thefouramigosblog

It was an action filled three weeks touring Australia seeing Kangaroos, Wallabies, Koalas and of course the Great Barrier Reef.  Sometimes it was tough driving for Bruce with his newly fractured clavicle, but he did a great job getting us everywhere in one piece.  However, he wasn’t too sad about relinquishing the automobile at Cairns Airport.  He was ready to let someone else do the driving.

We arrived at our new home for the next eleven days, looking forward to cooked meals, beds made, and being plain lazy.

Sydney Harbor has to be one of the most beautiful harbors in the world.  It’s clean and the old and the new make for such an interesting backdrop.  And you can’t forget the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Of course our first night we had to eat escargot.  I missed it these last few weeks.  Actually you would think I’d be sick of it after eating it for 22 days.  But I wasn’t.

Our first full day on the ship we went to the gym.  Linda and I did a stretching class and Bruce and Stan worked out with weights.   Afterwards breakfast.  Like old times.    We played cards by the indoor solarium pool.  The only place it was warm.

Tomorrow is another day at sea.  More relaxation!

 

If you travel to Australia, you must snorkel or dive the Great Barrier Reef.  It was the one adventure we planned for on this trip but we were worried about the weather.  No worries.  We had a great time out on Divers Den and great weather.

We were the first to arrive.  In fact, twenty minutes early but we’d rather be early then miss the boat.  It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.

I squished my body into the wet suit.  I wasn’t planning on it but when everyone else had one on, including crew, I thought I better.  It was for protection against the killer jellyfish.  Bruce went in without one but he did wear a shirt which is protection.  Apparently you can die from the box jellyfish within minutes,  Yikes!

Our first snorkel sight was on Saxony Reef, with its beautiful coral and vibrant fish.

The water was a little wavy but it was still wonderful.

We had lunch on board.  The Reef from the top deck was amazing.

They moved the boat to another spot after lunch.  Unfortunately, the sea was much rougher so the water was churned up quite a bit and the colors were not as vivid as in the morning.

It was an amazing day on the Reef.  And nobody was stung by jellyfish although I saw a few of the harmless kind.

 

Linda and I can never have enough of the wildlife.  Whether it’s kangaroos, koalas even a scary croc, we’d be excited to see it.  Maybe a little too excited to see a croc.  So today we went for a hike in the Cattana Wetlands.

It was a short drive from the condo although we did manage to get lost once.  Apparently my GPS didn’t distinguish between Cattana Road and Cattana Wetlands.  Or maybe I wasn’t conveying the information correctly.

Walking through the Wetlands felt like walking through a jungle.  Tall trees with climbing vines perched over stagnant waters, home to crocodiles, at least the signage indicated so.  The cackle and singing of birds flitting high and low, a bit shy but also a bit curious to the trespassers into their world.

With all the sounds and smells, we saw very little today.  I saw a little red bird I believe was some kind of finch, a bird that looked very much like our white egrets, I heard the raucous sounds of either parakeets or lorikeets, and of course the turkeys which are everywhere.  But with all that not a croc to be found.  Not a kangaroo to be seen or any other endearing creature.

It was a lovely walk, however, albeit the mosquitoes which were a pesky lot.

In the afternoon we headed to the Cairns Botanical Gardens.  We had coffee and scones in the little tea house followed by a short stroll around the lush and colorful gardens.

Our next adventure was to the Atherton Tablelands.  We needed an early start because it was a long drive.   I might say a long, harrowing drive with its serpentine road ascending a tall mountain, rarely any guardrails and cars descending going like bats out of hell.  Bruce clutched the steering wheel tight and said, “I know how pilots feel with people’s lives in their hands.”  Quite unnerving and never ending.

We stopped at Heales Lookout to take in the majestic view.

Finally making it to flat ground, we needed to take a break.  We found a quaint place on Lake Barrine which is in Crater Lakes National Park.

There is an old fashioned tea house restaurant on the lake that is surrounded by colorful gardens.  It reminded us of Maine with its wooden porch adorned with wicker furniture and country charm.

For a mid morning snack, we shared a banana filled crepe with bacon and pineapples.  It was delicious.

From Lake Barrine we traveled on to a small town called Yungaburra.  Our Lonely Planet guide said not to miss this place, especially if we had limited time.

At the visitor center, the volunteer gave us a brochure which mapped out the wildlife and botanical walking trail.  We set out looking for platypus and tree kangaroos but found ourselves in a rainfall.  And where were our rain jackets?  Tucked nice and safe in our car? So we did get wet and didn’t see much but a wet trail and a creek.

At the end of the trail we walked over a suspension bridge which lead us into a neighborhood and we were lost.  Luckily a woman was on her porch and gave us some direction.

All that walking we were hungry again.  And it just so happened that we walked right into the backyard of a cute little cafe.  More coffee and scones.  And the owner gave us a hint on where to see the platypus.

Off again we went to Peterson Creek to find the platypus.  And we did.  Very, very exciting.  Unfortunately, she was swimming under the bridge and the light was poor so our pictures were not great.  I didn’t want to use a flash and startle her.  It is always so much more fun seeing wildlife in their natural habitat.

Back on the road again we saw a sign for curtain fig tree.  We decided to stop.  It was amazing.  This tree is 500 years old.

We visited several waterfalls on our way home.  Malinda Falls, Millaa Millaa Falls and Mungalli Falls.

Our last stop was the Crawford Overlook.

Tomorrow we look for Nemo!

Today we decided to take it easy and relax by the pool. We woke up late, after a much needed night’s sleep. It’s been a lot of driving for Bruce and we hoped that he could go a day without driving.

We went in the lukewarm jacuzzi and stayed in there awhile until we were overrun with little ones. At that point the pool was empty so we ventured over there.  But not long after, the tiny tots invaded once again. Enough for resting around the pool.

For some reason Bruce and I are not good at resting so we needed to find something to do. Already early afternoon, we decided to go downtown and walk the Esplanade, which is the avenue by the ocean in Cairns.

We walked around the Saturday market and checked out the lagoon. There were a lot of people, especially kids in the lagoon, so we decided to pass on going in for a swim.

We were all getting hungry so we checked prices at the restaurants along the Esplanade. We found a hotel with a casino and restaurant. Bruce, Stan and I had fish, chips and salad for $15. Linda had pot roast, potatoes and vegetables for $15. It was a great deal.

We played a little in the casino and then watched the pelicans on the beach.

At the end of the day it was time to go food shopping.   That was quite the experience.  The big grocery store closest to our condo closed at 6pm and we arrived at 6:20.  So we headed back towards the Esplanade to find another Cole’s grocery store. We finally found one but had difficulty figuring out how to get in.   Instead of the four amigos shopping we should be called the four stooges.  Wandering aimlessly around the supermarket, Linda and I have a tendency to go into lalaland, staring into space.  However, through it all we managed to fill our basket and have items to make several meals.

After a long day we had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner.  We played a game of cards and called it a night.

The next day we drove to Crystal Cascades  for a nice hike and to see some waterfalls. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and not too hot.  There were several natural pools to swim in but we decided we weren’t hot enough to get wet.

After our hike we went to the Esplanade to check out a tourist info center that was supposed to be the only legitimate one, according to Lonely Planet.  We went to eat at the restaurant in the casino because the food is good and the price is right.  We played in the casino and Bruce’s name was called. He ended up participating in a slot tournament and the first round he won a $20 gift certificate for the restaurant. Second round he won the same. Third round he won $30 in cab fare. And he ended up winning $500 coming in second place. All our reef trips are now paid for with the winnings. We left after the tournament and visited a few tourist information places trying to sort through the myriad of options for reef trips and then checked out the boats on the pier.  What a beautiful end to a lovely day!

One of the things we wanted to do in Rockhampton was visit Capricorn Caves formerly Olsen’s Caves.  The Olsen family owned the land the Caves were on for 100 years and sold it back in 1988.  They are dry Caves and there are many different chambers.

Our guide for the tour, Lynda, lead us to the vestibule where we began this magical journey.

 

We walked carefully through the cave from on chamber to the next.  One chamber is called camel.  Can you see why?

As we walked through the cave, bats were flying everywhere.  Unfortunately they move so fast I was unable to catch them with my camera.  However Bruce was able to catch them on a video which I haven’t been able to upload.

The limestone formations were amazing from room to room.  When light hits the limestone it causes it to turn green.

The old wooden bridge in this picture was built about 100 years ago but is no longer used in the cave.

In the cathedral, they hold private functions such as weddings.  It is even used twice a year by an opera company to perform because of the amazing acoustics.  While we were in the cathedral, Lynda played Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah while the lights went from dim to total blackness.

The end of the tour was interesting.  We had to walk through very tight space that zigzagged back and forth and eventually lead us to a suspension bridge.  It was amazing.

What a great place to visit! #capricorncaves

We still had a four hour drive ahead across some very lonely, desolate land.  Not a town in sight until we came to this little gas station in the middle of no where.

After another hour we came to this little place by the side of the road.  We didn’t need to eat but we did need to stretch our legs.

On our last leg we stopped at Sarina Beach.  It’s a beautiful beach, lovely aqua colored water but notice not a person in the water and really no one on the beach.  Unfortunately these pristine beaches have jellyfish problems and not just any jellyfish.  They have box jellyfish which if you get stung, chances are you can die.  So beautiful beach to look at but no going in the water.

We finally reached our hotel in the late afternoon.  We went for a quick dip in the pool and then out for a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Another great day on this adventure!

After a long ride we made it to the Welcome Home Motel in Rockhampton just up the road from Hungry Jacks (Burger King).  Again it’s not the Ritz but the room is clean, they provide coffee, have hot water, and the bed was comfortable. Oh and did I mention CHEAP!!!

I spent about half an hour trying to photograph the flocks of birds flying around our balcony.  They were going crazy playing with each other.

Afterwards we went to dinner at a bistro recommended by the hotel manager, which turned out to be a little casino.  We all had the daily special of chicken schnitzel for $12.  It was great.  Bruce and I played a slot machine and won a little bit of money.

In the morning we went to the visitors center to get information on where we wanted to go today.  At the visitors center was The Spire Tropic of Capricorn which divides the Tropic zone to the north and temperate zone to the south.

We ate breakfast at a cute little coffee place in town.  It was a long walk but I needed to get my 10,000 steps in today.  We had bacon, egg and cheese on bagels.  It was really good.

 

We visited the Dreamtime Cultural Centre where we had a private guided tour on aboriginal history.

Francis, our first guide was from the Island of Mer or Murray depending on whether you use the Island name or English name.  He explained about the Islands being part of Australia and that once there was a land mass connecting Papua New Guinea to Australia.  When the sea came over the land mass it created the little islands.  There are different creole dialects from the east to the west.  Also in the old days, heads were used as money and wealth was based on how many heads you had.  Then pearls became the bartering power and many islanders died diving for pearls.  Cannibalism was also practiced in the island’s many years ago but no longer.  However, Francis said that it is still practiced in Papua New Guinea.

Some of the shells were from the Great Barrier Reef.  Francis said that the shells clean the reef and when the shell dies they honor the shell.  Also a turtle shell he had on display was very large.  He said that the turtle was probably 50 years old.

Wayne was our next guide and he played the didgeridoo which had a deep sound.  He showed us how he made different sounds with it by using his tongue.  Young boys begin to learn how to play the instrument and it is a sign of manhood when they can play it at a function.

Wayne then gave Bruce and Stan a short lesson on how to throw a boomerang.  A returning boomerang is the mid size boomerang and that’s really a toy.  A very large boomerang doesn’t return and it is used to hunt kangaroo.  A very small boomerang is used to hunt small prey.

We enjoyed walking through the cultural center and learned a lot today from our excellent guides.

In the late afternoon we went to the local zoo to see the koalas being fed.  I am not much for zoos but it was free.  Actually the place had a wildlife feel to it so it was fun to walk through.

At the kangaroo exhibit, one of the females was pregnant and the joey’s foot was sticking out of the pouch.

Birds were flying overhead and a flock of lorikeets came in to drink out of a dish.  They are such colorful birds.

 

It’s late afternoon and the birds are flying overhead again.  We sat on our balcony so I could write and Bruce could smoke his cigar.

For dinner we headed back to the little bistro/casino we ate in the night before.  Tonight we had battered barramundi fish.  It was delicious.  Afterwards we played the slots and won again.  We were going to treat Linda and Stan to coffee and cake but it was on the house.

We really enjoyed our stay Rockhampton!

Our 22 day Transpacific crossing ended with fond farewells to fellow travelers, our favorite waiters, Alroy and Yogesh, and our cabin attendant, Hospicia,  who dazzled us with her creative towel animals many nights.

We saw some great shows and had a lot of laughs with some of the off beat comedians.  One of our favorites was Strings Alive who had a fantastic fiddler.

Our departure morning I woke in the predawn hours as we were approaching the dock in Circular Quay.  As we approached, our balcony looked out at the Sydney Opera House.  It was incredibly beautiful with the reflections of the lights beaming on the water.

After I took these photos I went back to bed for another two hours.  When I awoke, the opera house was still right in front of my balcony.

 

It was time to leave our cabin which we had called home for over three weeks.  It was a very sad parting.

Now for a little information about arriving in Sydney.  We had read a lot about how customs searched luggage and if you didn’t report tobacco products or if you brought a weapon such as a diving knife,  they would confiscate it.  Bruce decided not to bring his diving knife with him because of that and Linda and Stan reported that they had a little over a carton of cigarettes.  We met with the border patrol on the boat two days prior to getting off the ship and I told them I had three cigars and Bruce said he had three.  The border patrol guy initialed our documents and that was it.  Linda and Stan had a “C” written on there documents.  When we got off the ship, we didn’t go through any detectors, we handed someone the documents and walked off.  They didn’t even look at our passports or stamp them.  It was the easiest process of any country we have gone into and we were told it was going to be difficult.  Unfortunately, Linda and Stan paid a lot of money they didn’t need to.  But now I want an Australia stamp on my passport!!

We found a nice cab driver who took us to our Airbnb.  We had to wait outside for a little bit until I could get in contact with the host.  It’s a lovely little place with a nice deck where we can sit and relax.

After we unpacked we went out for a walk to check out the neighborhood.  A block away we found a cute little coffe shop where we had smoothies and dessert.

For dinner we found a great little Thai restaurant.  We all had my favorite, Pad Thai. I am trying to eat less now that I am not on the ship.  So far I’m doing a little better.  At least no escargot every night.

We are staying in Bondi Junction, the burbs of Sydney.  Cool place.  Some of the buildings remind me of Brooklyn, some remind me of Charleston.  I guess you’d say it’s eclectic.  Love it!