Next up...Italy!!

We will head off to Italy next summer.  Better yet, we will not be leaving on the last day of school! : )  Randy and I have chosen accomodations in each of the cities--sometimes choosing cuteness and location over space and amenities.  Last summer was winter, this summer will be hot summer!  We're hoping for not too hot or humid.  No tutlenecks and heavy sweatshirts and jeans this summer!  For more information, you can check Randy's blog:  Lee-Reid Travels.  He has details, I have concepts.  Happy Christmas, New Year, and spring!

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!

Sorry, that was from the Hitchhiker’s Guide series.  But, it fits!

To recap, the post that was never posted talked about our departure (escape?) from the Carnarvon campground and our arrival at our Farm Stay.  It rained the rest of the day and all night and remember that the road in (the one with the cows) was dirt.  Well, rain and dirt make....that’s right--mud!  We had to try to slide through each bit of mud then slow down to make the creek crossings (those were higher).  The car kept flashing the no traction light and beeping at us--I think we know that we have no traction when we’re sliding sideways in mud!  But we prayed--me especially because I had a vision in my head of me knee deep in mud, sprayed with mud, trying to push the car out--and crying.  So eventually we made it to the paved part, cheered, told Randy how wonderful he was (he was driving then) and relaxed.  I could see Randy’s shoulders drop down when we reached the asphalt--even when we encountered the cows (only a few).  

When we reached Bonus Downs (the farm stay), the drive from the road to the house was also that red dirt--we slogged through and almost were stuck--it was very close.  There was another family with 2 children camping in a camper.  The boy was 8 (yay for Joshua) and the girl was 6 (she could still play with Shelby).  The boy (Hamish) and Joshua were instant friends and ran all over together!  They played with the yabbies that were caught (like blue crayfish).  All of them had fun playing in the bottle tree which had a ladder into it and ropes to swing from.  

The other family left the next morning.  We spent time outside reading, hiking, and spending time together.  What a nice way to end our vacation. 

On our way this morning, we stopped in Mitchell for Annie to get her Harry Potter wand from the newsagents and we mailed our postcards(!).     

Tonight we arrived in Brisbane (many hours later), returned the car, and carried our bags the mile or so to the youth hostel we were staying in.  We walked around the corner to eat pizza for dinner and across the street to watch the final Harry Potter movie.  Good last night memories.  The hostel ran out of blankets so we hopefully will be warm enough tonight.  Up early tomorrow to take the train to the airport.  

So, thus the title--So Long Australia/New Zealand, thanks for the memories (and the fish!).   And thanks to anyone who has read this and lived our holiday with us.   

All Quiet on the Farm

I stepped out of the shower this morning (in the building behind our cottage) and looked out the door of the bathroom to see three cows lounging by the steps to our back porch, munching on plants they pulled out of the pots near the steps.  You just gotta laugh!  

In the bathroom building (which seems very common here in the Outback), there are two separate bathrooms--each has a toilet, sink, and shower.  Each part is in a separate cubicle with a locking door (well, except the sink).  One of the two bathrooms has a door that closes [that was the one we saw the small cow walking into yesterday--again, you just gotta laugh!  : )]   Midnight trips to the bathroom are pulling on jeans and sweatshirt (because it’s cold), grabbing the flashlight (even through it’s supposed to be too cold for the snakes and scorpions--but probably not for the giant spiders).  

Reading through all of the history and articles, looking at the photos of this place is amazing!  What an education in the history and the present-day realities of life in the outback--especially a sheep or cattle station.  

When we drove to the store yesterday (the car only beeped once going out the driveway as we skidded sideways), we saw a kangaroo and a few emus in the bush.  The owner said that the koalas all died during the three-year drought from a few years back.  Randy went on an extended walk today (I stayed back with my worsening head cold), and saw a bunch of kangaroos bounding away from him.  

Yesterday we went on a walk around the dams they improved upon to help in any upcoming droughts and saw a lot of birds.  It was nice walking around the bush on a trail.  We saw a kookaburra when we got back to the farm (you know:  kookaburra sits in the old gum tree...).  

It is sunny and warm during the day so we have been trying to be out in it as much as possible, but when the sun goes behind clouds, it is quite chilly.  It is also quite chilly at night, so we spend the dark hours in the common area of our cottage.  Having dinner, sitting in the chairs in front of the wood stove talking, reading, and playing games. It is quite nice.  We were unsure about scheduling the farm stay, only knowing that the children should see this part of Australian life.  It is very nice, low-key, kicked back.  It would be nice if there were other families with children for our children to play with, but it’s working out well.  

The theme of many of our recent conversations has been how many days left (only 2!!!).  And mentally preparing ourselves for that change.  In many ways we will miss all of this, but we are ready to get back to our normal summer lives--lazy, going for bike rides and walks (when the weather cooperates), reading, gardening, walking to the Wabun wading pool, time with friends, drama camp, and gearing up for school in the fall.  

We will hopefully have a few hours to walk around Brisbane tomorrow after we get there (another long car trip).  Then the next day we head home, back over the date line; we will arrive in LA before we leave Brisbane!  :)  Then to Denver (to decrease a killer layover in LA), then to Minneapolis.  

We just found out that the owners have normal speed wi-fi if we sit on their back porch, so I can finally include photos!  There are photos of a bottle tree, and our place--the Jackaroo’s quarters.  See everyone soon!

Morning Kangaroo Count: 16

Yes!  5 days left of vacation and we finally saw kangaroos--22 of them!  But first...

Last night we got to Carnarvon in the dark.  As we were driving down the road (still paved at this point), we saw many eyes glowing in the headlights!  There were a lot of cows in the road.  There were signs saying to watch for stock crossing, but we’ve seen those before.  So we drove slowly in bits, honking the horn and eventually got through.  Well, we did this twice more!  And once more for a wallaby.  Halfway through, we came to a dirt road full of potholes.  40 kilometers took us 45 minutes to drive last night.  Randy was driving then so he looked for potholes while I looked for critters in the road.  No kangaroos, but that was probably OK.  

This morning it was sprinkling, but we were hoping for the best.  As I stepped out of the shower, Annie and Shelby were standing there and said “Guess what we saw?!  A kangaroo--right behind our tent!”  So I went, and the kangaroo had moved into the bush behind the cabin behind us (got that?).  There were three of them!  One of them--the one the children saw right behind our cabin--had a joey!  Shelby got a good photo of the mom and joey.  We saw more as we were driving to the park, and then a bunch more at the park!  (16!)   The park was rainforest and gorge--very beautiful!  We hiked through the park for 6 hours (and “only” went 9 miles).  It was a great trail, but we must have crossed the stream (on rocks) 15 times!  I also lost my status as the only person who had not yet stepped into water.  :(   It also started to rain--a light rain--halfway through our hike.  So we came back soaked.  My turtleneck, sweatshirt, jeans, socks, shoes, and jacket are all soaked.  And since it is raining, they will not dry any time soon.  I have one other pair of jeans (that I will need to sleep in since it is so cold here at night), and a pair of dirty socks (I have no others clean), and a t-shirt.  I am wrapped up in a blanket that we begged from reception.   

As to our “cabin.”  It is a canvas tent over metal poles with screen windows and plastic that can be zipped over them.  It has a screen door with a flap of canvas that can be lowered.  A tarp is over the canvas roof to keep out the rain.  It has a plywood floor and two electric lights, a small dorm refrigerator, and four beds--one double and two of the singles bunked. I’m sure it’s fine during the warm season, but it was 7 degrees last night (around 45 degrees Farenheit).  There are bedspreads on the beds and pillows, but no sheets or blankets! (The web site didn’t share that!)  The “cooking” area is an outdoor pavilion with two barbecues (the Aussies love their BBQ), four burners, and a sink.  And no utensils, cooking utensils, pots, dishes, etc.  We knew that, so we appropriated some plastic cutlery when we stopped at McDonalds for lunch yesterday, bought paper plates at the grocery store, and bought food that could be barbecued and eaten easily (muffins  for breakfast since we have no bowls, chicken kebabs and hamburgers for dinners, and   sandwiches for lunches).  We also bought an inexpensive cooler bag (like a big insulated lunch bag) to put our meat in to bring the extra couple of hours it took to get here after the last city with a grocery store (which, as an aside, happened to be Emerald--as in the Emerald City in the Land of Oz--Australia is nicknamed Oz!).  Anyway, this morning we asked for blankets for tonight and they managed to dig out 4 for us.  So, I am freezing right now.  Thinking that I need to run to the bathroom building to brush my teeth (using a flashlight because of the possibility of snakes, large spiders, and scorpions and wearing wet shoes) and sleeping with fewer clothes on.  Last night I slept in my socks, jeans, turtleneck, t-shirt, and hoodie--with the hood up to stay warm--and that’s with cuddling next to Randy.  I have on now jeans and dirty socks that I will also need to wear tomorrow and a t-shirt.  That’s it--oh, and Randy.  And a blanket--but I have to share that with Randy.  Hopefully I won’t need to use the toilet during the night--last night I talked myself out of it.  Then a dash to the bathroom building tomorrow morning to take a shower.  Brrrrrrrrr.  And it’s still raining!  This morning we woke to the jungle sounds of bird calls.  They were so loud!  Even the smallest birds have loud, freaky calls!  They sounded like a whole jungle of animals--monkeys and all!).  Not the comfiest stay we’ve had.  Farm stay is next.

Four days of fun in one long post!

Coral, boats, and flooded roads

Wow!  What a busy last three days!  This will be a long post because it covers three days! After my last post on Magnetic Island, I got the manager (even though the reception was closed for the night) and explained that some creature was freaking us out, for the second night in a row.  I showed her where I could see something outside our bedroom and it was a possum.  First she shone her flashlight on it, then yelled and got up close to it, finally had to use a large stick to push it out of the eave.  A better nights sleep was had.  

The next day, back on the ferry and we drove to Ainslie Beach where we were to meet our boat (after checking in at the next town and having a picnic on the beach).  We had to pay a lot to leave our car for two days (the machine only took coins--16 one dollar coins).  Then we waited and got some ice cream from the little convenience store at the marina.  Before we could board the boat, we all had to put our shoes in a bag--bare feet only on the boat to improve traction.   Then we saw our cabins--very small.  We were on a catamaran and the cabins were in the hulls.  Randy and I had one with a double bed--you enter the bed from the head of the bed--it angled in and the walls were on both sides.  We had an ensuite bathroom.  The children had a room with a double bed against the wall and a bunk above and across the feet of the double--also with ensuite.  The captain’s cabin was ahead of ours and accessible from a hatch on the deck.  The other two cabins on the other side we taken by an Irish couple in their 20s on in Australia on one year work visas, the other by an English couple in their 30s (?).  The boat provided meals and the tap water was drinkable.  Anything else you had to bring (especially alcohol).  They sold soft drinks for $2 a can and chocolate bars for $1 each.  The food was good--all made on the boat with fresh ingredients.  We just couldn’t bring ourselves to try the vegemite on our bread (it’s dark brown and made from yeast extract).  We stuck with butter, peanut butter, and nutella.  They had music provided from an iPod attached to a speaker system.  The first night (we left at 4:00) we just motored then sailed to a spot for the evening.  Early the next morning (before breakfast) we were taken in the dingy to an island where we took a short hike up to a lookout over White Haven beach--the most famous beach in the Whitsunday Islands.  The we went around the island to an area near the beach where we could moor and were taken in the dingy to the beach.  The Irish guy (an Irish spelling of Kieran) swam and Annie, Shelby, and the English man (Noel) took paddle boards out.  We wore wetsuits to keep us warm and protect from anything we might come up across in the ocean (even though it isn’t jellyfish season--they’re only out in the summer).  Joshua spent the entire time playing in the sand.  The sand isn’t ordinary sand.  It is white and feels like flour.  It is so soft.  It has a ton of silica in it (from long ago volcanoes).  It is against the law to remove sand, but they did allow some to be taken to make the Hubble telescope (!).  We spent several hours laying on the beach, using the paddleboards, and the girls and Kieran tried to learn the windsurfer.  The paddleboards are boogie boards (wider than surf boards) that you use a paddle with.  You start on your knees and the goal is to stand up.  I stood once for a bit, till a large wave knocked me off--my chest hit the board (oooof!) and I went face-first into the salt water--not one of my more graceful moments!  But I never lost my sunglasses!  We stopped later at a coral reef (this is all part of the great barrier reef.  But Joshua got scared in the water, so he and I went in the clear canoe and looked at the coral that way.  We stopped again in the late afternoon, but I was napping so Randy took Joshua out in the canoe.  The girls went snorkeling both times!  Evidently that reef was beautiful.  The next morning we stopped again and a few people went snorkeling and out in the canoe.  A few of us stayed back--being very tired.  Annie and Kieran snorkeled together for awhile using the seadoo blower thing and found sea turtles!  The girls together found a large ray.  For three days we sat in the deck in the sun, sometimes inside when it got too cold.  The only sunburn casualty (thanks I’m sure to the wetsuits) were the tops of my feet--which was pretty minor.  We were all very relaxed on the boat which was nice (and tired from all of the activity).   

The boat docked at 11:00 sharp.  I shared some fun conversation with the English couple (Helen and Noel) and the crew (Jesse, Sam, and Mike) before that.  Then we got our car and drove to Finch Hatton Gorge.  When we left the highway (a two-lane road with narrow shoulders), we drove on a very small road that hadn’t been patched for awhile.  That road eventually became one lane with soft shoulders, then even narrower between cane fields.  Randy had to get our once to read one of the road signs that had been bent in half.  We then reached dirt roads with numerous potholes, then--it gets better!--we got to roads covered in water from streams!  Three of them.  They were paved at the creek beds so that they did not wash away.  Eventually we got to our cabins.  Three of them--and the sign for the office was an area with some picnic tables and a barbecue.  The sign said to honk and a man crossed the stream walking on rocks to check us in.  Bizarre situations and an adventurous route to get there!  

Our cabin had a double bed, and a double bed bunked over with a single bed, a kitchen, and bathroom with a huge shower (about seven feet long by four feet deep!).  The table was a patio table on the porch.  While Randy drove to the town to get groceries, the children and I took a short walk around, down the road and along the creek).  Then dinner, showers, and bed.  

The next morning (the 14th here) we drove the potholed dirt road to Finch Hatton Gorge--a national park--and hiked to the Araluen Cascades--a waterfall.  Then we braved the roads the other way to drive to Carnarvon National Park which is where we are driving as I write this (I’m writing in the car while Randy takes his turn driving).  A few adventurous days.  

Hopefully we will have wifi soon to post this and photos.  Randy wrote a post every day an is saving them up to post.  If we get a good connection, I’ll go back and add my photos to the previous blogs from Palm Cove.  I am definitely looking forward to our wifi when we get back! 

Koalas on Magnetic Island

Today we went to the Koala Sanctuary.  The next tour didn’t begin for another hour, so we walked to a market in Horseshoe Bay (about half a mile down the road).  When we returned, way cool!!  We saw and touched turtles, cocatiels, (big) lizards, something that looks like a hedgehog, crocodiles, snakes, spiders, possums, butterflies, and oh yeah--a koala baby with her mum (see the photo below)!!  We got to hold almost everything except the koala (that was $14 more) including the crocodile and the python.  (We also couldn’t hold the spiders, but that was OK--they were HUGE!!!)  We even saw what appeared to be a small kangaroo hop off into the nearby wilderness.  We all enjoyed the 2 hour tour!!  

Last night during the night we were woken up around 6:00 by screaming (animals), then we heard sounds and heard them scratching on the walls and the windows (we’re not sure if they were in the walls or just outside the window.  Randy and I both pounded on the wall and they quieted down, but they continued to scurry around, knock things over, and crawl on the roof.  It was very disconcerting.  I was half-asleep, imagining they’re going to come in--a la Stephen King.  Ooooh--we just heard another thing in the wall (we think) screaming or something--Randy pounded the wall and eventually it stopped.  No idea what it was.    

After lunch today, we borrowed snorkeling equipment from the guest house and went to Florence Bay to try it out.  Since our catamaran trip to the Great Barrier Reef is tomorrow, we decided to get ready,  The girls have never snorkeled, I asked Joshua’s pool teacher to let him try out some equipment in his after-school pool class, Randy and I snorkled in Key West on our honeymoon, and before that I did on a Caribbean cruise.  So, not a lot of experience between us all.  It was too cold to go out to the fringe reef that surrounds the island (this is part of the Great Barrier Reef), so we just practiced closer to shore.  The girls were so excited that it worked!  : )  

So we have a (hopefully) quiet night to get up early tomorrow to take the ferry and drive to our catamaran.  Hopefully the creatures will help us out and be quiet (although I can hear them already).  Kind of freaky.  Maybe I’ll go outside and take a look.  Till our next time we get internet access.

Wakeup Maggie

Today we woke up early and spent 5 hours driving to Magnetic Island.  We drove through areas with many sugar cane fields and banana trees.  In one area, fairly close to the ocean (but not on the beach), the trees looked pretty ragged.  Many had no leaves and the ones that did, the leaves were close to the trunk.  In one particular city there was a wide swath of threes ripped up by the roots.  Then Randy remembered the hurricane from last February.  This was the area that was hit.  Near the downed trees, the city had started to clear up and had piles of debris (cut up trees, branches, etc.).  

At Townville (no imagination in naming that city!), we took the ferry to the Island.  We drove from the dock to the next village (Arcadia) to our accommodations.  We are staying in a guest house.  We have a cottage--the fisherman’s hut.  They also have about 6 rooms in the main house, and five tents set up under shelters with regular beds inside them.  Again, even though it’s the tropics, they don’t understand that it’s winter and it’s cold in here!  We have an air conditioner and a fan, but no space heater!  Our cottage is cute--it’s a boat theme with a net hanging from the ceiling in the main room and rustic wood and ropes making the master bed.  The main room has a small kitchen (double hotplate, refrigerator, sink, island with stools), a living room (couch, TV, coffee table), and a bunk bed.  the couch folds out into a bed.  Joshua got to make the choice where he wanted to sleep (in our condo he chose the couch).  He chose the bottom bunk, Shelby chose the top, and  Annie got the fold-out couch.  Through an arch is the “master” bedroom with double bed, then through a door is the bathroom--fully modern and looks very clean.  In the windows are screens with plywood flaps held up by pieces of wood.  Randy closed a few of these, but it’s not enough to keep it very warm.

After we checked in, we drove to the end of the paved roads on the island (it didn’t take long--it’s a very small island).  We hiked on a moderate trail called the Fort circuit which goes up to the tallest point on the island where the remains from an army settlement from WWII can be found.  They had huge guns that wheeled around on a rail (only the center, the storage room and the rail are still there) and huge lights to spot enemy (Japanese) planes.  There was an army camp in Townville and someone saw a Japanese plane.  So, fearing an imminent attack (as the Japanese were slowly taking over the Pacific), they built large spotlights (3 million candle power) to spy enemy planes up to 30,000 feet (meters?) in the air.  Mildly interesting, but good exercise.  We were looking for the koalas and wallabies (and hoping not to see the poisonous adders).    Nada.  (As we were driving to Townville early in the morning, we saw a field of what looked like tiny kangaroos.  Not knowing how big kangaroos are, they may have been kangaroos, or possibly wallabies?)

After our walk and a trip to the IGA for milk, we borrowed a pot and colander from the communal kitchen to make dinner in our hut.  Then settled in to read, write postcards, etc.  

Aside from the signs warning people not to hit the kangaroos and brush turkeys, my favorite road sign was in New Zealand:  “Merge Like a Zip” for two lanes that had to merge into one.  Isn’t that great!  And it worked! Wake

Life's a Beach

Today we went to the beach--twice!  In the morning and after lunch and a break, returning to have dinner.  Our last day in Palm Cove.  We will not miss not having enough forks, having inadequate pots and pans, and no oven.  But we will miss the deck, the view, the beach, and the appliances (dishwasher, refrigerator, and washing machine/dryer).   Only having to walk down to the pool, through the lobby, and across the street has been wonderful!  We all enjoyed standing in the waves today.  The children wore t-shirts over their swimsuits and sunscreen to protect their sunburns.  When we returned from the beach the first time we came in to find beds with fresh sheets and clean towels (we have had no housekeeping because we are renting from the owners--not staying as a resort guest).  Then the head of housekeeping came and it turns out that she had the wrong date written down for our departure.  She was glad that her staff had done a mid-stay clean and not a final clean (in which case all of our belongings would have been removed!).   We were glad too!  The fresh sheets and towels are nice for our last night (though unnecessary).   For our last dinner, we had grilled chicken kebabs, pasta, and fresh fruit and vegies.

The fruit:  the mandarin oranges here are not as good as New Zealand's.  They are sweet and juicy, but the skin around each segment is thicker.   The pineapples are beyond wonderful!!!  The apples are good. We have not bought bananas because they are so expensive (even though they're grown just down the road and they say Grown in Australia).

The Aussies are much less worried about the environment than the Kiwis. In NZ, there were reminders everywhere about recycling, turning off lights, saving water, composting, etc, etc.  Even some of the hostels here in Oz don't even have recycling let along composting!   There were signs in the Outback about saving water, but that was because they don't have much!  And some isn't suitable for drinking.    Drinking water sites warned not to use the water for washing, and camping sites charged $3 for a shower--and it had to be quick.  In our condo, the showers have good pressure, plenty of water, and are nice and warm.  Not much worry here in the tropics about the water!  

Magnetic Island next.  We're not sure about cooking facilities, internet capabilities, or much of anything other than our ferry reservation.  Always a new adventure!  

Mossman Gorge

After breakfast this morning, we headed out and drove north.  We drove to the city of Mossman, to the Mossman Gorge National Park.  We walked on a lovely trail that slowly increased from very easy to moderately difficult.  We took the longest trail--the Rainforest Circuit Trail.  And to think that up until a few weeks ago, we had never seen a rainforest!  We saw a fig tree, and a great Milky Pine that were just incredible!  We learned about buttress roots that hold up the tree in wet conditions.  The Mossman Gorge has wet tropic rainforests; although, this being the dry season, they're not so bad.  It was very humid, though.  Minnesota humid.  We walked on a suspension bridge and learned about how trees at high altitudes do cloud catchment, in which, as the clouds pass over the trees, water in the cloud "catches" on the trees and this is sent down to the lower rainforests--which is especially helpful during the dry season.  At one point I dared Randy to take a vine and swing across the forest yodeling like Tarzan.  I said that I would videotape it to show to the emergency room staff when we arrived there.  He declined.  He also was not in favor of kicking open a dirt ball filled with termites.  Go figure.  

As we were driving to and from Mossman, we saw what we had finally figured out a few days ago were fields and fields of sugarcane.   They even have cute little "cane railways," with tracks laid down between the road and the fields and tiny trains of cars drive down them to be filled with sugarcane.  We saw many being filled and full.  We pulled off the road in one part and went up close to the sugar cane.  It looked brown, but was green under the brown leaves.  We also saw banana trees with the bananas in plastic bags (to prevent pests?).  We also saw a field of palm trees full of coconuts.  Oh, the agriculture!  The children were surprised to see tractors and other farm machinery and thought the little cane trains were cute.

We also stopped in Port Douglas and walked down the street of cute little shops where we decided not to pay $12 for a tube of aloe vera gel for the children's sunburns.  We went down to the park by the ocean and a cute little non-denominational church, St. Mary of the Sea, was there.  Very cute.  We couldn't go in because of a wedding.  In fact, we saw the bride walking to the church.  Behind the alter is a huge picture window that looks over the ocean--perfect!

As we were driving, I looked past the palm trees and sugarcane fields toward the misty green mountains in the distance; it was an image I'll keep in my brain for a long time.

As I see all of the beautiful beaches and palm trees, I remember a poster that my best friend had up in her dorm room of a deserted white sand beach with palm trees and blue ocean.  She also had a poster of the Sidney Opera House.  Well, Tram, I've seen them both now!    

More Rainforest

We visited the small town of Kamarra today after lunch.  The guide book said that it had many cute shops and hiking trails.  The shops were OK, the TI person showed us the trail to the Barron Falls.  Since the trail she showed was about 2 hours, we elected to walk around the town first, then drive to the start of the Falls trail.  It was in the Barron Gorge National Park and the TI person said that it was about an hour round trip--it ended up being less than 40 minutes with parts of that taking photos.  The trail is on a boardwalk through the wet tropics in the Barron Gorge National Park.  Since it is "the dry" the rainforest was rather tame and not too wet or steamy and the Falls were tame as well.  Evidently in the "wet", when they get torrential monsoons, it is much more full.  It was pretty though, and interesting where the rainforest gave way to the forest as we got closer to the creek.  The trail was easy--ramped and boardwalk.

It is disconcerting here, to drive around and see chains that are common in the states.  Kmart, Toys 'r' Us, KFC, and Target (and, of course, McDonald's) are some of the chains that we've seen.

We went to the beach this morning and all three of the children burned their backs, despite sunscreen (that pale Scandinavian skin!). They had fun and spent most of the time working on sandcastles and a mini stonehenge, collecting shells, and just running up and down the beach since there were no waves to jump in.  The morning was warm and the water was warm enough for Randy and I to wet our feet.  I have heard that Minnesota is its typical hot and steamy July self, so I am enjoying the warmth with no humidity to speak of!!   : )  

Annie woke up to a birthday card and small gift (a book) this morning on the table.  : )  Our oldest little girl is 15--yikes!!  We will probably sing happy birthday at the beach tonight and will celebrate her birthday when we get home at the end of July.

Again, unable to upload photos, I am waiting for word from Blogger.

Millaa Millaa, Zillie!

Actually those are not a curse, they are two of the names of the three falls we visited today.  Near the city of Millaa Millaa (yes, seriously!), there is a waterfall circuit that we drove through the mountains to today.  We saw the Millaa Millaa falls, very pretty.  An Aussie couple we met said that it is supposed to be the best of the three.  You walk down a path to a pool at the base of the falls; close enough to feel the mist.  Very pretty.  They have changing rooms so that you can swim in the pool--it is very shallow and perfectly clear.   The next fall, yes Zillie, is only viewable from the top because it is surrounded by rainforest.  My favorite was the Ellinjaa.  Reached by a trail through the rainforest (?), it had a small stream at the base and rocks littering the edges.  We had a nice picnic lunch on the side of the stream and little lizards came out to sit on the warm rocks with us!  

I am having trouble (again) with my blog account, it will not let me upload photos (although Randy can upload photos and video to his!).  Aaaaaargh!  I'll keep trying and may need to contact the company.

We have loved having use of a free washer and dryer!   We have enough underwear for every day!  And not wearing the same sweatshirt, turtleneck, and jeans for days on end is nice as well!

I have noticed that in the US, we always walk on the right hand side of a path or sidewalk and I never equated that with cars--it was just what you did.  Well, with cars here driving on the left hand side, people walk on the left as well!  That has also been something to get used to!

Tomorrow (here) is Anneliese's birthday!  We'll have to have a special treat or something.  ; )

How many times can they swim?

Yesterday's blog was written poolside.  Today I am in the kitchen of our room, looking out the glass wall, over the deck to the palm trees surrounding the pool with the stream and waterfall gurgling below.  Yesterday we went to the pool after breakfast, then after lunch we went to the beach.  The children loved it!  It was slightly warmer than the pool and they had fun with the waves and sand.  Today we drove into Cairns (about 20 minutes), went to the botanical gardens, the Muddy's playground, and the Lagoon.

The botanical gardens were very cool--full of bamboo and palms.  Even a boardwalk through a "swamp" that had many unusual trees and vines (it looked more like a jungle).  It is fairly small but pleasant.  Then we went to the children's playground that the guide book mentioned.  It was big, but had many of the same features most playgrounds have, just spread out.  What sets it apart are the water features--streams and shooting water that children can play in.  They have a special walled-in small children's park that is nice for the little ones.  We were underwhelmed--I think we expected a special playground and it was a large typical playground.  Then we walked from there to the Lagoon.  The ocean in Cairns had some type of dredging happen that turned the area next to the shore into mud flats at low tide so it is not a pleasant beach.  Instead they have a swimming area right next to the ocean that is a man-made lagoon, complete with sandy bottom.  The water is not shaded so it wasn't cold, just cool.  The children swam, then played on the sandy beach along the edge, making sand castles and elaborate waterways.  This afternoon we will most likely go to the beach again.  We have decided to celebrate July 4th (it is July 4th here) by going to the beach and singing the "Star Spangled Banner."  The weather today is a bit cooler, though when the sun was shining it was warmer.  The air is definitely more humid than the outback, but not as bad as a Minnesota summer.

Out of the desert, into the tropics

I think our bodies are going into shock!  I write this in the morning sitting on the pool deck under palm trees in capris and a t-shirt.  The children chose to swim in the salty, very cold water; I’m good sitting here with a computer and book!  Like many places in Europe, I think they use salt here instead of chlorine to keep the pools clean. 

Yesterday (Saturday--2 July here), we did the Alice Springs museums.  First the telegraph station which was very interesting.  Alice Springs was first a telegraph station.  They set up a telegraph from the north to the south.  After that they went underwater to Singapore to receive telegraph messages from the rest of the world.  Alice Springs received mail every six weeks, and provisions every six months.  Everything had to be brought by camel from the nearest rail station, wagons often had trouble going through the sand.  The museum told about life at the telegraph station and then the development of the town of Alice Springs.  It also had a bit about the “half-caste” children--biracial children of aboriginal women and European male settlers, when the men died or abandoned the women.  The “solution” was to take all of the children from their mothers and warehouse them, teaching them European ways to “assimilate” them into white culture.  Much as every caucasian group did to the native peoples when they invaded their lands.  For the first time this vacation we saw dark-skinned people.  They are everywhere; some are working in stores or trying to sell artwork, but most we see are wandering around and hanging out.  We theorized that perhaps they are in the town becuase they like the amenities, but miss the culture and life of their native extended family--they are caught in-between; not truly belonging to either world.  But, we could be wrong.  

After the telegraph station museum with it’s many building to walk around and look at, we went to the “cultural center” with a group of three buildings with one admission price.  First to the art galleries to see paintings and sculptures, then to the museum of central Australia--mostly with meteorite bits (an abnormal amount of meteorites landed in Australia) and bones of present and extinct animals, then to the air museum with actual planes that have been used and video footage of them landing planes right next to Ayers Rock--back when that was the only way to get there.  They had to develop special planes that could withstand the heat of the area and could take off and land with short runways.  Each pilot traveled with an axe to chop out a runway if needed to take off.  The history museum also talked about the loss of fauna due to clearing of the lands and the introduction of non-indigenous animals and livestock.  

Then we went to the grocery store to buy food for sandwiches and ate a picnic lunch by the pedestrian mall (which was perhaps 200 meters from our youth hostel we had checked out of that morning).  

To the airport for our flight to Cairns.  Another snack and meal--kudos to Qantas!  Tortellini-yum.  Then getting the rental car and a long drive to Palm Cove.  They almost gave us a manual which would have been difficult to deal with shifting with your left hand and trying to remember to stay on the left hand side of the road!  We did it once in England, but it was difficult.  We got really turned around trying to find our place in Palm Cove (the map from the realtor wasn’t very good).  We are in a maze of buildings--condominiums that are very near the ocean.  We will go there this afternoon--it is supposed to be across the street from our complex.  

We have a condo which is very modern and very white.  White walls, white furniture, cream carpet and tile, white everything!  It needs more artwork on the wall (in bright colors) as well as some brightly colored throw pillows and accents.  But it is very posh, this definitely makes up for King’s Canyon!  We have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen with a drawer-type dishwasher and cabinet-faced refrigerator, a living room, dining room and a deck with a lounging bed and furniture.  The smaller bedroom is actually more of an alcove with a double bed.  Joshua had his choice of where to sleep--he chose the couch.  We will have to find a blanket for him--last night he slept in his blanket sleeper surrounded by throw pillows.  We have two TVs, but we don’t watch much TV--if they had a DVD player and DVDs we might watch more.  Randy watched a TV show on the Discovery Channel last night about a huge new cruise ship.  The girls are looking forward to another game of hearts later today.  We are here for a week and have few things planned, but most of this time is beach, swimming, and relaxing.   Sounds good right now.    

(ooops, Aussie wi-fi is too slow to upload photos for now!)

gorges and gum trees

                                                                                                                        
Today we drove outside of Alice Springs to see some sights.  We visited some gorges and an ocher pit (don't laugh!).  The first gorge said that due to the rain (?) the last part of both trails had been washed out and would require swimming in icy cold water to finish them!!!!  Well, we said we weren't going to do that (although Shelby and Joshua were ready to try).  A family near us said that they did the longer hike we wanted to go on (the ghost gum trail) and had just gone on the sand and climbed over some rocks and were fine.  So we tried.  We followed the trail (beautiful by the way) to the river and then crossed over on a sand bar and continued back on the other side.  Well, we didn't ever find the trail, we just ended up with our shoes full of sand and spending double the time climbing on huge rocks.  We had to climb down a few harrowing drops but made it.  The way back took double the time the way there did.  But is was pretty and the gorge is green with all of the water.  On the trail we saw many ghost gum trees which are gum trees with smooth white trunks.

                                      

Then we went to another gorge, with this one, we couldn't find a trail--we don't think there was one.  But we crossed the river on rocks and hiked until we couldn't go any further (sheer rock cliffs surounding a lake).  The rock layers were vertical there--one area is called the organ pipes.

                                           

Next was an ocher pit.  The ocher is very sacred to the aboriginal tribes.  We found red, yellow, and white.  Some of it is very chalky and is painted on with a feather.

                                    

Tomorrow we fly to Cairns, where we get a car and drive to Palm Cove where we are renting an apartment for a week.  It will be nice not to have to go outside to get to the shower and toilets!  The forecast is for the same temperature as here (26 C=79F).  It probably won't be as cold at night as here in the outback.

Evidently, our hostel puts on an outdoor movie (not sure if it's every night).  Last night they put on Wall-E especially for us because we have children.  We ate at one of the outdoor tables by the movie screen so the children could finish the movie they started watching while we made dinner in the communal kitchen.

About that fly...

Ooops--forgot to share the fly story--actually there are two Annie stories to mention.  There are these tiny little flies here--about half the size of a house fly--and they love to land on you--especially your face--and they don’t necessarily fly off when that body part is moved.  They are extremely annoying.  Well, Annie had one flying in front of her face and it flew into her mouth.  She was unable to keep from swallowing it.  So, of course, we had to tease her about it.  We kept reciting parts of the Old Lady that Swallowed a Fly story.  Driving Annie crazy. : )    Annie’s other incident was “losing” her retainer.  We were in the car a few days ago (at Yulara) and Annie suddenly said, “Oh no, I think I left my retainer on the airplane!”  Well, we were calm and said not to worry about it, because she was just terribly upset about it.  We said that it was fine, we’d get a replacement when we got home, that she would be fine until then--it’s only three weeks.  Then, less than three minutes later, Annie said “Oh, I found it!”  She remembered that she had been playing with it with her tongue in the grocery store because it is a little loose and when she got out to the car, she took it off and put it in the little space in the door--it was inches from her!  Oh Anneliese! 


                                               

Our accommodations have been interesting since arriving in Australia.  In Sydney, there were two bedrooms--each with a double bed.  Joshua slept in the third double bed in the attic which was accessed through a panel in the ceiling of one of the bedrooms--complete with a drop down ladder.   In Yulara (by Uluru--Ayers Rock), we had two bedrooms, one with a double bed, the other with two sets of bunk beds.  The rooms were separated by a room big enough for a small table and with a “kitchen” on one wall--dorm fridge, cooktop, and microwave.  There was no heater in that cabin--it was so cold!!!  In Kings Canyon, we had a double bed and three single beds.  There were also mice everywhere!!  Several were running around in the cafe (it’s doors are open to the outside), a few were in the bathrooms, several were scurrying around the paths at night and we had a few in our room!!!!!!!  They were tiny little black ones.  We chased out a few of them by sliding the beds around and opening the door, but they kept coming in somewhere.  One stayed with us all night.  When we stopped at a cattle station for gas and snacks, they had a sign that said that there was a mice plague, so forgive the smell (dead mice?).   We saw one running around.  Maybe they need to temporarily import some cats or owls.  At least our Kings Canyon room had a small heater on the wall that we ran at night before falling asleep that kept it somewhat warm.  Although the early morning trip to the bathroom was still cold.  And the shower was freezing (it is open to the outside by wide doors); any part of your body that was not being touched by the hot water was very cold!  

                                            


Also about King’s Canyon--they have signs all over about the wild dingoes.  Don’t feed them and what to do if you encounter one (back away and yell for help).  “The dingo ate your baby!”  (sorry, Elaine from Seinfeld--that line just keeps popping into my head.).  The bathroom had gates to open and then close behind you to keep the dingoes out.  The kangaroos and wallabies are nocturnal which is why we haven’t seen them yet.  We saw wild camels today!  They were imported a while ago and now live in the wild in the Outback.  


                                                 

This morning we went on the King’s Canyon rim walk--very exhausting!!  It is only 6+ kilometers long, but much is climbing rock.  You have to watch your every step, so it is hard to look around as you walk.  You need to stop to look around.  The trail was very well marked and most was very beautiful.  It is not very long, but still took us almost three hours.  Some of the walk was a bit dicey--hopping over crevasses and jumping down rocks, but it was doable.  We just had to stop every so often to catch our breath!  The beginning was difficult over 100 meters up a steep rock staircase.  There were also short little trails off the main one to check out for more views. 


                                       

We are now in Alice Springs--in a YHA Hostel in a medium-sized town with a great grocery store!!  They had fresh fruit and real food to make.  We made dinner in the small kitchen along with several other people.  Meatballs in barbecue sauce, pasta, and fresh fruit.  

We’ll try photos tonight! 

We Don’t Know Why She Swallowed the Fly!

Today we woke early and went to Uluru (Ayers Rock).  We had been planning to go see the sunrise, but it was very, very cold and we stayed in bed too late.  It gets very cold here at night!  It went from 27degrees to about 7 last night  (that’s about 80 and 44 Farenheit).  It was very cold going to the bathroom in the middle of the night!  Especially since the bathroom was about a block away from our cabin!   Most of us skipped the cold trek to take showers in a building that was open to the outside air.

Ayers Rock was orange and against the bright blue sky, just beautiful.  The rock itself is huge and covered with scars and caves.  The original Aborigine tribes have stories about each of it’s clefts and marks, but won’t share the stories with the uninitiated.  We saw some cave drawings and went on two short walks--one of which ended at a water hole.  The color against the bright blue of the sky was what kept drawing me.  Randy wanted to walk up the hill, but that was closed because of high winds and because over 30 people have died climbing up.  The aborigines ask that no one walk up because it is sacred to them.  There are many sacred spots for both men and women.  

We do not have internet that supports uploading photos, so my photos for yesterday and today remain not online--I will add them when we get a better internet connection.  

Then we drove for several hours and stopped for gas and lunch (we brought food to have foccacia sandwiches, fruit, chips, and water).  We stopped at a small little place called Curtin Cattle Station for gas and ate at one of their outdoor tables.  Very friendly people--they also had an emu and several large cages with birds to look at for free.  The  cattle station reminded me of the movie Australia which was supposedly filmed in this general area.  

Then to Kings Canyon.  We stopped and Randy wanted to take the Rim Walk, but it is supposedly strenuous and they suggest not starting after 4, so we hiked the easier Kings stream walk and saved the rim walk until tomorrow morning.  Then we checked into our lodging.  Well, they said that the rooms only hold 4 so we had to book a room and an extra bed in another room.  We found that no one else was booked for the room for the extra person so we decided to have a girls room and boys room but then found out that one of the beds is a double bed, so it will sleep five.  The one room was stinky, so we went to the other which doesn’t have bed reading lights, just a dim light in the ceiling.  

They have a great scam going here to take money from tourists.  Each settlement serving tourists is a “resort” with many places for tourists to stay with different expense levels.   The Ayers Rock “resort” also had a bank, shop, grocery shop, etc.  The “resort” here says that it has a store (the only one in the area) so that you can make your own food, but it does not serve enough of anything to make a meal.  So unless you bring food in, you must eat at their cafe, which has personal size pizzas for $18--and that is the cheapest meal (and does not fill your tummy).   So we ate a non-satisfying, tasteless  dinner for 75 Australian dollars (which is almost $80US).  

One fruit we will miss is mandarin oranges--not those things in a can--I mean real oranges with skins that you peel.  The ones in New Zealand were fabulous--so sweet!  The ones here are less fabulous, but some are still good. 

Oh well, off to sleep for another early cold morning. 

Outback At Last

Here we are, in the Australian Outback!    We flew from Sydney to Uluru this morning (another early morning!).  We are near Ayers Rock.  We saw the Olgas this afternoon after we checked in.  We flew Qantas again--we could use self check-in and carried on our bags with no hassles.  We were served lunch--a cauliflower salad with chick peas and pumpkin in a strange sauce--not good at all.  We all picked at it.  Nothing else (except a drink).  While we were filling out forms for our rental car, Annie realized that she left her hat on the airplane under her seat.  She went to the desk and, being a very small airport, they found it right away.  We are staying at a campgound in a cabin--it is the only reasonable accommodation in the entire area.  After we checked in, I realized that the car rental person forgot to give me back my credit card, so we had to return to the airport!  Then to the grocery store for some snacks for a late lunch--a bunch of fruit and some chips to go with our water.  Then on to the Olgas (Kata Tjuta).  They are a group of rock formations in the state park here.  We went to the Laughing Horses and walked a few miles there to the first lookout, then to the Gorge and walked a few more miles there.  Then we went to the sunset lookout to watch the sunset which is supposed to be spectacular.  Well, it was quiet and serene when we got there--about 45 minutes before sunset; a few other people were there. Then a family with obnoxious children came and other people began arriving and setting up camera tripods, then the tour buses started arriving, setting up tables to serve paper glasses of wine and cups of trail mix.  All of those people stood in large groups talking loudly, once even singing, totally destroying the quiet and serenity of the moment.  Oh well, it’s a public space, I can’t dictate everyone else’s behavior.  (Oops--almost put a “u” in behavior!).   The Olgas were beautiful and slowly changed from orange to purple in the sunset (6:06).   Back to the grocery store to get food for dinner and breakfast and lunch tomorrow.  

Evidently Ayers Rock is best seen at sunrise (thats 7:30), so we will eat breakfast on the way there and make a lunch, because we leave right afterward for King’s Canyon.  Randy said that the walk around the base is 6 miles, then there is the walk up.  The children and I will probably skip the walk around and save our feet and energy for the steep climb up.  

The Outback is mostly desert with conifers and some deciduous trees--all very short.  Small tufts of grass grow in the red dirt.  The ground is all either red dirt or red rock; the plants shades of green and brown.  The children love it--love the colors and the different landscape.  Also--best of all--it’s warm and SUNNY!!!!!  We changed into capris and only put our sweatshirts back on when the sun went down (it got chilly quite quickly--we are glad we’re not sleeping in tents tonight!).    

Crabs and Shells and Sails

We are now in Sydney (for one night)!  We went to the airport this morning and the crabbiest desk clerk at Qantas.  She told us that we are only allowed one carry on and that our backpacks did not count as handbags (even though I told her that is what I use mine for).  Every other flight (including the Qantas flight from LA to Auckland)  allowed us a large carry on (as long as it fit size and weight requirements) to go in the upper bin and a small carry on that fit under the seat in front of us.  But she said (quite rudely) “this is New Zealand.”  Wouldn’t one think that the rules an airline uses would be the same for all of it’s flights, wherever they came from?  So we had to check our bags which is a hassle (and put up with a rude desk clerk who never smiled).  Then we passed through customs to leave New Zealand (that seemed weird to us too), then through Australian customs when we arrived in Sydney.  We had brought sandwiches and apples to eat on the plane, but they served us so much food we didn’t need them.  Well, we didn’t declare that we had food on our cards, but Joshua mentioned to the person that checks bags that he had a sandwich when she asked us.  So she ended up hand checking all 10 of our bags (every single pocket very carefully), thoroughly washing out Annie’s shells, and confiscating our sandwiches, apples, and a flower petal Annie was drying in a book.  Then she took us to task for not claiming those on our cards--we seriously didn’t think they were a problem, and pointed out where we should claim those things in the future.  

On the flight they offered us either penne pasta or lamb for lunch (with salad, bread, a mint, water, drink, and tea/coffee), then an ice cream bar, then offered glasses of juice, then brought around water.  All in a three hour flight!  

Once in Sydney (after we escaped the bio-police), we took the train and walked to our apartment to meet with the manager.  He agreed to allow us to stay here for one night for the deposit we already paid.  We then walked down to the harbor to look at the opera house, and the downtown skyline, take pictures, and generally walk around.  Elizabeth Street (after the Queen) is lined on one side with parks (including James park and Hyde Park (just like London!)--very pretty and nice to walk in.  Takeaway pizza for dinner and a trip to 7-11 to get cereal for breakfast.

Tomorrow we fly out bright and early for the Outback!