March 30

Awake to a brisk cool morning, some of the higher mountains have a small fresh coating of snow. The air is clear and the sun is out without clouds. Bags out at 7:30 and we leave at 8:30 for a short drive to Arrowtown and some morning shopping. We had a brief introduction to the town during our off road adventure yesterday. Many old buildings, some conservation and some with period facades, dating back to the gold rush days of the late 1800’s. A good display of gold nuggets that were mined here are on display.  The Chinese were part of the miner population but and were moved by Euro settlers to the edge of town so there is a Chinese village.  The small mining villages depended on Queentown for supplies. After our stop at Arrow Town we are heading to see Mt. Cook the highest peak in New Zealand at ~12,000 feet. Initially we follow the Kawarau River and past the winery and bungee jumping place we saw the previous day.  There are man-made lakes in the area that provide water supply for the hydroelectric power and irrigation. We pass along one of the lakes, Lake Dunstan, which is the water supply for the Frazer Dam Hydro Station. There is a long manmade canal that joins the lakes; NZ gets 90% of its power from hydro and most from here.  We are passing through various mountain valleys, and do a quick stop at Jones Fruit Farm stand, for ice cream blended with some of their fruits. We see strange fruits we don’t recognize; the owner has planted a large rose garden with trellises and all manner of shrubs and statues.  The surrounding area is scrub and arid with wineries growing everywhere. Irrigation is imperative and it reminds us a lot of California. This is also big station sheep ranch country and we see the large shearing sheds that produce wool from thousands of sheep.  Our travels continue through the Pisa and Dunstan mountain ranges until we reach the tiny town of Omarama for lunch and some local shopping and browsing an antique shop and collectables.  We have found many American made memorabilia.  In Queenstown we found china plates from Minerva, Ohio. After lunch and a short drive we arrive alongside Lake Hawea and start to get our first look at Mt. Cook. The guide tells us this is a natural glacier lake, however the size is vast and symmetrical as it covers the valley floor for miles.  Alas, it is dammed and would not likely look like this without the dam.  Along the way all the water is a milky aquamarine blue, very striking set against the amber dry foliage and yellow mountains.  The range with Mt Cook is very dramatic, rising up from the valley floor.  The Tasman glacier can be seen in the lower valley from a distance.  Other, smaller glaciers hang from the tops of the mountains.  Mt Cook aka Aoraki is very striking with its pyramidal shape, snowcapped and sided with glacier. The mountains joining it from the side are a solid wall of peaks with glaciers hanging down.  Like most places around the world, NZ’s glaciers are all receding expected to be lost in 10 years.  Wonder what that will do to the water supply so dependent on it.  This is a National Park and the park lodge is called the Hermitage.  Very modern with lots of angles and levels and glass.  We visit the Visitor Center and there is info on native people, Sir Edmond Hilary who climbed Mt Cook several times, and the local flora and fauna.  There are beautiful stained glass windows and as in the hotel there are windows opening to the valley and Aoraki and other peaks.  It’s a beautiful clear sunny day and the mountain is completely exposed.  We know how lucky we are to see the area in clear weather.  Chuck walks the Kea Point Trail that goes up the valley to the mountain.  There are no threatening beasts here other than the Kea bird who steals shiny objects from the tourists. We sit on the open veranda overlooking the mountain watching the sun set.  Dinner at the hotel with a buffet meal.  We can see the mountain clearly from our seats. Darkness falls and the valley is so quiet.  The sky is clear with lots of stars and the temps drop.  They are in fall here so the days of warmth will be ending.  Long day time for sleep.

March 29

Awake to sunrise but threating sky as a weather front is moving in. Breakfast and then on to our optional off road adventure and into the land of the Hobbits and Wakatipu Basin. We are riding in Range Rovers and our driver Graham gives us a narrative as we drive along through the town. Our first stop is at an outlook above Queenstown as we await other vehicles to join our group. When everyone arrives, Graham talks to the entire group, (4 vehicles, ~25 people). His company has a photo album that shows different scenes from the Lord of the Rings. At this first stop he points out the hill and mountains that were used in the second movie. We drive on and turn onto a winding, narrow (1 lane) unpaved road that literally hangs above the gorge river and that takes us back to a winery, where we turn around and stop at a viewing point over the Kawarau river. The winery is getting ready for harvest and is squeezed in between the mountains and the river. It is a narrow stretch of land and the river is running about 200 feet below shear rock face cliffs. Another tour guide goes over the scenes that were filmed here, and fact that because of the heavy rains during the shooting of the film the river flood and hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment was lost in the river. At the same point we turn our attention to the opposite side of the road and wait to see a bungee jumper jump off the bridge over the river, originally used for car traffic. New Zealand is known for the bungee jumps and they and their customers are crazy. Next onto Arrowtown, this is an old gold town and we are driven in and through the Arrow River and joisted all around the vehicle before we stop for morning coffee and try our luck at gold panning. No big discoveries made, though Chuck finds a few flakes. The tour then takes us up a mountain trail that goes through Skipper Canyon toward an old gold mining town of Skipper. The trail basically has room for only one vehicle with sheer cliffs on the driver’s side on the way up/in. On the way back out we stop for photo opportunities and one last stop by a river before being dropped off at our hotel. All of this in just 4 hours. The Lord of the Ring Sites we saw on our adventure include White Mountains, Minas Trith, Pillars of the Kings, Gladden Fields, Ford of Bruinen, Wang attack, Exodus of Edoras, Willow, Vertical Limits and the Water Horse Locations. Rain held off until we got back to the hotel. Quick visit to the room and then back out into town to visit the bank, get lunch, do some shopping, and some downtime as the group is scheduled to go on a boat tour and visit to sheep farm for dinner. We board the TSS Earnslaw for a 35 minute cruise across Lake Wakatipu to the Mt. Walter station (farm), where we have a buffet dinner. The TSS Earnslaw is powered by a coal firing engine and built the same year as the Titanic.  It survived all the decommission of the coal powered steam boats and it now under historic preservation.  It takes a ton of coal a day and we able to watch the crew stoke the engine from above. After dinner our guide takes us to see their deer and feed them. There is a large 16 point buck in the herd.  The deer are raised for meat. Then we watch demonstration by a shepherd and his sheep dog round up sheep, and then he sheers a sheep for us. Back on to the TSS Earnslaw where they do a sing-a-long on the trip back to the Queenstown dock. A short walk to the hotel and then it is bedtime, for tomorrow we travel to Mt. Cook. Nighty-night.

March 28

Awoke to darkness, cool, no rain.  Breakfast at the hotel and onto the bus for an early start, crossing the southern end of the south island to Milford Sound.  We are out as the sun rises there is a lot of mist/fog but we can see pretty well.  We follow a semi circular route as there are no highways cutting across the mountains, passing through the small town of Te Anou.  There are mile after mile of sheep, deer and cattle and some edible crops.  The driver is from Christchurch and he is an experienced hiker in the area. He has had to take jobs out of NZ because gainful employment is difficult here.  He tells us the Maori people did not settle the South Island very much, mostly on the north with milder temps and easier living.   This side of the divide is dryer, we enter Fiordland National Park. There are great hiking trails and ‘experiences’ in the Park.  There are no beasties here, physical stamina and weather are the dangers.  We start to see higher mountains with wide glacier valleys.  The rivers are braided.  The mountains are jagged and over 11,000 feet in places.  They are measured as they lift from sea level, not plateau.  The highest mountain on in the world designated as sheer cliff sided, is located here. We enter a rainforest of mosses, lichens and palm like plants.  The Park area gets more rain than the Amazon.  They get snow and some glaciers still exist but they anticipate they will be gone in the next 10 years or so.  They have to deal with avalanches.  There are no super highways here and the roads (good quality) must follow the contour of the land.  The trees are tall and profuse, various species.  We climb to the continental divide and we must take a tunnel that is no more than rough dug rock with a single lane.  As we emerge the deep valley of high mountains faces us.  Most are in cloud and it is raining.  We have passed multiple waterfalls of all heights and volume.  The water rolls off the sheer granite drops of the mountains.  We come into Milford Sound that joins the Tasman Sea.  It’s misnamed by early settlers as a sound, it is actually a fjord. We board a boat that takes us into a narrow channel of incredibly high mountains with hundreds of waterfalls. The mountains rise directly from the water, there is still a lot of their depth underwater.  The clouds are lifting and we see more detail.  The water is so deep the captain follows the sides of the mountains just a few feet away.  He also takes us head on into big waterfalls.  The sides are covered with lush vegetation that can only be there by intertwining of root systems.  We sail to the end of the fjord to where it meets the open Tasman Sea.  We are as far south as we can be on this trip from Antarctica.  We float by a rock full of young male seals. They pose for the cameras.  The scenery is so striking and so different from other places we have been we can’t stop taking pictures.  We drive back the 4 hours to Queenstown in mostly sun, seeing mountains in open sun.  We watch the movie The Fastest Indian with Anthony Hopkins on the way back. The movie was about the New Zealander who set records at Bonneville race track.  He is from a town just a few miles from our location and partly filmed here.   We take advantage of the mild evening and walk around the tourist town.  Open air restaurants and little shops.  It’s Easter break week and very busy.  Back to the hotel, we have another early morning with a tour that takes us off road and shows us remote areas and places where Lord of the Ring was filmed.  Another day of adventure and seeing amazing things.   One of the travelers has developed motion sickness and having a hard time in the bus and on the boat.  Hope she feels better.  PS Got email from Seth, he stopped down to check on the house and a Hudson policeman stopped him and asked for his ID.  Glad to know they are on the job, we registered for them to drive by and they’re actually doing it!

March 27

Awoke very early, breakfast at the hotel and then off to Sydney International Airport by 7:15AM.  The day is overcast and a little humid but mild temps.  So quiet on this Easter morning, surreal and hard to think of Easter yet it is!  Everywhere are bunnies and handing out chocolate eggs even at the airport.  Our flight was about 3 hours to Queenstown, very cloudy but passing over ocean most of the time.  Fairly full flight but can’t believe Chuck and I luck out with an empty seat between us. Makes econ flying so much more pleasant!  We have a full meal, movie, free drinks and a chocolate rabbit.  Our plane comes down right beside one of the mountains, at times we seem to just be missing the peaks below, we are flying up a valley to land.  Our first impression is, Alaska!   Mountains rise all around us.  It’s very low humidity but the air is still pleasant.  No snow on these mountains, but it’s early fall only.  We go through very strict security to enter the country; they call it the Island farm and is vulnerable to diseases, invasive species etc.  One of our travelers has to give up her sealed package of croc meat.  Queenstown sits on a huge glacier fed lake.  The town is small and houses line the hills.  This is very definitely a tourist town with fancy restaurants and shopping, it reminds us of Banff.  The mountains around us are 6-7500 feet high.   We have brought some NZ cash but have some Aus dollars left over.  We will exchange for NZ dollars no charge tomorrow at the bank.  The dollar is strong right now, about 1.50 to 1.00 NZ.  The Novotel hotel sits right in the downtown with a view to the lake and mountains from the windows.  There are gorgeous roses of every color in full bloom as well as mop head hydrangeas. Some of the trees have begun to turn.  We have a fjord cruise tomorrow and it is at that point that we will be the closest to Antarctica on this trip.   The capital of NZ, Wellington, is the farthest south capital in the southern hemisphere.  We are having cloud cover but no rain.  We are bussed to the gondola that runs straight up the mountain in town for dinner and views.  The ride is very steep in the little swinging cars.  Chuck’s not crazy about it, but what great views.  We see sheep grazing up the side; they roam free and then are rounded up for winter.  There is a luge ride, a bungee jump, parasailing and other crazy things to do at this site.  We enter the restaurant for an incredible buffet of every kind of food that can be imagined including desserts.  We are able to sample a lot of the NZ lamb, beef, pork, cured meats and all manner of seafood.  We try a pint of the local brew, Tenacious Brew, an XPA, a combo of IPA and lager.  It is drawn from a pump in the shape of a wood stump with an ax in it.  We are surrounded by huge tall fir trees.  The view from the dining room windows and the observation deck are spectacular.  Steep mountains rising from sea level, very jagged, we can tell these are young mountains, still rising from tectonic pressure.  Which is why NZ has big earthquakes.  The lake fills the valleys around the mountains and the town sits on the banks.  The water is dark aquamarine blue, very glacial looking.  There are no big wild critters in New Zealand, so like Alaska they have scenery and adventure but no beasts to avoid.  Back down the gondola, Chuck has his eyes closed most of the time.  Bussed back to the hotel.  Early night after we walked the town earlier.  Chance to get some laundry done and get some sleep.  We’re really here, in NZ!

March 26

Awoke to a beautiful sunny morning  of mild temps.  We breakfast at the hotel and then board the bus for the Opera House.  We get to visit the small theaters and the largest theater as well.  Interesting history of the architecture and construction and explanation of the various ways the theaters are used to create the many kinds of productions.  Most of the operations are done underground which is actually below sea level as it sits on a peninsula that juts into the harbor.  The exterior iconic sails design is covered with ceramic tiles of light gray and cream colors.  The surface is self-cleaning with heavy rainfall.  The acoustics are the best as they use all kinds of Australian wood for it.  We stop at the Opal World that includes a movie to explain the formation and mining of opals.  Reminds us of petrified wood found in the southwest USA.  We walk to the Queen Victoria Building so Chuck can see the incredible interior and then we walk down to the oldest area of the Sydney settlement, The Rocks.  Beautiful old buildings line the streets and a huge street market is going on. A cruise ship is in the harbor next to it and dwarfs the area.  We stop at Phillip’s Foot, one of the oldest pub’s in the area.  We have a local microbrew called three sheets to the wind, a kind of wit beer. Very good.  We sit in the extended levels of garden off the main street.  We skype Brenna and she is slowly recovering from her URI, now on antibiotics.  Baby is doing fine.  Board the bus to go to Darling Harbor for our farewell to Australia harbor dinner cruise.  The food is okay with champagne and wines served.  The views are of the areas we have seen from land and now see from the water.  Back to the hotel for packing and prep for an early morning flight to New Zealand.  Long day and lots of walking, all good.

March 25

Awoke to overcast skies and mod temp.  Breakfast at the hotel.  On bus to go to Koala Park.  We see kangaroos and close up Koalas and dingoes and even more animals.  This park is not up to very high standards  We had read reviews on it and it probably should be shut down.  We are bussed around Sydney to see the sights, it took us to some places we had not been before.  Back at the hotel we take a walk about and find every store is closed and the streets are empty.  Australians still follow the old ways of closing everything down on Good Friday.  Phyl and Ray pick us up for one last hurrah.  We drive over to the south beaches of Sydney.  We are on the south side of the Gap, the entrance to the harbor.  We visited the north side of the Gap earlier.  We take the trail up along the shore and see the ocean pounding on the high sandstone cliffs below.  Our restaurant is Doyles and it sits right on the beach with table 5 feet from the sand.  The small sailboats bob in the Bay with ferries darting in and out. We see a cruise ship leave the port.  The sun comes out for a glorious sunset making a silhouette of the city skyline and bridge.   Nice dinner of all sorts of seafood.  A coffee at our hotel and its time to part.  A fond farewell to the Knights, it’s been a great reunion with hopes of meeting again.  Last day in Sydney tomorrow. Today is the halfway point for our tour.

March 24

Awoke to another sunshine day and mild temps day.  Had a few spits of rain yesterday but didn’t last.  Breakfast at the hotel and then time for a walk about Hobart. Nice little town with some surprises. Arcades off the main street with all manner of shops and restaurants.  We find a map store with every kind of map we could want (real fold up travel maps) which is a rare find these days.  Nice finds at the Australian Geographic store and walk through a local antique shop.  On the bus to the airport, good-by Hobart/Tasmania and Mt. Wellington looming overhead.  One hour forty minute flight to Sydney.  Everyone is talking about the bombing in Brussels; Pat and Chuck know someone from Hudson at that airport but they made it out okay.  Sydney, sunshine and lighter temps and humidity from when we are here before.  Easter weekend and the city is busy and kids are out for a break.  Our hotel, the Menzies, is located in the center of town shopping district.  Came here with Phyllis to see earlier.  A large city park sits across the street and the train station is there as well.  The hotel is very pretty and old. The room is okay, no drawers for unpacking and the bathroom is retro fitted, small and with a leaky shower.  We change clothes and bus over to the Sydney Tower, dining in the revolving restaurant over a thousand feet in the air.  We have a short menu to choose from and revolve twice, 360 degrees, around looking at the city lights. Would have been nice to be here at sunset to see the city in day to night, but alas not.  Very pretty and luckily we are able to recognize many sights.  Time for bed.  Two more days here with activities and free time.  Weather will hold until we leave and then they get rain (needed).

March 23

Tasmania, the heart shaped island. We awake to sunshine and cool but nice temps.  Breakfast at the hotel; take the bus out of town south east.  We pass over areas that should qualify as islands as they are joined by bridges, but don’t.  Tas has small islands and a couple big ones included in their boundaries.  Finally we end on what they call a peninsula leading to Port Arthur.  We stop off at the ‘Unzoo’ where we observe Quolla’s a kind of little catlike marsupial and some rescued Tasmanian Devils.  They are the only meat eating marsupials in the world and the only remaining wild TD’s are here in this peninsula area.  They have developed a facial cancer that is transmissible through saliva.  The tumors start superficially and eventually take over the internal organs. They are feisty animals who eat carcasses only, they are not hunters.  When they find carcasses they call out and they gather to eat every last bit of the animal.  But they bite and snarl at each other, passing saliva.  They are solitary and active at night.  Their babies are the size of a grain of rice and must gestate in the pouch.  Out of 50 only 2 or so survive; they live for 6 years in the wild.  We watch the feeding and the TD eats everything, bone, sinew and claws of a wallaby leg.  The conservationists have quarantined this one isolated portion of land to try to find a cure and or let the infected animals die out.  We are able to feed small kangaroos and wallabies, they eat right out of our hands.  One of them has a baby joey in its pouch.  We continue to Port Arthur to the world heritage site where one of the original penal colonies in the early 1800’s has been conserved.  The grounds are beautiful sitting on a small harbor.  Many English trees had been imported. Hard to believe so much pain, death and sadness happened here.  We learned much about the early penal system and how England used it to help colonize Aus.  There are remnants of old buildings built by convicts with locally made sandstone bricks and chiseled sandstone block; each block has the worker’s mark so they could be monitored for production.  The crimes that brought men, women and children were oftentimes menial but all required at least a 6 year term and only one on record made it home to England.  The system changed to be more understanding of mental illness and a special hospital unit was built.  They had to use semi-fore method of communication up and down the coast line, averaging about 15 minutes for relay.  We take a boat ride out into the bay where it gets deep fast.  We are so far south, next stop Antarctica.  The children were put on a special island to protect them from the adults.  And there is an island for the dead, where they buried prisoners.  We have lunch, all locally homemade and delicious. The gift shop has very different products, all Tasmanian.  They grow lavender here.  Back on the bus and stop at the Blow Hole and Devil’s Kitchen to see the crashing waters coming through huge eroded areas of sandstone.  Ice cream and seafood trailers have been set up out of the blue!  Arrived back at the hotel.  Pat and Chuck set off for the marina where they eat an incredible seafood dinner at Murre’s (long established and catch their own seafood).  We eat locally grown oysters that are huge, so good we order more!  Some of the toppings are unusual, all good.  Chuck gets a huge seafood platter including pickled eel that is delicious.  Pat has the blue eyed Trevallie, a local white fish that is excellent.  Walk back to the hotel the night is mild with some wind.  Tomorrow heading for Sydney and will catch up with Knights one last time for dinner

March 22

Awoke to sunshine and blue skies, mid 60’s.  Late start that gave us time to readjust packing etc.  Breakfast buffet at the hotel.  Set off for the airport via bus. Melbourne airport is privately owned and operated and is no more efficient or traveler friendly than city run airports.  Flight to Tasmania is about 1 hour on Qantas.  We were on the Timor Sea when in the top end, now we are on the Tasman Sea.  We have visited the coastal range from north to south on the east coast. Starting in the rain forest at Cairns, the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and now the Dandenong mountains west of Melbourne.  The Dutch found Tasmania before the English landed who then created the penal colonies.  Tasman was the Dutchman who first settled.  We fly over the parched land of Victoria and then fly over Phillip Island where we were last night with the penguins.  There are no reefs off this coastline, there is a brief shelf and then it drops off into dark blue deep ocean.  Tasmania appears mountainous covered by trees and parched, needing water here too.  The largest city and capital Hobart (200, half million in the whole state) we are in the state of Tasmania, that has been confusing; it is its own state.  Hobart sits on the Derwent River and a harbor.  Fishing is still a trade but logging is less these days, there are sheep too and some mining.  The Aboriginals are not prevalent or readily recognizable; they have blended in with the Europeans who relentlessly tried to annihilate them.  Although there are comments from Aboriginals in the local paper over land use, so they are still a force here. Tasmania Hobart is the second oldest settlement in Aus, second to Sydney; both began as penal colonies.  The city sits at the foot of Mt Wellington, very pretty.  Battery Point is the oldest section of the city with lovely Victorian bungalows and wrought iron.  Errol Flynn was born here.  The city is a blend of old England and 1960’s arch.  There is building going on here, a pedestrian shopping area with high end shops and department stores.  Lots of flowers and lovely benches.  Our hotel the Hadley is very central to everything. It’s very historic nearly 200 years old.  Very charming with Victorian flare. We are located across the street from a huge sandstone Anglican church of St. Davids  d.  Many old buildings are locally quarried sandstone, carved by convicts who were treated cruelly.  Each block has markings by the individual so their production was monitored. It is high 60’s – 70’s, signs of autumn are in the air.  We walk down the hill to the port and visit the Custom House Hotel. This was where Knights stayed a month ago.  Very old and charming.  They brew their own beer and it is some of the best we have had in Aus; pints under the umbrellas on the street.  We walk over to Salamanca, the old warehouse district. Stone row buildings with tiny boutique shops are original and very charming, could be lifted out of an English or Scottish village.  We find a consignment with wood work and wool products.  Talk with some of the locals and they are very nice.  Walk back to the hotel for early dinner of buffet foods.  The evening is very mild. We take a walk around the shopping district.  Everything closes at 5PM so it’s quiet and relaxing.  Our room is nicely decorated but small so must adjust our movements.  A day out in Port Arthur tomorrow where we will learn about the penal colony and then on to meet a real Tasmanian devil!  Everyone’s luggage is getting heavier and there seems to be more bags as we travel! The exchange rate is still in our favor but not as good as when we first came.  Off to bed.

March 21

Happy Spring!  Heard from Brenna, the baby’s room is nearly complete, she just added a few animal and cabin stencils to the wall murals.  The new blind and valance will be the finishing touches!  Sorry to hear the ‘cold’ she got has lingered and making her miserable.  We awoke to sunshine and blue skies, it’s mid 60’s here to stay in the 70’s.  Pat is so happy, her weather is back.  We take the bus on a city tour.  Stop at the Parliament Building, Windsor Hotel (old historic with a delightful collection of hand knitted tea cozies), and the Princes Theater.  On to Fitzroy Park where we see huge elms, cedars and all kinds of trees.  First hardwoods we have seen.  There is a conservatory beautifully planted with seasonal flowers, on up the path to the Fairies tree and model Tudor cottage village with water feature.  On to the Shine of Remembrance commemorating the wars that ANZAC has been involved.  The pyramidal structure had a center stone where a ceremony of remembrance takes place every half hour.  We walk to the top and have a 360 degree view of beautiful Melbourne, lots of parks, skyscrapers, houses, the harbor.  We opted to be dropped at the free circular trolley.  Only really interesting area that is new to us is a close-up of the harbor area and some large sculptures. Walk into the mall next to our hotel and look for a small carry-on.  Yes we must relent with the weight of our bags and the things we have bought.  We didn’t do too much but we have much more to go including 2 more countries to go to (NZ and Hawaii)!  Our big suitcases we opted to bring are very heavy even empty so it makes a difference.  Once we leave Auckland we are back in first class so we can take 2 bags each checked in.  The bus takes us to Phillip Island about 2 hours south of Melbourne.  We are in rush hour traffic and the roads are loaded.  We emerge into farmland, cattle and sheep. They are in drought.  We are in the far south of Aus at this point.  We cross over a long bridge and their sign says the reservoir is at 46%.  The island is huge and holiday properties for Melbourne.  There is a large group of Koala bears here (marsupials) and they are endangered. Koalas can only be found in New South Wales and Victoria, they only eat 3 kinds of eucalypts. We stop at the seaside town of Cowes.  Driving downhill through a narrow street of small shops and cafes under a canopy of golden tipped cedars with a view of the bay at the bottom  Stop at Italian restaurant with a view of the water, have a great bottle of Vic shiraz and a variety of small plates, all delicious.  Back on the bus to the farthest shoreline where the Fairy Penguins aka Little Penguins return from the sea to their chicks.  The coast line in Vic tends to be more rocky, we see a few palms in Melbourne but none out here.  The bright moon comes out and we sit behind ropes and watch as the ‘rafts’ of birds return from feeding.  They have built small houses for them that encourages them to nest and some burrow into the ground.  It’s quite a sight watching them march forward in large groups some having to climb rocks up the side.  They only get to be 1 foot tall and are navy blue not black.  We are able to follow them on the boardwalk as they make their various paths to their houses.  We are stopped with a gate to allow them to pass in front of us, a chick chases its parent picking at them for food and then a wallaby hops by.  Great viewing and experience.  There is a large seal population in the area too but we don’t see any.  A ride back in the dark to Melbourne.  Time for bed after a busy day.  Of to Tasmania tomorrow, only an hour flight as we puddle jump. 

March 20

Awoke to the rising sun, bags out at 6AM.  The birds are chirping and the day is a little cooler but very humid.  The area will get another downpour tonight, so glad we got our time here in between storms.  Chuck bought a painting from AB young man named Solane, this area artwork is based on figurative forms in nature and myth. And there are different weapons used and basketry.  We have breakfast in the hotel from the buffet.  Bus leaves at 7AM and we have sun and partly cloudy skies.  We retrace our steps back to Darwin.  A quick stop at the Bark Hut.  See more wallabies and various birds. Chuck had a snake cross his path night before last and another one was outside our room last night. We just learned that one of the couples found a scorpion in their room at Uluru.  We had ants.  Interesting that the Interior was much more buggy than the coastal areas. We stop briefly to take pictures of the cathedral termites (one of the three kinds we have seen so far).  The structures are 5 to 6 feet high with vertical columns, to let the heat out from their compost.  Qantas to Melbourne about 4 hours.  Chuck and Pat luck out with an open seat between us.  A meal and a movie are offered.  This is the longest air time we will have on the tour!  Melbourne (said as Melben) is more than 35 degrees cooler and half the humidity. It’s sunny and clear.  Our route passes over the dessert interior, farthest north to nearly farthest south (Minnesota to Key West), of the country.  Part of the tour we didn’t count on were the clear views of the land from the air.  We leave the green coast and fly over the dry, flat desert.  Very little green seen here, no people/property; the topography is fascinating, looks like the bottom of the ocean with shifting sand ripples made solid.  Then there are the numerous salt lakes, some huge beyond the eye and some very small.  We pass over Coober Peety where some opals are mined, it is so hot there the people live in caves underground.  As we approach Melbourne the area is highly populated with lots of farming surrounding but it looks very dry.  They are 4.5 million, the second largest city next to Sydney. Of the 25 million people in this whole country nearly half live in these two cities.  Sue from US got her purse caught in the escalator at the airport and it pulled her over.  She has cuts on her arm temporarily bandaged by the airport staff.  She flies on but must got to the ER in Melbourne.  Bus takes us on a quick tour of restaurant areas of Melbourne.  It is a beautiful city with lots of old Victorian architecture and new high rise buildings.  The area around Melbourne is known for wheat. The Yarra River flows through the center.  We are off the coastline about an hour away.  The Swanston Hotel is located near the heart of the city. Some of the streets are very narrow with little lanes, reminds us of London in some ways.  The streets are packed with people due to the Aus Grand Prix in town.  We opt to join our guide to walk down the street to historic Chloe’s Restaurant and Bar to see the famous painting of late 1800 naked Chloe.  It’s a slice of old London right here.  We walk with another couple over the bridge of the Yarra River.  It’s about the size of the Thames in London.  We pass their main train station which is a beautiful old ornate building.  The river is bordered by high rises of interesting arch and the bridges are all ornate, new and modern.  It’s Fraya birthday so we stop at Waterfront Southgate for a seafood dinner.  Open air veranda over the river, busy place with tanks of live seafood and fish on ice staring down at us.  Meal was very good and a good Vic chardonnay.  We have entered Victorian Territory.  For us this is the fourth state will be in while in Aus.  There are 6 in total (7 with Canberra the capital being a federal territory similar to DC).  We will have covered the top end, half of the east coast, the interior and the farthest south area and the island of Tasmania.  We’re in Melbourne tomorrow for city tour and dinner with the Little Penguins on an island tomorrow night.  More to come! 

March 19

Awoke to sunshine, high temps and high humidity.  We breakfast in hotel buffet.  Take the bus with Bushy the driver who also gives a lot of information over an intercom as he drives.  We change seats everyday by assignment by the tour director.  It’s all very fair.  Our first stop is the National Park Bowali Visitor Center.  Open air veranda design in the middle of the forest.  Nice displays on the park including a replica of a dugout canoe.  A gift shop and café are here.  On the bus to our next stop at Nourlangie.  A hike to through the forest and sandstone escarpment of the park.  There is overcast but we are over 100 degrees with humidity so thick it’s hard to breathe.  The trail isn’t difficult but the weather makes everyone melt.  We view historic AB cave paintings where the people took refuge in the heat and storms.  Chuck and Pat opt to take the higher climb to view the panorama of escarpment and named sandstone outcroppings, rock formations are named by the AB.  It’s hard going in these conditions.  But it was worth it. Walk back to the bus grateful for a refill of the water bottle and AC.  Bus to the Yellow River boat ride.  We have lunch here, buy a baquette, fill it whatever is on the salad/meat bar for $10.  Very good.  Walk to the boat, a flat bottom river boat with a Park Ranger driver interpreter.  We wind around the Yellow River Billabong off Jim Jim Creek.  The water is high and we see thousands of water lilies bloomed and various birds.  Most of the area is tall grasses of this water shed area.  We briefly enter South Alligator River and return our course. No sign of crocs but the ride is lovely.  Except for the heat!!!  This river system is completely contained in the Nat. Park, that’s how large it is.  We only see the occasional wallaby, partly heat and partly lax environmental conditions have driven many away.  Last stop at Warradjan AB Cultural Center.  Nice array of displays.  The lifestyle and art of the AB’s of this area is very different from the outback center south of here.  Overall many of the mores and laws and connection to the earth are very similar to other indigenous people in other lands.  Back to the hotel for dinner and a relaxing evening.  A violent storm cell comes through with big thunder and lightning.  We’ve never seen it rain so hard.  Pat is in the room alone and the water level is rising outside the door with no sign of stopping.  Finally the rain tails off and the level falls.  Whew!  It is no mystery with the veracity of the storm.  The heat and humidity have been ferocious!  Have met one of the local AB young men and he explained his work.  Nice guy. Leaving for Darwin in the early AM, 4 hour Qantas flight

March 18

After a nice breakfast we board the bus for a Bush Village experience.  The road is bumpy with bright orange sand mix soil.  This set up is like a conservation village.  It’s very simple with lean-tos made out of brush with bare soil floors.  We listen to a presenter talk about the local clans and their laws and survival. Then we are served Spotted Dog made in the campfire and bush tea.  We are invited to use the Long Drop toilets.  A presentation on bush tucker, nuts, fruits berries and root, spices all gathered from bush.  We walk among various AB artists who display and sell their works.  Very well done and different from others we have seen, very tempting.  Then given an overview of the various implements for war, punishment and hunting. We are given a chance to throw a local boomerang, different than the triangle one.  We are given another more likely explanation of the AB origins and told by the official guide they are from Sri Lanka and Caucasian at least 40k years ago.  Head to the airport, leave on Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service).  Two hour flight to Darwin, going to the remotest central northern area of the country but still in Northern Territory.  Darwin is the capital of NT, 70k plus population, lots of military and a big port for goods.  The heat is less but the humidity is incredible.  The rainy season is lessening but micro storms are happening.  Incredible lightning show.  Cyclone Tracy destroyed 90% of Darwin in 1987 we’re in the end of the season now.  New homes must follow cyclone building codes.  We are bussed directly out of town heading south east for Kakadu National Park.  It is another World Heritage site that is so large it contains a whole river drainage system.  One and a half hours in, we pass over huge volume rivers and flat flood terrain.  The water is high along the road.  The area is green and lush, everyone says it is incredible that we get to see it like this instead of all dead and brown.  We stop midway at the Bush Hut, an historic watering hole for travelers. Funky interior but the beer is good and cold.  We see hundreds of cockatoos in the trees.  There are three large emus and two big water buffalo in a fenced area. Onward we come upon Brahman cattle in the road.  They are the only breed that can survive these conditions.  Flat green and wetlands.  Enter the park and end at the Kakadu Crocodile Hotel.  A building shaped like a giant croc.  We enter the croc’s mouth in reception, our rooms are in the belly and the restaurant is in the tail! Given a short talk on native art displayed and then to a buffet dinner.  Doing a little laundry.  We have a very interesting but very hot day on for tomorrow. Then off to Melbourne with 70 degrees and half the present humidity.  At the top end of the country then to the bottom!  Time for bed.

March 17

Awoke to sunshine and heat, less humidity but doesn’t matter when it’s this hot.  The buffet breakfast was incredible, Asian and Indian foods, eggs cooked anyway you can imagine, fancy Danish and much more.  Bus to Uluru airport.  Guide handles all our check in.  The top secret military base Aus and US is nearby so they’re a little more careful but nothing like what we go through.  The plane is all tourists heading for Alice Springs.  It’s a 40 minute trip of about 520 miles.  Landed in Alice Springs, nice airport but still pretty small with nice artwork.  We are boarding planes and departing planes from outside ladders so careful with steep steps.  Pam from Aberdeen fell this morning by tripping and has broken her upper right arm in two places.  Must wait until AS to get ER.  Bus directly to a stop downtown for lunch and shopping.  The downtown is small with shops and cafes in a pedestrian area.  The biggest find is the fabric store specializing in AB patterns. It was a candy store for Pat.  In the end only bought a few things, will probably regret not buying more!  A quick walk around the little town.  AB people sitting in small groups on the ground, very distinctive looking and body types.  Guide tells us they did not migrate from Africa 60,000 years ago but from Persia, they are actually Caucasian but skin has darkened over years of exposure.  Their language is not recognizable in any way.  We pick up a few school supplies to donate to the two children’s performances we will be seeing.  The larger religious denominations are instrumental in programs and boarding high risk AB children.  Visit the historic Telegraph office and learn about early days in AS and how communications developed since 1800’s.  Then we stop off at the original school of the air.  It used to be radio to radio and mailed texts and materials. Criteria is a child must live more than 50 miles away.  Now it’s mostly Internet and mailed materials.  The school serves remote children up to year 9.  These children receive very personalized education one on one with teacher.  They tend to be in the top 10% achievement bracket throughout their nation.  The AS school base serves students one thousand miles each way.  There are several other school of the air in various other states. The Royal Flying Doctors is based here too.  This is a volunteer service that flies into remote towns for clinics etc.  Remote stations are required to have landing strips.  Stop at ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Hill, a memorial commemorating all the wars Aus and NZ have served.  Now called peacekeeping and not war.  It is a great view of the whole area including the strange rock formations surrounding.  AS has the purest water in Aus, all below ground in an aquifer.  We arrive at the Alice Springs Double Tree Hotel where we are greeted with warm chocolate chip cookies. The resident peacock named Andrew is posing for a picture.  The grounds are an oasis of water features and foliage.  Nice pool, but no time to enjoy unless we miss the children’s presentation.  At the hotel we are presented with area AB children who drum and dance for us.  Chuck plays one of rhythm instruments.  Our bus then takes us to an outback barbeque.  We drive out of town into the bush and dirt road to a camp set up for cook out and music.  Only desert surrounds us and have to use a long drop toilet (outhouse).  The property sits on the edge of 450k acres of cattle ranch; getting to understand the vast openness of the Northern Territory. Good music with a nod to St Pat Day and food.  We are treated to Speckled Dog made in Dutch ovens over a campfire.  A currant scone type cake eaten with butter and syrup. Yum!  An astrologer is onsite to guide us on the southern constellations.  We are so remote we have no light pollution.  But the clouds have moved and so we will not see the southern cross.  Then all of a sudden the clouds part and there it is!  It is found on the Aus flag (5 stars with 1 big star for Aus). We opt to stop briefly at the Lassiter casino.  We are not fans of gambling but wanted to say we were there.  Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was partly filmed there.  We put $5 in penny slots and walk out with over $25.00!  Walk home with our winnings.  Another plane trip tomorrow heading for Darwin directly north and a little west.  Back into the tropics but in the north and center of the country.  We have entered the Northern Territory and will be in it two more days.  There are some sad aspects for the present day AB people. It seems Euro Australians are making headway in their acceptance and promotion of their health and wellbeing and respecting their land rights.  Aus’s biggest business is tourism and these areas are trying to meet the need.  Alice Springs thrives because of US government support in subsidizing housing and supporting businesses.  The US military is quite an influence here with the shared top secret communications service.  Not sure how we feel about this tug on our taxes!  Off to bed another great day in this fine country.

March 16

Get up at 4:30AM to get our bag out by 5AM.  We leave on the bus for the airport and the hotel has provided a box breakfast.  The bat commotion bids us a fond farewell.  This area has been in extended drought, but finally it looks like the rain is moving in.  Thick black clouds and heavy rain.  It’s good we are leaving, we could not have not done half of what we’d done if it was raining like this.  Qantas allows tour directors to handle our luggage and tickets.  The US would never allow this.  We still have to go through security and it is much lighter than UK and USA.  The flight is packed with tourists heading for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, a world heritage site.  There is nothing else there but a destination for travelers and a tiny secluded Aboriginal village.  The seats are snug but Qantas is generous with small breakfast etc.  It is about a 2 hours 45 minute, 1100 mile flight.  The cloud cover is heavy at first but soon the sky goes to light cloud and we can see miles of scrub land and no people anywhere.  The geology and topography of the area is fascinating.  The plants have and are known being used for functional and medicinal use.  There is much to be discovered still.  While the coast has been in drought, the outback has been getting rain.  We can see areas of white sand, old black lava but mostly it’s dark orange red from iron.  Wherever water has flowed and or collected it is green.  But then there are miles of continuous pointy mountains like a spine, some are miles of soft flow looking like a snake and some look like the back of a giant crocodile.  There are rifts and swirls of massive proportion.  No doubt we’re not in Kansas anymore.  Evidence of ancient sea levels and cataclysmic events are obvious.  We eventually fly over Alice Springs, the only settlement of any kind.  A few isolated ranches are in the area.  We are close to dead center of the country and it is incredibly remote and wild.  As we approach the airport we pass over a huge saltwater lake that looks like giant opals.  There is water there now but usually it’s a sea of pure salt. Uluru appears in all its glory, a dream come true to visit the Rock. We land at Uluru airport and our bus is there, out luggage is taken directly to our bus and we’re off!  The land is flat and rolling with sand dunes here and the soil bright ochre red.  Lots of low trees and bushes but everything is green!  The air is hot but the lower humidity is noticeable.  There are wild camels, horses, kangaroos and other animals in the area, but it is so vast we are not likely to see any.  The bus drops our luggage at the hotel and they will be in our rooms when we check in later.  We enter the National Park (entrance fee) to visit Kata Tjuta, a formation of giant rocks of various materials but look like ‘heads’.  This is a sacred place for male aboriginal ceremonies.  We can only view from a distance and it is a magnificent sight in bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Each head has a different look.  The trail to the viewpoint is lined with various brightly colored white, yellow and violet flowers that have come due to the rains.  The Kukura tree (sp), oak, is resistant to fire due to its thick craggy bark.  The trees don’t get too tall but just a two foot diameter trunk can be 600 years old.  Aboriginals use burn to bring new growth and draw in the animals for their hunting.  There are acacia trees from which the boomerangs are made.  This environment makes living things very selective and controlled as they must react to its extremes.  Even the aboriginal people would only allow their clans to become only large enough to survive and their laws are strict and punishment swift.  There were seemingly cruel things done in order to cope, but once seeing this land and its isolation it makes sense.  We stop off at the culture center dedicated to Anangu land talking about the various tribes of Aboriginals in the area.  It’s been well done structurally but there is really no one around to guide us and the exhibits can be a little confusing.  We watch an Aboriginal woman painting a beautiful dot painting.  The boomerangs of the coastal people (what we know) are different form interior people and used in different ways to hunt.  The lunch is sparse in offerings.  And flies, always flies.  Thankfully Knight’s lent us their head nets.  We wear them a lot.  On the bus to Uluru.  This magnificent hunk of sandstone is bright red.  It has layers of sediment that built up in the ocean vertically over time.  Plate pressure pushed it up and it fell over so sediment lines know lie facing up.  The top that pushed out is younger than that bottom.  The sandstone is pock marked and cracked.  This is the sacred ceremonial space for Aboriginal women.  We drive the perimeter of 6 miles.  We stop at the area watering hole where the water runs off the rock into pools below.  There is a cave where the people gathered during the day to teach, we see rock paintings, and to wait for animals to drink and be hunted.  It’s obvious it is hot but the humidity remains low.  We just find out it’s 110 degrees!  No wonder all outdoor activity is a struggle.  There are campgrounds in this compound and ‘cabin’ type rentals.  We arrive at the 5 star Sails in the Desert Hotel.  The entry is covered with canvas sails, the inside has AB art and dried grass lamp shades.  We arrive in our room with two double beds, full bath and large balcony.  We set off to get pics of the grounds and walk into the little shopping area.  Pat finds AB print wrapping paper it is gorgeous.   We see AB art everywhere and start to find things we like.  Have a light dinner in the hotel and back on the bus for a sunset tailgate party at Uluru.  The guide and driver has set up a long table with white linen clothes, champagne glasses and other, plates and piles of snack type foods.  We champagne, non alcoholic drinks and mill around taking pics as the sun sets on the Rock.  It is a picture perfect time.  AB women are selling some of their paintings along the parking lot. Pat buys three, gets their signatures and pics with them.  Back at the hotel a quick change and out to the pool, having it all to ourselves!  Blue underwater lights, the water is cool, the air is cooling.  The sky is clear and the southern constellations are showing themselves with a bright half moon.  Temps drop quickly her.  Off to bed.

March 15

Awoke to cloudy skies, heat and high humidity.  After sumptuous breakfast at the hotel we board a large coach with AC!  We are assigned seats with name tags.  The director will move our seats everyday so we are fairly placed to the front of the bus in turns.  A third of the bus is empty so we are able to move to other seats as we want.  We drive to the parking lot of the rainforest gondola.  We enter gondolas that take us up and over the rainforest canopy with views out to the Coral Sea.  We can see Green Island off in the distance.  The variety and lush foliage is amazing. This is the oldest rainforest in the world and a UNESCO site.  This is the second UNESCO site in two days, Green Island being the first.  We have two stops along the way with views over the valleys and walks among the foliage.  There are some huge trees in here and the basket ferns that plant themselves in the trees (living off air microbes and humidity) remind us of the ferns we grow in pots at home.  There is a huge brown diamond backed python asleep just a throw from our path.  Cassowaries live in these forests.  Third only to ostrich and emu in size.  Look very prehistoric with three big toe claws that will rip you apart if you intrude on their territory.  The males rear the chicks. They are endangered as their habitat is diminishing and cars kill them.  They eat nut seeds and fruits and deposit them in their waste, softened and ready for planting.  These birds are primarily responsible for the widespread variety of plants. We have a second stop at Barron Falls, a big water drop through basaltic rock and sandstone.  A hydro-electric plant is here.  Our final stop is in the town of Kurwanda.  Chuck and Pat drove by on our way to the Tablelands earlier.  The town is full of shops and cafes.  We find a local opal dealer at a table on the street.  He’s got a long white beard and heavy German accent.  We take a risk and buy some opals from him.  Not a lot of money but interesting stones.  We see an Aboriginal man dressed in traditional paint playing the didgeridoo, long hollowed limb making strange sounds.  He used a boomerang to beat out a rhythm on the side.  It made you want to dance!  We are finding out that aboriginals of the rainforest and coast had an easier subsistence lifestyle that allowed them to live in one place.  Whereas the outback Aboriginals had a much harder subsistence lifestyle that meant they had to move around for food etc.  The boomerangs of the coastal people are what we are used to seeing, a wide equal distance triangle.  They were used to move past birds and drive them in to be killed.  Whereas the outback boomerang is uneven sided and used to kill the animal directly. We pass a polling booth, Australians are voting for their local council people.  They have early voting as well as the official Saturday voting day and voters can vote at any polling place they want.  In the general election it is compulsory that all Australians vote.  They keep record and if you have not voted in 2 consecutive general elections then you are fined $150.00.  We stop for a pint, a meat pie (specialty of the area) and sausage roll.  Perfect meal for incredible heat and humidity!  This area is known for ‘hippies’ and said to grow Australia’s best grass better than Maui Wowie!  The rest of the tour takes the historic train back down to Cairns.  Chuck and Pat are the only ones to take the bus back to town.  We have the driver’s undivided attention and he proceeds to give us his view of politics of the day, including the Aus view of our current presidential campaign.  Chuck and Pat decide our trip back by ourselves was far more entertaining than the train!  We all shook hands at the drop off and we promised him that Americans would pull through and put the right person in as president (fingers crossed!)  A quick walk about through the town and some art shops and museum.  Back to the hotel for some packing.  Dress for dinner and set out around the block to a Greek restaurant we saw overlooking the bay.  The restaurant is upstairs and a pleasant surprise.  All write plaster with a large outdoor veranda.  It’s cooler up here and the first time we have eaten our dinner outside without melting!  Food was good.  Service was friendly but not very experienced.  Ended with a Limon cello so all’s well that ends well.  It’s raining, the locals are happy since it’s been a dry 2 years.  If only the humidity could count as rain!  It’s a tropical environment and rain is off and on.  The bats are batty and flying around everywhere.  Thankfully they are not interested in us.  We have to have our bags out by 5AM and then head to the airport for Uluru by plane about 2 hours.  So it’s an early night and getting our packing done.  It’s been a good day of adventure!

March 14

Awoke to sunshine, hot and humid.  The tree outside our balcony is full of flying fox bats.  We can almost look them in the eye.  They’re kind of clowns, climbing from branch to branch and hanging from limbs like monkeys.  They hang upside down wrapped in their little wings, little heads peeking out, beady eyes staring; little Dracula’s!  Then they wrap themselves totally with their wings to sleep and look like closed umbrellas.  After a nice breakfast of huge variety we head to the bus for the wharf for departure.  We enter a two decker catamaran for Green Island off shore about 35 minutes.  This is a 29 acre national park on a reef cay (island) that has the only rainforest in all of the 2900 reefs making up the Great Barrier Reef.  We opted to stay on the island and not go out to the outer reef platform for various reasons.  Upon arrival on the island we boarded a glass bottom boat.  We take a half hour tour showing us many fish varieties, sea turtles and coral varieties.  We also see a couple giant clams and many beautiful white ruffled nonpoisonous jelly fish.  Head to a lunch at a local restaurant as part of the tour.  It’s a huge lunch of a large fruit platter, burgers, fries, salad and sorbet for dessert. We take off to walk the perimeter trail of the island through the rainforest and then along the beach.  Sea turtles swim by and seabirds wade.  The water is emerald green near the shore over white sand and the reef is a darker green.  It is very hot and humid, the sun burns.  We stop at the sand beach and swim around in the clear water.  The water is refreshingly cool.  Small minnows and larger fish and sea turtles swim around us.  We are only cool in the water and hot everywhere else.  We change and board the boat back to shore.  We change  again and walk over to Barnacle Bill’s on the Esplanade for Barramundi/shrimp tempura dinner.  Lovely day of adventure but time for rest.  Getting to know our fellow tourers better.  We are spoiled with this small tour of 32.  Every thing moves faster and not crowded. More to come.

March 13

Awoke this morning to the rising sun over the Coral Sea.  There are storms brewing far out at sea.  It is very hot and humid.  We have arranged for a 2PM checkout so it gives us lots of time to prepare for the tour starting today.  Handy washer and dryer to have everything clean to start.  Especially as we melt through all our clothes.  Catching up with the bills at home etc.  Finishing up the groceries for our cold breakfast, all Australian products.  We have been gone a month as of yesterday.  We started our trip in New South Wales and now in Queensland for 6 days, four more provinces to come.  We drive down the coast 20 miles to Cairns to meet the tour.  This is where we landed 3 days ago.  Cairns is a very large city for the area. We stop at the Novotel Oasis Hotel and register with the tour.  We drop the luggage in the room and head out to drop off the car a couple blocks away.  There are 3 main streets of shops and cafes.  A community swimming pool is located directly on the beach.  This is a very progressive looking area with arts.  We walk back to the hotel.  There is a loud screeching sound everywhere.  We look up into the trees and there are thousands of flying fox bats hanging everywhere.  The sign says this area is a nursery for these bats.  They hang everywhere filling the trees and we can hear the young screeching for food.  Every once in a while an adult bat flies away from the tree and the wing span is nearly 2 feet.  We get close up views and their heads are red and furry like a fox and they are huge. We do not feel threatened but the noise is deafening.  Our tour group of 32 are having a debriefing session with the guide.  He is American and been doing this for decades.  He explains the Australian accents were not always the best for the tour but we will be guided by Aussies for different events. Most of the group are Americans from mid west to east coast.  One man from Medina, Ohio is in the group and is brother to one of the retired Hudson teachers whose son now teaches in the district!  There are a few couples from Manchester area of England and two Scots from Aberdeen.  We are given an overview of the tour schedule and optional tours. We are directed to the hotel restaurant for a buffet dinner that has several good selections and desserts.   We are given wines of our choice as part of the meal, included in the tour.  The room is simple with two double beds and a small balcony overlooking the town and the mountains.  After dinner we go to the pool to cool off and stretch.  It’s a nice pool, but not like Palm Cove.  As we float around in the water we can see the big bats flying overhead hunting.  Luckily we are not on the menu!  Tomorrow we head out to Green Island and the Reef.  The tour will be pretty demanding schedule-wise until we get to Melbourne.  But lots of adventure ahead.

March 12

Slept in a bit and ate a cold breakfast in the unit.  Did some laundry in the nice apartment sized washer and dryer.  There is a sunrise off the east shore in front of the unit.  We could throw a ball at the beach from here.  Less storm clouds over the sea.  We are located on the Coral Sea in North Queensland.  NO differentiates itself from  Queensland in its diversity of climate, but they are the same province.  Rain forest, tablelands, huge rivers, agriculture and beaches.  It’s still very hot, mid 90’s and humidity matching.  We head north along the shoreline, passing through Mossman, a very tidy cute old town.  Continuing north along shoreline with Great Barrier Reef just off the shore.  The beaches are nice with white sand but tend to be narrow and the sea has a hard surf.  Requires netted swimming areas, partly for protection from sea critters but the current is strong.  It is obvious they had a big rain last night, water lies in the fields and it weeps down out of the mountains through the sandstone and small waterfalls.  We continue to the small town of Daintree where the road ends in the river.  We have entered the Daintree National Park and huge river.  The surrounding rainforest is the oldest on earth and the number of indigenous plants and animal species are notable.  Austaralia broke away from Asia in history and has been isolated with these isolated species. A high peak in the area is always in the cloud for 6 months.  That’s one of the things we did not anticipate, Australia’s mountains.  The coastal range we see today are the reason for the rainforest, they make their own weather.  And the water that comes down to the narrow coastal area allows for agriculture etc.  The mountains are not very high, three highest are 6 k, they are covered with every kind of plant and tree indigenous to the area forming a canopy of plants that play a great part in CO2, H2O and O2 balance.  They support species of animals and plants found nowhere else.  Along the way we see a small gauge rail called the Cane Railway, small cars and track serving the sugar cane business that is prevalent.  The road ends at the little town of Daintree and the river.  A small gathering of shops, cafes and tours for river cruises for rain forest and croc viewing.  We take one of the Eco river cruises on the Daintree.  Flat bottom, low motor, canopy boat taking us up and down the huge Daintree River.  We enter in the brackish water, tidal salt water meets fresh water.  We are in croc area.  The plant diversity is incredible and lush, just like the hot houses at US botanic gardens.  The water is high after rainfall in the mountains and high tide. We see a few birds but no crocs.  There are dingoes, wild boar also in the area.  At the boat launch they feed Archer fish that spit at the food located above them causing it to fall in the water.  We are onboard with a bunch of NY state students from various colleges, RIT is among them.  We stop at the Daintree car ferry, the only remaining river ferry in Australia.  The cars are winched across the high and fast flowing river with huge cables. We head back down the coast on the same route but stop at Mossman and catch the end of the farmer’s market on the green. There is an historic church opened for viewing on the site (1899) and amazed to see similar open stone structure like some of the Scotland churches..  There are beautiful stained glass windows.  The green has gigantic Raintrees from Jamaica an early settler planted, they are incredibly beautiful and huge, forming a complete shade canopy over the area.  We talk to a local cacao planter and sample some of their homemade chocolate made with no simple sugar and all local ingredients, very rich and good.  We then stop off at the holiday town of Port Douglas. A holiday destination of very wealthy people and yachts.  The streets are lined with identical palm trees and resorts.  The downtown is lined with a canopy of shade trees, trendy cafes and shops.  We stop at the Court House hotel that is over 100 years old and a view to the bay.  Open verandas and nice menu.  Pat has the barramundi, fish caught in the Daintree River, very delicious mild and firm.  We walk the water front park area but it is so hot we can’t stand being out.  We are mid 90’s and the humidity is oppressive.  Back to our unit at Palm Cover for AC recovery!  We are having a sunny day here and it changes the look of the place.  Wine and cheese on the balcony overlooking the Coral Sea.  We have requested a late check out and they are very generous as we are ‘friends of the Knights’.  We join the tour tomorrow night in Cairns just south of us so late start is good for last minute prep.  Great day in this beautiful country.