A day of travel

3 Nov. 2009

We are currently sitting at a pool side bar in the airport inn in Darwin drinking margaritas and xxxx gold beer (the Australian preferred) waiting for our flight to Bali.  It is super relaxing.  We are so excited about the Bali adventure.  I can’t wait to eat the food and stay in the hotels.  I definitely intend to SHOP! The items there should be exotic and different.  I have a plan for the luggage (it involves Spud’s things). WE would love to share this adventure with you. Because of the time difference we leave at 7:30 and arrive at 8.30.   Think of us tonight walking on a beach and swimming in an infinity pool.    

Diving on the Great Barrier Reef

Nov 1 2009

.Well I was the only one dressed for Hallowe'en.  I wore the classic dagger thru the head . It was a big hit.  We had to explain the NA fascination with the holiday.

We did go on a shark dive against our better instincts, but when in Rome! We went down and sat on the sat on the coral in about 50 ft of water.  The guide, wearing the chain mail gloves, signaled for the feed bucket to come down.  The bucket was filled with tuna heads on a steel chain.  The sharks started circling immediately.  According to the guides, they were”only white fins and reef sharks”, ferocious enough for me! The sharks started attacking the heads, using the classic head thrashing motion to get the food off the chain.  I looked around for a sacrificial victim in case the sharks swam at me.   My adrenaline was running.   It took a long time for the sharks to get all the food off the chain. Potato cods and lots of little fish were swimming around waiting for scraps.   The potato cod even managed to get some away from the sharks.  I scanned the horizon for the big ones – hammerheads and ocean sharks, but they didn’t turn up.  The guide was crouched against the coral head keeping his head down and all appendages out of sight.  But the video photographer was swimming in the midst of everything.  We bought the video.  You will have to come to dinner for the viewing.  I don’t intend to repeat this adventure.   

Then we went on a regular dive. We definitely found Nemo.  The anemone fish are so pretty nestled in the frilled anemones.  

Back from the Boat

We were incommunicato for a few days because we were on the dive boat.  But we are back in Cairns and emailing from Macdonald's of all places.  Who knew they had free Wi fi, something to be grateful for!

We boarded the boat and were greeted with champagne and snacks on our arrival. There was a really mixed group of all ages, thankfully.  There were three couples from Canada, including us, a couple from Paris, people from the US, Germany and some from Australia.  An interesting group all in all. We moved overnight as soon as we got on the boat.  The first crossing left a few people sleepless and green in the am.  We were a little the worse for wear, but determined not to miss any dives.  We had two dives the next morning and 1 or 2 in the pm plus a night dive.  We lived a lifetime in the short time we were aboard.  Everyone was in bed early every night.  Not at all like the dive trips I remember from when we were young.  Then we drank and danced and talked all night.  Not that I could do that now! Every night almost everyone was in bed by 9:30.  But the first dive of the day was usually at 7:15 am!  Then we had breakfast.  It was great.
The diving was great.  We had about 50 foot visibility.  We saw more tropical fish than I can believe.  What variety. The coral heads and soft corals were magnificent!   Take a look at the pictures to get an idea of the wonderful sights we saw.

Some places the current was strong and we really had to use our skills to move along.  The diving was challenging and easy at the same time.  It was great having the instructors along.  You could choose to go with them or go on your own.  the dive briefings were really detailed. We went with a guide at night and saw octopus, peacock spotted skates, anemonies - just tlike Nemo!  There's me behind the staghorn coral and the black sea star.  The large spotted fish is called a potato cod.  They were very friendly and inquisitive.

Cape Tribulation, Australia

Monday, Oct. 26

We went to the tropical rainforest, Daintree Park.  These are called eco certified tours.  We preserve rainforests and UNESCO heritage sites by tourism in the areas.  Since we are travelling in a group we reduce our carbon footprint.  Wow, being a tourist has never been so virtuous! The drive along the northern highway which hugs the shore is beautiful.  We had an Italian guide!  At times he was hard to understand, but he did love this area of Australia. 

We went to a gorge where it was finally safe to swim, since crocs don’t like cold or fast moving water.  But there was really only time for a plunge, because we had to rejoin the tour.  We ate lunch in the most beautiful setting at a lodge deep in the rainforest.  There is no electricity, but Australians have a generator and are now using solar power for energy.  You have to wonder who had the money and vision to build that beautiful lodge in the rainforest.   Every beach has a bottle of vinegar as first aid next to the signage warning about stinging jellyfish (which arrive in Nov.) The signs warn about the crocs which come to the ocean in the summer, in the winter when the ocean water cools down they retreat to the streams and forests of the shore.  So every paradise has its flaws and it makes the Canadian black bears seem much more manageable as a hazard. Signs warning you about the hazards are popular i.e. “be careful climbing on the rocks, people have been hurt and even killed in this area”.  But families are clambering all over them, so just when your sense of caution goes into overdrive, your common sense reasserts itself. 

We climbed the aerial tower and walkway in the Daintree Forest which had beautiful views of the rainforest. 

I was thrilled to travel up the coast and get into the remote areas of the rainforest. 

The group we travelled with seemed very nice.  Another traveler told me that some people she had just met on the Cape Trib beach told her they were with a private guide.  They had paid $100 000 to fly in first class from Victoria and stay in 1^st class hotels all the way and visit the rainforest and places in the Gold Coast.  She said “I can’t wait to be retired.” I asked her how someone she just met on the beach had told her this information.  “I’m a hair dresser,” she answered. “Does that answer your question?” She finished the day by betting which women the guide would pick for a kiss goodbye.  He only kissed some of the women as he dropped them at their hotels. Luckily I didn't get one and neither did she! 

A day at leisure

28 October 2009

This hotel is fine and it appeals to my antique soul.  There is a picture of it on the wall from the 1880’s and the original structure is the same. The old doors have window transoms that are now painted that were used a one time to let the breezes through.  The breakfast room has the old mahogany shutters around and most of the old molding is there under paint.  The rooms are small but adequate, not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are only coming back to sleep they are fine.  My favourite part of the hotel is the wide veranda on the second floor where we have ‘breakfast with the birds; every morning.  There is a wide banyan tree that hosts all manner of birds; tiny curious sparrows; the distinctive black and white magpie, that visitors think are so attractive and Aussie’s dislike for their aggressive behavior; warblers, and fig birds with their startling yellow beak and eye.  They sing constantly and it feels like the tropics based on sound alone. They hop off and on the backs of the breakfast chairs looking for crumbs.  The wide pedestrian boulevard below has its own street theatre – this morning only early morning workers made their way through the tropical drizzle, while the birds took this opportunity to shower and preen their feathers. About 3 pnm the aboriginal workers spilled out onto the benches that line the pedestrian path and by 3:30 foreign voices started filling the bars and the birds were drowned out by laughter and conversation. There is a great $10.00 food value in the bars below with wine or beer included, but the tables fill up with young people who do not encourage 50 year olds to share the bench tables on the patio.  They are ‘saving the seats’ for people who have just gone into the bar.

With weeks of travel ahead we are trying to alternate restaurants with a way to eat that doesn’t break the bank or involve ‘chips’.  Today we found takeout steak pies and garden salad at a wonderful little bakery called Meldrum’s. According to their window they came second in the Great Australian Pie Bakeoff.  The food was delicious.  Another thing we try to find is quiet retreats for time to read.  Tin the casino in Cairns they have a beautiful rooftop terrace where we impersonated weary gamblers.  We had a beautiful view of oceans and mountains from the rooftop.

A walk along the boardwalk at dusk allowed us to see lorikeets flocking in almond trees for the night, the racket was deafening.  No wonder the natives saw they drive them wild.  We also saw a group (not a murder, a fishfry?) of pelicans on the flats for the night.

A day in the Rain Forest

Tuesday Oct. 27, 2009

Scenic Railway to Kuranda today.  We took the old gold mining and logging railway over gorges and through tunnels to reach the village in the rainforest. It is now known for crafts, artists and aboriginal art.  Some of the hand crafted items were beautiful.  I was tempted over and over to buy.  I saw some wonderful fish made of fused glass.  I would love to try my hand at that!  A new craft to try at home! I have to keep reminding myself that I do not need more stuff! – and that there is a weight limit on my luggage.  We went to the butterfly sanctuary.  We have wonderful photos of the butterflies native to the rainforest in this area.  We met a couple from Nova Scotia on the train.  He competed in the World Cup Games in Basketball and his team came 4^th just missing a medal finish.  They were a lot of fun to talk to.  The wife from Nova Scotia said “we are almost ready to leave and we haven’t seen even a kangaroo in the wild”, so when we go to the zoo or a butterfly sanctuary at least you know what you are looking for it arms you with some knowledge about what you should be looking for in the wild.  In the sanctuary the butterflies landed within full viewing and camera range.  Now I know what all the flitty black shapes are supposed to be that I see in the rainforest. 

We went to Bird World as well. It is a free flying enclosed area, and the birds are very tame.  We saw a male cassowary sitting on 4 bright green eggs while the female takes off – her work is done.

Kuranda is a very pretty tourist town.  The park benches were made out of railway tracks and wheels.  It was a very imaginative use of historical waste that had an appropriate theme to the landscaping.  The railings on the stairs were made out of wrought iron in the shape of rainforest vines.  I think this is what Matt talks about in clever use of landscape architecture. 

Well, today I felt guilty at my life of indulgence and idleness! My most pressing decisioneach day is whether or not to wear my Tilley hat! Quite a change from the admin decisions I had to make at school.  Spud told me I would get used to it!

The gondola ride back to the base of the mountain was scary but magnificent!

I want to snorkel tomorrow and Spud wants a lazy day.  I wonder who will win?

Serendipity

 Sunday Oct. 26

We used the local bus to get around today.  We were staring at the bus sign trying to figure out routes and a helpful person approached us and said there was an express bus to Palm Cove in 10 minutes.  She was going there and we just had to buy our tickets on the bus.  With that mystery solved we decided to take the bus so we hopped on.  The people behind us were tourists studying their maps and they told us they were going to the zoo.  When the bus stopped there we also got off and had a marvelous day at the zoo.  Amazing to think that all those exotic animals and birds actually live in this country.  What a memorable day – up close and personal with koalas, cassowaries (the huge flightless bird with beautiful head coloring.) Imagine being warned to avoid them in the wild and it is something we could experience on our rainforest trip.  The birds were so beautiful, especially the plentiful lorikeets with their green backs, yellow necks and purple face.  Alligators are protected here, so most of the gators in the park were captured when they had done something like eat someone’s dog!  And we think coyotes in our parks are bad!

Between the warnings to take care because of sharks and jellyfish, freshwater alligators, cassowaries and snakes – land, sea and air are covered. I guess it’s not safe to do anything!

We carried on to beautiful Palms Cove, a suburb of Cairns.  This is what you imagine a beautiful beach town should look like.  It is the number one spa town in Australia.  It has a beautiful strip of beach, gorgeous palm tree lined streets and wonderful tropical architecture. Mountains provide a backdrop to the scenery.  It’s just beautiful!

On the way back to Cairns we decided to get off the bus at Tjapukai for a sumptuous buffet dinner and show in the Aboriginal Cultural Centre.  They painted our faces and we took part in a fire lighting ceremony with aboriginal actors.  I don’t know the constellations for the night sky here.  But I think I saw Sagittarius.  I’ll have to ask someone what to look for in the sky at night.

The weather has been great, but I’ve got blisters on my toes.  I’ll have to rest up for another day of spending.