipan (deadly!) in one of their fountains. Their son has many parrots in a huge cage in his wing of the house and one night, came home with his girlfriend to find (in the dark), his parrots screeching. He put his hand into the cage to calm them down but they pecked at him. His girlfriend turned on the light and found a python 1/3 into the cage, attempting to make a meal out of the birds. He got a pillowcase, picked up the python and released it into the park. The vet said that if they had been any later, any parrots that didn't get eaten would definitely have died of shock. I was dying just hearing the story! Chris told us that she loves the place and leaves doors and windows open all night.... however, she DOES check under the sheets before getting into bed each night.
March 29: We drove along the coast beside beautiful surf and gorgeous homes until around 50 km north of Brisbane, we took a detour and visited the Steve Irwin, Australia Zoo. We didn't know what to expect and must say that it is a perfect example of what a wildlife centre should be. It was emotional and spooky to see some of Steve and Terri's clips and out-takes on the huge screen in the educational area. The handlers they hire are very involved in their work, always hands-on and you know that they are high calibre people with a deep love of nature and preservation of the planet and the creatures that live here. There is a message in every demonstration with an emphasis on what we can do to help protect the planet; much of it directed at the children....a great place to start.
Following are some examples of the beautiful wildlife and the habitat we saw there. The grounds are immaculate and the pens
We are now in Brisbane! What a fabulous city!!!
Our camp is outside the city and we took public transit into the downtown core. A city of 1.5 million people, it is sophisticated enough however has a small town friendliness.
The transit system is superb and has a completely separate mini-highway running beside the main highway, devoted strictly for buses. They will never get caught in traffic as ours do! Our ticket cost $6.30 and we can travel all day on ferries, trains, by bus and even on the city catamaran. What a deal!!!
That's it for now folks! Catch you later!!
Love,
Sharon
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Bowen to Rockhampton
March 15: The drive to Bowen was lovely and although we couldn't see the Coral Sea, we travelled through beautiful tree covered slopes and sugar cane fields.
We had intended to press on to Airlie Beach for the night however a stop at the Bowen Information Centre and advice to see the town of Bowen interested us enough to explore and spend the night there.
The answer to your question is; it's a giant mango (outside the Bowen Information Centre)
Driving directly to the Big 4 Campground, we were delighted to see that the sites were above a breakwall, directly over the sea. The breezes were fantastic and the view even more fantastic.
Bowen looks like Darwin did prior to Cyclone Tracy since all original buildings were blown away in that horrific 1975 event, Bowen will stand in for Darwin in a film commencing filming next month and starring Nicole Kidman. Everyone in town is extremely excited and the campground is adding several buildings to house crew. They will be booked out for the duration of the filming.
While visiting the Information Centre, we booked our sailing voyage on the Enid, a 70 foot vessel that sails out of Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays. We discovered that several of the most popular options were completely booked; a huge surprise since nothing we'd encountered thus far had been unavailable. The Enid had originally been built in the '60's for racing in the Sydney/Hobart Boxing Day Race and was built completely of timber. We were extremely excited to be spending three days on the water.
March 16: Airlie Beach was for once, exactly as we imagined it to be....a small town on the sea, packed with backpackers, shops and restaurants. Our Big 4 campground was spectacular and the water in the pool was cool; a rarity in Australia. Three times a week, a chef caters dinner at the camp and we decided that we should try it out. It was fantastic! So delicious that the experience almost caused me to have our kitchen converted into a den and have catered dinners for the rest of our lives.
Photo's: Regular visitors at the Airlie Beach campground....our favourite Kukabera; Goanna
Having been told to check into the sailing office upon our arrival, we did so only to discover that Enid had only three passengers booked. They would not sail with less than 12 and they asked us to check in with them again on Sunday (day before departure) and they would let us know which sailboat we'd be on. On Sunday we visited them again and were told it would be the Alexander Stewart, a 71 foot sailboat built by three generations of the Stewart family over 17 years. It was patterned after an 1800's vessel sailed by Joshua Slocum, an explorer and adventurer. They used Noumean Kauri, Ribbon Maple, Red Cedar, Silky Oak, Tasmanian Blackwood and Oregon timbers to build this beautiful boat and they even forged their own hardware. It seems that not a detail was overlooked (which you'd expect when it took 17 years to build her). The Stewart family still owns the boat and lease it to a company that sails it six days of the week.
Photo: The Alexander Stewart
There were 17 passengers and three crew and we departed at 9 am. Our cabin was in the stern, right beside the galley which proved to be an advantage with the heat. At night, we opened the galley portholes and our portholes and had a magnificent breeze. Our captain Craig, "deckie" Nathan and chef Jenny provided us with the most wonderful three days on the sea. Craig has sailed from the Solomon Islands to Australia and has been a pilot on the Sydney Harbour Ferries....loads of experience on sailing and power vessels. Bob found his spot at the stern with the captain and they became instant friends. The food was out of this world and the passengers were from Germany, Ireland, Canada (4 of us) and England.
We sailed around the Whitsunday islands, stopping for snorkelling, hikes and swimming at Whitehaven Beach; a beautiful white sandy beach that is known around the world for the turquoise water and pristine beach. The silica sand is so fine you can polish your glasses with it. There were moorings at several locations for snorkelling and anchorages each night. The crew slept up on deck on their swags and under a tent-like awning. We all helped to man the lines and do some crewing. A few passengers had some sea-sickness however "no drama" as they say here...in other words....nothing to clean up!
Photo's: Guest crew members; deckie Guy; Deckie Sharon and First Mate Roberto; hoisting the sail; beautiful Whitehaven Beach
Bob and I spent much time with Craig and found him to be incredibly knowledgeable on world news, environmental issues in Australia and everywhere else. He appeared to be so quiet and almost reserved (described himself as not being a people person) however once the door was unlocked, he became a fountain of information and was a very friendly guy.
Returning to Airlie Port on the 21st, Craig informed us that we would all be treated to a party at Beaches Pub that evening. It was a blast and neat to see how we all cleaned up real good!!
Photo's: Cutie "deckie" Nathan and friends; (L to R) Drew (Dublin), Cap'n Craig, Murray (Canada); Bob, Tom and Susy (England); Hugging Honkers, Murray and Sharon
March 22/23: We are in a lovely town...Rockhampton...a town of 60,000 people; so lovely that we decided to stay here for a couple of days. The downtown core is filled with Louisiana style buildings that overlook the Fitzroy River. Tomorrow we drift on down the coast toward Brisbane. Still much to do and about two days per town. Me thinks we've done a pretty special job of allocating our time around this vast land.
Hugs to everyone! Thanks for watching!
Sharon
We had intended to press on to Airlie Beach for the night however a stop at the Bowen Information Centre and advice to see the town of Bowen interested us enough to explore and spend the night there.
The answer to your question is; it's a giant mango (outside the Bowen Information Centre)
Driving directly to the Big 4 Campground, we were delighted to see that the sites were above a breakwall, directly over the sea. The breezes were fantastic and the view even more fantastic.
Bowen looks like Darwin did prior to Cyclone Tracy since all original buildings were blown away in that horrific 1975 event, Bowen will stand in for Darwin in a film commencing filming next month and starring Nicole Kidman. Everyone in town is extremely excited and the campground is adding several buildings to house crew. They will be booked out for the duration of the filming.
While visiting the Information Centre, we booked our sailing voyage on the Enid, a 70 foot vessel that sails out of Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays. We discovered that several of the most popular options were completely booked; a huge surprise since nothing we'd encountered thus far had been unavailable. The Enid had originally been built in the '60's for racing in the Sydney/Hobart Boxing Day Race and was built completely of timber. We were extremely excited to be spending three days on the water.
March 16: Airlie Beach was for once, exactly as we imagined it to be....a small town on the sea, packed with backpackers, shops and restaurants. Our Big 4 campground was spectacular and the water in the pool was cool; a rarity in Australia. Three times a week, a chef caters dinner at the camp and we decided that we should try it out. It was fantastic! So delicious that the experience almost caused me to have our kitchen converted into a den and have catered dinners for the rest of our lives.
Photo's: Regular visitors at the Airlie Beach campground....our favourite Kukabera; Goanna
Having been told to check into the sailing office upon our arrival, we did so only to discover that Enid had only three passengers booked. They would not sail with less than 12 and they asked us to check in with them again on Sunday (day before departure) and they would let us know which sailboat we'd be on. On Sunday we visited them again and were told it would be the Alexander Stewart, a 71 foot sailboat built by three generations of the Stewart family over 17 years. It was patterned after an 1800's vessel sailed by Joshua Slocum, an explorer and adventurer. They used Noumean Kauri, Ribbon Maple, Red Cedar, Silky Oak, Tasmanian Blackwood and Oregon timbers to build this beautiful boat and they even forged their own hardware. It seems that not a detail was overlooked (which you'd expect when it took 17 years to build her). The Stewart family still owns the boat and lease it to a company that sails it six days of the week.
Photo: The Alexander Stewart
There were 17 passengers and three crew and we departed at 9 am. Our cabin was in the stern, right beside the galley which proved to be an advantage with the heat. At night, we opened the galley portholes and our portholes and had a magnificent breeze. Our captain Craig, "deckie" Nathan and chef Jenny provided us with the most wonderful three days on the sea. Craig has sailed from the Solomon Islands to Australia and has been a pilot on the Sydney Harbour Ferries....loads of experience on sailing and power vessels. Bob found his spot at the stern with the captain and they became instant friends. The food was out of this world and the passengers were from Germany, Ireland, Canada (4 of us) and England.
We sailed around the Whitsunday islands, stopping for snorkelling, hikes and swimming at Whitehaven Beach; a beautiful white sandy beach that is known around the world for the turquoise water and pristine beach. The silica sand is so fine you can polish your glasses with it. There were moorings at several locations for snorkelling and anchorages each night. The crew slept up on deck on their swags and under a tent-like awning. We all helped to man the lines and do some crewing. A few passengers had some sea-sickness however "no drama" as they say here...in other words....nothing to clean up!
Photo's: Guest crew members; deckie Guy; Deckie Sharon and First Mate Roberto; hoisting the sail; beautiful Whitehaven Beach
Bob and I spent much time with Craig and found him to be incredibly knowledgeable on world news, environmental issues in Australia and everywhere else. He appeared to be so quiet and almost reserved (described himself as not being a people person) however once the door was unlocked, he became a fountain of information and was a very friendly guy.
Returning to Airlie Port on the 21st, Craig informed us that we would all be treated to a party at Beaches Pub that evening. It was a blast and neat to see how we all cleaned up real good!!
Photo's: Cutie "deckie" Nathan and friends; (L to R) Drew (Dublin), Cap'n Craig, Murray (Canada); Bob, Tom and Susy (England); Hugging Honkers, Murray and Sharon
March 22/23: We are in a lovely town...Rockhampton...a town of 60,000 people; so lovely that we decided to stay here for a couple of days. The downtown core is filled with Louisiana style buildings that overlook the Fitzroy River. Tomorrow we drift on down the coast toward Brisbane. Still much to do and about two days per town. Me thinks we've done a pretty special job of allocating our time around this vast land.
Hugs to everyone! Thanks for watching!
Sharon
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Quick Update!
March 17 (in Canada): Happy Birthday to our daughter Jenn!!! We wish you an exciting year and it seems it is going to be filled with all kinds of awesome adventures. Love to you always!
We are in the Whitsundays and will be leaving tomorrow on a 20 m sailboat for 3 days touring the beautiful islands. I will give a full update when we return.
Love,
Sharon
We are in the Whitsundays and will be leaving tomorrow on a 20 m sailboat for 3 days touring the beautiful islands. I will give a full update when we return.
Love,
Sharon
Monday, March 12, 2007
Mission Beach to Cairns
Blasting up the coast from Mission Beach we made the decision to drive straight through Cairns and visit Port Douglas first (somewhat sceptically I might add since many port towns have been completely industrial). We were thrilled we did! What a fabulous drive along the coast with pristine beaches and no one on them (wonder why....see photo below). The stingies (box jellyfish) are not here all year long.....this just happens to be the season for all areas in the Tropic of Capricorn and in a month or so the ocean (here at least) will be ok for swimming. The crocs across the top of Australia west of here are not seasonal!!
Unlike other port cities we have visited, Port Douglas is filled with dive and sail boats and it is very upscale. All the streets are lined or shaded by palm and stranglevine trees. The campground was small and immaculate with the bonus of being a 10 minute walk from downtown.
We booked our Great Barrier Reef trip for the next day (March 8), leaving at 10 am and returning at 4:30 p.m. We were very excited!!
Awakening to a cloudy day, we wondered what the weather would be like. No threat of cyclones so we boarded Quicksilver, a boat much larger than we would have preferred but because of low season, it was only 1/2 full with around 200 passengers. The reason we chose this trip was because it went to the outer reef and because they are very protective of the reef and have their own platform at the reef. Unlike many trips from Cairns, there are no other boats out there swarming the area with tourists.
It took an hour and a half to get out there and it began to rain as we arrived. We got into our "stingie suits" and got into the water. The cloudy day made the colours of the reef and the fish so much more intense. It was unbelievable how beautiful it was and although we did see some dead coral, it was minimal. After about an hour we climbed out and still in our suits, we ate a fabulous buffet lunch that was part of the trip (also included tea and bickies in the morning and cheese trays and tea/coffee in the afternoon) then into the water again to spend the rest of the afternoon snorkelling. There was also a semi-submersible included and we took a tour in that to see even more of the reef. The photo's with our camera never does the under water scene justice so I'll only give you one.
Unlike other port cities we have visited, Port Douglas is filled with dive and sail boats and it is very upscale. All the streets are lined or shaded by palm and stranglevine trees. The campground was small and immaculate with the bonus of being a 10 minute walk from downtown.
We booked our Great Barrier Reef trip for the next day (March 8), leaving at 10 am and returning at 4:30 p.m. We were very excited!!
Awakening to a cloudy day, we wondered what the weather would be like. No threat of cyclones so we boarded Quicksilver, a boat much larger than we would have preferred but because of low season, it was only 1/2 full with around 200 passengers. The reason we chose this trip was because it went to the outer reef and because they are very protective of the reef and have their own platform at the reef. Unlike many trips from Cairns, there are no other boats out there swarming the area with tourists.
It took an hour and a half to get out there and it began to rain as we arrived. We got into our "stingie suits" and got into the water. The cloudy day made the colours of the reef and the fish so much more intense. It was unbelievable how beautiful it was and although we did see some dead coral, it was minimal. After about an hour we climbed out and still in our suits, we ate a fabulous buffet lunch that was part of the trip (also included tea and bickies in the morning and cheese trays and tea/coffee in the afternoon) then into the water again to spend the rest of the afternoon snorkelling. There was also a semi-submersible included and we took a tour in that to see even more of the reef. The photo's with our camera never does the under water scene justice so I'll only give you one.
Photo's: Two thumbs up for the reef and the 100% protection from the "stingy suits"!!; underwater friend
March 9: Driving further north to Cape Tribulation, as far as the bitumen (paved) road goes, we ascended into deep rainforest to the village of Daintree where we drove onto a barge that took us 2 minutes across a croc-filled (didn't see any but will take their word for it) river. We stopped at an ice cream kiosk where they serve exotic ice creams. The serving for the day was a cup of four; wattleberry, coconut, jackfruit and passionfruit. Delicious!!! Continuing on we ascended through mountainous areas with waterfalls driving down the sides of the mountain beside us, and rainforest so dense it would be almost impossible to walk through. At the end of the road we took a walk into the forest where a guide who was waiting for his tour group pointed out a tree snake as it lay on the ground looking at us and as we watched, it glided up into a bush.
Photo's: The rainforest; Tree naky nake
Returning to Port Douglas, we passed a sideroad and I asked Bob to turn around because I thought I saw a large bird on the road. We drove down the road and could see nothing for a minute....then I saw it in the forest on the side of the road.....a Cassowary. This bird is elusive and rarely seen. It stands 2 m high and is a relative of other primitive birds like emu's, South American Rhea and the African ostrich. Bob turned off the engine and we sat there until finally it walked out onto the road in front of us. It is beautiful with a bergundy comb and beak, a white head, purple throat and red wattles. The body is black with long soft feathers. We were delighted to see such a creature.
Returning to Port Douglas, we passed a sideroad and I asked Bob to turn around because I thought I saw a large bird on the road. We drove down the road and could see nothing for a minute....then I saw it in the forest on the side of the road.....a Cassowary. This bird is elusive and rarely seen. It stands 2 m high and is a relative of other primitive birds like emu's, South American Rhea and the African ostrich. Bob turned off the engine and we sat there until finally it walked out onto the road in front of us. It is beautiful with a bergundy comb and beak, a white head, purple throat and red wattles. The body is black with long soft feathers. We were delighted to see such a creature.
Photo: The Cassowary
Another night in Port Douglas and dinner at a Thai restaurant.
March 10: Off to Cairns, a very busy and bustling city. We headed to the south end and to the Big 4 campground. It is out of this world! Two huge swimming pools, mini-putt, a little train for the kids, a restaurant and wonderfully shaded sites. I immediately headed to the loo to check out the showers and on my way back to the van heard someone call "Sharon"......which I ignored because who the heck do I know in Australia??? Then I heard a whistle and because they are all to infrequent at this point in my life, I turned around to see Fred and Kay, an English couple we'd spent hours with in the pool at Mission Beach. Originally from Oxford they moved to the south of France two years ago and had been travelling around Australia for approximately the same length of time as us. We could not believe that with all the camps around Cairns, here we were at the same one.
After we settled in, we met them at the Tropical Pool (shaded) and spent another few hours swimming and chatting. As we were floating about, Bob nodded at something over my shoulder and believe it or not.....there were Nigel and Kat sitting at a table right behind us. We had such a laugh at this tiny, tiny world. Nigel told us that he landed a job as a mechanic with a gold mine in Papua New Guinea starting next month. He will fly from Cairns to the island then will be taken by helicopter (loaded with armed guards) for 16 days shifts followed by 12 days off when he'll be flown back to Cairns. He's feeling a bit nervous about it but is also excited. Kat applied for a job here (she's an esthetician) and at one establishment was told she'd be expected to give men Brazilian waxes. We all were stunned to learn that men get this done!!! Bob asked her who on earth would do this and Nigel replied "construction workers"....we all roared with laughter at his dry wit.....then again, he could be right.
We had two dinners out with Kay and Fred; lovely restaurants!
Photo: Dinner out with Kay and Fred
Bob and I did aquafit in the pool yesterday morning; two men and 10 women. It was a fun workout and a first for Bob.
Yesterday we took the skytrain 10 km through the rainforested mountains that surround Cairns. The trip included a nature walk with a ranger and we learned even more about this beautiful area and Australia generally. The ranger asked us if we knew who David Suzuki is and told us that he has met him, has tremendous respect for him and that David owns a home in Port Douglas. Interesting bit of info. He also told us that it was Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine who put Cairns on the map. They used to come fishing in the '70's and were always loaded and often fell out of their fishing boats. Great stories!
Photo's: All aboard the skytrain; views from the air; me holding a prehistoric type insect of the stick-bug variety (harmless or I wouldn't be holding it!!)
We have been in Cairns for 4 days and will stay another until we head down the east coast to the Whitsundays.
That's it for now folks! We are only about a month from our departure to Vancouver. The time has passed so quickly that it's truly a head-spin.
Looking forward to seeing everyone when we get back!!
Be well everyone!
We have been in Cairns for 4 days and will stay another until we head down the east coast to the Whitsundays.
That's it for now folks! We are only about a month from our departure to Vancouver. The time has passed so quickly that it's truly a head-spin.
Looking forward to seeing everyone when we get back!!
Be well everyone!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Photo's from last Entry
We are now in the beautiful tropical paradise of Mission Beach for a couple of days; a camp right on the beach. We will be in Cairns tomorrow. The drive here was magnificent; lush and green with mountains and sugar cane fields all around us. The towns we passed through are lovely and some have very old store fronts......as if time stood still.
There have been a couple of cyclones forming offshore however we have been fortunate and have only had a few hours of rain today. Cyclone Odette that had been forming off this coast has turned into a low pressure area which brought the rain. Darwin got hit hard by a cyclone a couple of days ago. The Ghan (train) was stopped at Katherine and could not go any further due to swamping of the track. We had met a few people headed Darwin way a few days ago and are wondering how they made out.
The other evening, in the pool in Townsville, we heard someone say "hi guys" as he dived into the pool It was Nigel (the mechanic whose tool box was a bucket of water) and his partner Kat who we'd met in Darwin. Kat told us that as they walked to the pool, Nigel said "I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Bob and Sharon here." We were thrilled to see them however Bob says that we have probably been in Australia too long when we run into people we know.
Here are the photo's:
Camels along the highway to Townsville
Photo's: Downtown Townsville; Interesting feature to disguise overhead wires; Townsville and Magnetic Island from the top of the mountain
Artwork at the top of the mountain
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Tennant Creek to Townsville (Queensland)
Well, we have a couple of interesting stories to tell you about our travels from "The Alice".
On our way down to Alice Springs, we stayed overnight at a campground in Tennant Creek. We chose it because it had a pool. Once we got there, the owner told us he has an evening "Happy Hour". We liked the look of him....very attractive, quiet spoken and something about him that just didn't fit with the campground scene. We ended up not using the pool nor swimming since it had been a long day of driving.
On the way back up from Alice Springs, we decided to stay at the same campground and took advantage of both the pool and the Happy Hour.
When we arrived at the pool, there was a Danish couple plus two characters; one a young grandfather with his 2 year old grandaughter in tow and the other, his brother Mick. Try to picture Keith Richards on speed (now there's a stretch!) with long hair, huge bushy black eyebrows with large grey patches in them. He was "minding" the baby in the pool while grandad sat on the deck chair embellishing the stories Mick had to tell of his trip from Sydney to Tennant Creek a few days previous.
Grandad said he was retired and made his fortune in real estate in Sydney. He was travelling around the country for the 4th time in a fabulous Winnebago. This Winnie had a $5000 Roo bar on the front that he regretted never having had to use. This set Mick off on his tale which is:
Leaving Sydney and once out of the built up areas on the eastern coast, he hit a roo almost immediately after turning onto the east/west highway. He did a lot of driving in the evening so this is to be expected. It seriously dented his hood (he's driving a car) but he continued on only to encounter a "herd" (his words) of kangaroo's further along. Then the rain began and having been told by a cop that he'd be ok to drive across the flood-plain, he drove into a dip and the water came up to the middle of his door. With the car steaming and chugging, he continued on, too afraid to do anything else when he encountered km after km of locusts! To add insult to injury, he'd only gone through the worst of that with his wipers trying to beat them away, when his engine caught on fire. He told this story with extreme animation, flopping about in the pool and looking a right loony. I commented "that was fairly biblical wasn't it" and his brother replied "Those were almost his words when he joined me here! He actually said "I've just had experiences of biblical proportions!" We all were fascinated, listening to and watching him. Suddenly we realized that the little girl was disappearing under the water and as the four of us were about to jump into life-saving mode, the grandfather said, calm as can be..."Mick, grab the kid will ya, she's going under". Mick grabbed her and she didn't cry or make a fuss. Grandad said "I told you you can't swim stupid!" The rest of us were standing there with our eyeballs hanging out with me trying to imagine myself or Bob calling one of our grandkids "stupid" in such a loving way. What a pair!!! We had such a laugh and still talk about the colourful people we've met (yeah, that goes for you too Chris!!!)
We got to the courtyard for Happy Hour awhile later and we began to chat with the owner. By the way, at no other campground was there this type of get-together. I asked Ed how long he had owned the camp and he told us that it was only 6 months. He said that he, his father and brothers had built a lodge on the way in to Kakadu and he'd been in this kind of business for some time. I asked why he came to Tennant Creek (which is no oil painting, let me tell you). Turns out he was the advisor to the Treasurer of Afghanistan for 14 months, assisting the country in getting set up with the World Bank, made buckets of money and returned to Australia to buy properties in Tennant Creek. He and his sons are renovating the houses in and decided the best place to keep an eye on things was from the campground. Such an interesting guy with a terrific story. Apparently Tennant Creek is beginning to boom and he wanted to be in ahead of the rush. Since it is really the mid-point from Katherine to Alice Springs and there isn't much there, we think he's got it right.
We meet such interesting people. By the way our dear children; it seems that many Australian parents leave home when their kids turn 21. We have met bazillions (THAT word again!) of people to sell everything or rent out their properties and travel around the country forever! When they feel a bit bored, they work at a camp or for a mine or whatever!! So (STEVE) our kids can be thankful that we plan to return home!!!
March 1: Great drive across to Townsville on the east coast with a couple of stops (Mt Isa and Hughenden) that were pretty uneventful except for the excellent swimming pools; one olympic size that we got to appreciate for the cool water (a novelty here) and the absence of other bodies.
The highway cuts through savanah (sp?) that is lush and green. The further we drove into Queensland, the larger the stations became with huge herds of brahma's.
Now, you know all about the bugs and slithery things here however how many of you know about the Cane toad??? Something else for us to watch out for!!! We have to have a swivel neck and eyes on stalks to deal with this country.
Well, apparently someone very bright came up with the idea in 1935 to introduce 100 Central American Cane toads to Queensland to eat a beetle that devoured sugar cane. It bred like crazy and has pretty much taken over. It is toxic to all (humans and animals) and eats native frogs and lizards. Recently, a dead croc was examined to determine what had killed it and they found a toad in it's throat, having killed it before it got beyond the throat. These things are huge! We haven't seen one personally as yet but apparently they are everywhere at night and if you turn on your lights, you'll definitely see them. Another good reason to go to bed by 7:30! We had read in a brochure that they'd found a frog that could eat the young cane toads without ill effects and we thought "Oh no! They're introducing something else that will take over!" however we just discovered that this frog is native and it is expected the two species will soon confront each other in the wild in natures remake of "Alien Versus Predator".
Mar 3: Bob's Aussie 60th birthday!!! We arrived in Townsville, a beautiful tropical town of 120,000 on the east coast. I took Bob out for dinner at an amazing restaurant overlooking the Coral Sea. Perfect food and environment! No Cane toads....a bonus!
Mar 4: Decided to veg here for a bit and stay another night before we head to Cairns. Celebrated Bob's Canadian birthday by going to the Sunday market downtown; had brunch on a balcony overlooking the pedestrian mall (excellent food) then toured a fabulous coral acquarium.
Oh yeah! Can't swim here except within the stinger enclosures! These jelly fish are called Sea Wasps here and can actually kill you. They tell you that if you get stung, you should douse the sting with vinegar then call the ambulance.
We'll upload photo's another time; this place isn't equipped.
Congratulations to Tara and Tom for recognizing Tara's step-father in the "Who is This" contest. Unfortunately, my sister didn't recognize her husband so I don't exactly know what that means.
A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our son-in-law Peter on March 4th (in Canada). We love you and wish you all good things.
Love to everyone and thanks for reading my stuff!!
xoxo
Sharon
On our way down to Alice Springs, we stayed overnight at a campground in Tennant Creek. We chose it because it had a pool. Once we got there, the owner told us he has an evening "Happy Hour". We liked the look of him....very attractive, quiet spoken and something about him that just didn't fit with the campground scene. We ended up not using the pool nor swimming since it had been a long day of driving.
On the way back up from Alice Springs, we decided to stay at the same campground and took advantage of both the pool and the Happy Hour.
When we arrived at the pool, there was a Danish couple plus two characters; one a young grandfather with his 2 year old grandaughter in tow and the other, his brother Mick. Try to picture Keith Richards on speed (now there's a stretch!) with long hair, huge bushy black eyebrows with large grey patches in them. He was "minding" the baby in the pool while grandad sat on the deck chair embellishing the stories Mick had to tell of his trip from Sydney to Tennant Creek a few days previous.
Grandad said he was retired and made his fortune in real estate in Sydney. He was travelling around the country for the 4th time in a fabulous Winnebago. This Winnie had a $5000 Roo bar on the front that he regretted never having had to use. This set Mick off on his tale which is:
Leaving Sydney and once out of the built up areas on the eastern coast, he hit a roo almost immediately after turning onto the east/west highway. He did a lot of driving in the evening so this is to be expected. It seriously dented his hood (he's driving a car) but he continued on only to encounter a "herd" (his words) of kangaroo's further along. Then the rain began and having been told by a cop that he'd be ok to drive across the flood-plain, he drove into a dip and the water came up to the middle of his door. With the car steaming and chugging, he continued on, too afraid to do anything else when he encountered km after km of locusts! To add insult to injury, he'd only gone through the worst of that with his wipers trying to beat them away, when his engine caught on fire. He told this story with extreme animation, flopping about in the pool and looking a right loony. I commented "that was fairly biblical wasn't it" and his brother replied "Those were almost his words when he joined me here! He actually said "I've just had experiences of biblical proportions!" We all were fascinated, listening to and watching him. Suddenly we realized that the little girl was disappearing under the water and as the four of us were about to jump into life-saving mode, the grandfather said, calm as can be..."Mick, grab the kid will ya, she's going under". Mick grabbed her and she didn't cry or make a fuss. Grandad said "I told you you can't swim stupid!" The rest of us were standing there with our eyeballs hanging out with me trying to imagine myself or Bob calling one of our grandkids "stupid" in such a loving way. What a pair!!! We had such a laugh and still talk about the colourful people we've met (yeah, that goes for you too Chris!!!)
We got to the courtyard for Happy Hour awhile later and we began to chat with the owner. By the way, at no other campground was there this type of get-together. I asked Ed how long he had owned the camp and he told us that it was only 6 months. He said that he, his father and brothers had built a lodge on the way in to Kakadu and he'd been in this kind of business for some time. I asked why he came to Tennant Creek (which is no oil painting, let me tell you). Turns out he was the advisor to the Treasurer of Afghanistan for 14 months, assisting the country in getting set up with the World Bank, made buckets of money and returned to Australia to buy properties in Tennant Creek. He and his sons are renovating the houses in and decided the best place to keep an eye on things was from the campground. Such an interesting guy with a terrific story. Apparently Tennant Creek is beginning to boom and he wanted to be in ahead of the rush. Since it is really the mid-point from Katherine to Alice Springs and there isn't much there, we think he's got it right.
We meet such interesting people. By the way our dear children; it seems that many Australian parents leave home when their kids turn 21. We have met bazillions (THAT word again!) of people to sell everything or rent out their properties and travel around the country forever! When they feel a bit bored, they work at a camp or for a mine or whatever!! So (STEVE) our kids can be thankful that we plan to return home!!!
March 1: Great drive across to Townsville on the east coast with a couple of stops (Mt Isa and Hughenden) that were pretty uneventful except for the excellent swimming pools; one olympic size that we got to appreciate for the cool water (a novelty here) and the absence of other bodies.
The highway cuts through savanah (sp?) that is lush and green. The further we drove into Queensland, the larger the stations became with huge herds of brahma's.
Now, you know all about the bugs and slithery things here however how many of you know about the Cane toad??? Something else for us to watch out for!!! We have to have a swivel neck and eyes on stalks to deal with this country.
Well, apparently someone very bright came up with the idea in 1935 to introduce 100 Central American Cane toads to Queensland to eat a beetle that devoured sugar cane. It bred like crazy and has pretty much taken over. It is toxic to all (humans and animals) and eats native frogs and lizards. Recently, a dead croc was examined to determine what had killed it and they found a toad in it's throat, having killed it before it got beyond the throat. These things are huge! We haven't seen one personally as yet but apparently they are everywhere at night and if you turn on your lights, you'll definitely see them. Another good reason to go to bed by 7:30! We had read in a brochure that they'd found a frog that could eat the young cane toads without ill effects and we thought "Oh no! They're introducing something else that will take over!" however we just discovered that this frog is native and it is expected the two species will soon confront each other in the wild in natures remake of "Alien Versus Predator".
Mar 3: Bob's Aussie 60th birthday!!! We arrived in Townsville, a beautiful tropical town of 120,000 on the east coast. I took Bob out for dinner at an amazing restaurant overlooking the Coral Sea. Perfect food and environment! No Cane toads....a bonus!
Mar 4: Decided to veg here for a bit and stay another night before we head to Cairns. Celebrated Bob's Canadian birthday by going to the Sunday market downtown; had brunch on a balcony overlooking the pedestrian mall (excellent food) then toured a fabulous coral acquarium.
Oh yeah! Can't swim here except within the stinger enclosures! These jelly fish are called Sea Wasps here and can actually kill you. They tell you that if you get stung, you should douse the sting with vinegar then call the ambulance.
We'll upload photo's another time; this place isn't equipped.
Congratulations to Tara and Tom for recognizing Tara's step-father in the "Who is This" contest. Unfortunately, my sister didn't recognize her husband so I don't exactly know what that means.
A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our son-in-law Peter on March 4th (in Canada). We love you and wish you all good things.
Love to everyone and thanks for reading my stuff!!
xoxo
Sharon
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