Day 20 - 10 Sept
I have no idea what I did this day. In my journal for this week I accidentally wrote the next day's events on the previous day's space so...
We can just say that I had another day as a vegetable who was busy washing smelly hiking clothes, walking dogs and eating non-dehydrated foods :) YEAH!
For the evening though, this is a good one. This is the night that Honor invited her pals over to torture us youngins. Okay, it wasn't torture, it was actually better than I expected! Here for the evening was: Honor, me & Peter, Nix & Kevin, Monda, Barbara & Norman, Bernie, Denise & Ron. The table tonight was a shmorgasborg: lamb w. bacon in red wine sauce, pork w. mustard sauce, Thai chicken, chili con carne and pasta/rice to go with the meats. It was seriously the most meat I have ever seen on one table. My faves were the Thai chicken and chili. We also popped open the bottle of Passionfruit (white) wine that we had bought at Murdering Point winery. Yum!
So with our plates we all headed to the sitting room to chat around. Monda asked me lots of fun questions about me, then moved on to Kevin, so as not to make us each feel too uncomfortable. It wasn't bad at all. Then I chatted with Bernie, Honor's former boss, for a bit. He sure knows a lot about birds and crocs, and just Queensland wildlife in general. But something important he mentioned is that he's disappointed that so many young Americans are lacking in their history knowledge of Australia's involvement with WWII. I had to admit that I knew nothing about it! I'm not much of a history buff anyway. If it weren't for my journal I wouldn't even know what I did last week!
So through the night, wine glasses were continually refilled and the jolliness of Australian teasing continued (Aussies love to tease!). I have gotten my legs pulled so much already since I've been here that I'm surprised I'm not 6'8" by now!
Monda and I ended up next to each other at the end of the night. She told me a beautiful story about one time when she and her now deceased husband visited Italy. Forgive me if the details are not all correct.... At this point in their lives, Monda and her husband were living in South Africa and would be on their way (after visiting Italy) to England to visit family. With them, they brought film reels of the African wildlife (elephants, giraffes, etc.) to show their families.
They were having cafe one day when a young German guy came up to them and asked if he could practice his English with them. They all chatted for a bit, when he asked them if they were staying in the hotel. Monda said they were. The German commented on how expensive it must be and that they should come stay where he and his girlfriend were staying, with a local Italian family. (Imagine two parallel rows of tall buildings held together in the alleyway by clotheslines.) Monda told her husband that they should go for it! So off they went with the German guy and his gf.
The mama in the house they were staying in was honored to have them there, so she had prepared her own bedroom for Monda and her husband. The bed was an oldie, with an iron headboard painted white, paint chipping off. Since Monda was so happy to be taken in with open arms, she asked the mama if she would like to see their films. Well, just about 10 minutes later the mama and her family had invited almost the entire neighborhood to see the films. They projected the films on a wall and everyone sat around watching the beautiful South African wildlife - things that some of them might not ever see in person. The mama was so overwhelmed with joy and thanked god for her opportunity. She then decided that she needed to cook a feast for Monda and her husband. In just a little while, Monda and her husband were enjoying a homemade-by-mama, true Tuscan meal!
It just goes to show how each person we meet can be a footprint on our soul, that even in the shortest of moments we can gain heaps of wealth and knowledge from that short meeting. And that is how I felt with Monda, like in our short time of joking and sharing, she had put her footprint on my soul.
23 September 2007
townsville - day 19
Day 19 - 9 Sept
Woke @ 7am today - I'm so used to waking up with the birds and the sunrise now! Brekky of cereal w. dried apple and fresh strawberry. Peter had a 9am haircut with Robert, his gay stylist. I spent time on the computer, blogging and writing emails. Just wasting time and vegging out... I uploaded some photos today, but they're still way behind, as I'm sure you've noticed! Bad belly today - maybe it's from drinking all the creek water on the island, or maybe it's from all the rehydrated dehydrated food, haha.
Like I said, not much going on today... just vegging and hanging out with the dogs.
Woke @ 7am today - I'm so used to waking up with the birds and the sunrise now! Brekky of cereal w. dried apple and fresh strawberry. Peter had a 9am haircut with Robert, his gay stylist. I spent time on the computer, blogging and writing emails. Just wasting time and vegging out... I uploaded some photos today, but they're still way behind, as I'm sure you've noticed! Bad belly today - maybe it's from drinking all the creek water on the island, or maybe it's from all the rehydrated dehydrated food, haha.
Like I said, not much going on today... just vegging and hanging out with the dogs.
townsville - day 18 - HINCHINBROOK ISLAND
Day 18 – 8 Sept
This morning I woke up at 6am, earlier than the other days. No one else was awake yet, so I went and sat by the waterfall for a bit and pondered about nothing much, as it was really too early to be thinking. Peter and I had a quick brekky of crackers w. PB&J and iced tea. We packed our things, wandered about for a bit, visiting the falls one more time, and then head out towards George Point. The couple from Brizzy, Dale and Suzy, caught up with us just past one of the swampy, magical areas – this is where Suzy and I decided that the fairies and goblins hang out :) And just then I saw my very first live Cane Toad!!! It was huge, in terms of toad sizes, but ended up jumping away just before we got a picture, drats! (Note: prior to Hinchinbroook, I saw about five dead, dried up cane toads at the side of the road one day while we were walking Honor’s dogs. And Peter was telling me about how some people make change purses out of cane toad skins, blech!)
After the final 7.5km (2.5 hr) walk today, we arrived at George Point. We had to walk most of the way along a super long (5km) beach. But no complaints here! There were so many sand dollars and beautiful shells that I had to keep stopping to check them out. The shells on Hinchinbrook are more beautiful than the shells I've seen anywhere else! We also had to cross the mouth where Mulligan Creek empties out into the ocean. There can be crocs in this area so we planned to cross when the tide was low/med. We also timed it to make our ferry home from GP at 11am. So off came the boots, out went the eyeballs (looking for crocs) and across the creek mouth we went. But no crocs. There was a bird further up the creek snacking on the local fishies, so we knew we were safe. It would have flown away if there was a croc around.
Wildlife seen from MF to GP:
- CANE TOAD!
- rainforest
- 5 creeks to cross, including one full of fairies and goblins
- Pitta (Pitta versicolor)
- emptied (i.e. dead) sand dollars, cone shell, spiral shells... and more!
In GP we met up with those four Aussie adventurers and Dale and Suzy. We all sat around chatting and snacking until Phil came with the ferry. That dude charged us $50 apiece for a 20-minute ride to Port Luncinda. What a steal. Good for him I suppose!
Once in PL we waited for about an hour for Nix to pick us up. I ended up walking around the park barefoot and napping on a park bench. Thank goodness no one thought I was homeless! Maybe I should have held out a paper cup anyway. I'm sure I smelled like I was homeless after not showering for 5 days! hahaha Okay, well there was a bit of 'cleaning' in the pools below the falls, but not with soap. Eh, details...
While we waited I ate half of Peter's grilled ham-n-cheese sandwich while on the swingset in the park. He was smart enough to search for some food and a drink - no drink for me but a coffee milk for him. A BIG difference from the coffee milk in RI, much better, with real coffee! It's like iced coffee but you can buy it pre-mixed in a cardboard milk container. Nix showed up with Kevin and we went for lunch at the local hotel restaurant. I wasn't really hungry so I just stole a few chips (fries) from P's plate. Then we drove back to Townsville.
That night Nix invited us to her place for dinner and footy (rugby). So we went home to P's mum's house, soaked our stinky clothes in the laundry, showered up and went to Nix's. It was my first footy night - so exciting! The N. Queensland Cowboys vs. the Canterbury (a suburb of Sydney) Bulldogs... and the Cowboys won!!!! It was pretty exciting! I think they won for me, as it was my first game. Oh and P's mum was at the stadium watching the game live with her oldie friends, even posh Monda! They love the footy. Dinner was a pork roast with roasted veggies. It was delicious, even though I don't usually like pork!
The funny thing about the Queenslanders who support the Cowboys is that when they hang signs up or write it on their front walls (brick walls around the front yard), they write 'Go The Cowboys!' instead of just 'Go Cowboys'. It drives me nuts, but I guess that's the way they do it around here! Perhaps I'll tell them how silly it sounds, but then again, who cares as long as they're supporting their team :)
Wildlife in Hinchinbrook that I forgot to mention:
SAND BUBBLER CRAB (Scopimera inflata)
- ID: body size to 12mm, sandy colored
- Habitat: wave-exposed and estuarine sandy beaches, intertidal zone. Endemic. E. Australia.
- Notes: 'Tympanum' (broad oval patch) on largest segment of each leg absorbs water from the air - an adaptation from spending long periods of time out of the water. Distinctive patterns of small sand balls radiating away from burrows, a result of feeding and burrow maintenance.
SULFER CRESTED COCKATOO (Cacatua galerita)
- ID: white, sulfer-yellow forward curving crest. Underwing and undertail washed yellow. 45-52cm.
- Habitat: wide-ranging in temperate to tropical climates
- Notes: extremely destructive to trees and farmlands, maintaining their beak lengths and sharpness on tree branches and eating freshly planted seeds from crop beds. Extremely loud call.
This morning I woke up at 6am, earlier than the other days. No one else was awake yet, so I went and sat by the waterfall for a bit and pondered about nothing much, as it was really too early to be thinking. Peter and I had a quick brekky of crackers w. PB&J and iced tea. We packed our things, wandered about for a bit, visiting the falls one more time, and then head out towards George Point. The couple from Brizzy, Dale and Suzy, caught up with us just past one of the swampy, magical areas – this is where Suzy and I decided that the fairies and goblins hang out :) And just then I saw my very first live Cane Toad!!! It was huge, in terms of toad sizes, but ended up jumping away just before we got a picture, drats! (Note: prior to Hinchinbroook, I saw about five dead, dried up cane toads at the side of the road one day while we were walking Honor’s dogs. And Peter was telling me about how some people make change purses out of cane toad skins, blech!)
After the final 7.5km (2.5 hr) walk today, we arrived at George Point. We had to walk most of the way along a super long (5km) beach. But no complaints here! There were so many sand dollars and beautiful shells that I had to keep stopping to check them out. The shells on Hinchinbrook are more beautiful than the shells I've seen anywhere else! We also had to cross the mouth where Mulligan Creek empties out into the ocean. There can be crocs in this area so we planned to cross when the tide was low/med. We also timed it to make our ferry home from GP at 11am. So off came the boots, out went the eyeballs (looking for crocs) and across the creek mouth we went. But no crocs. There was a bird further up the creek snacking on the local fishies, so we knew we were safe. It would have flown away if there was a croc around.
Wildlife seen from MF to GP:
- CANE TOAD!
- rainforest
- 5 creeks to cross, including one full of fairies and goblins
- Pitta (Pitta versicolor)
- emptied (i.e. dead) sand dollars, cone shell, spiral shells... and more!
In GP we met up with those four Aussie adventurers and Dale and Suzy. We all sat around chatting and snacking until Phil came with the ferry. That dude charged us $50 apiece for a 20-minute ride to Port Luncinda. What a steal. Good for him I suppose!
Once in PL we waited for about an hour for Nix to pick us up. I ended up walking around the park barefoot and napping on a park bench. Thank goodness no one thought I was homeless! Maybe I should have held out a paper cup anyway. I'm sure I smelled like I was homeless after not showering for 5 days! hahaha Okay, well there was a bit of 'cleaning' in the pools below the falls, but not with soap. Eh, details...
While we waited I ate half of Peter's grilled ham-n-cheese sandwich while on the swingset in the park. He was smart enough to search for some food and a drink - no drink for me but a coffee milk for him. A BIG difference from the coffee milk in RI, much better, with real coffee! It's like iced coffee but you can buy it pre-mixed in a cardboard milk container. Nix showed up with Kevin and we went for lunch at the local hotel restaurant. I wasn't really hungry so I just stole a few chips (fries) from P's plate. Then we drove back to Townsville.
That night Nix invited us to her place for dinner and footy (rugby). So we went home to P's mum's house, soaked our stinky clothes in the laundry, showered up and went to Nix's. It was my first footy night - so exciting! The N. Queensland Cowboys vs. the Canterbury (a suburb of Sydney) Bulldogs... and the Cowboys won!!!! It was pretty exciting! I think they won for me, as it was my first game. Oh and P's mum was at the stadium watching the game live with her oldie friends, even posh Monda! They love the footy. Dinner was a pork roast with roasted veggies. It was delicious, even though I don't usually like pork!
The funny thing about the Queenslanders who support the Cowboys is that when they hang signs up or write it on their front walls (brick walls around the front yard), they write 'Go The Cowboys!' instead of just 'Go Cowboys'. It drives me nuts, but I guess that's the way they do it around here! Perhaps I'll tell them how silly it sounds, but then again, who cares as long as they're supporting their team :)
Wildlife in Hinchinbrook that I forgot to mention:
SAND BUBBLER CRAB (Scopimera inflata)
- ID: body size to 12mm, sandy colored
- Habitat: wave-exposed and estuarine sandy beaches, intertidal zone. Endemic. E. Australia.
- Notes: 'Tympanum' (broad oval patch) on largest segment of each leg absorbs water from the air - an adaptation from spending long periods of time out of the water. Distinctive patterns of small sand balls radiating away from burrows, a result of feeding and burrow maintenance.
SULFER CRESTED COCKATOO (Cacatua galerita)
- ID: white, sulfer-yellow forward curving crest. Underwing and undertail washed yellow. 45-52cm.
- Habitat: wide-ranging in temperate to tropical climates
- Notes: extremely destructive to trees and farmlands, maintaining their beak lengths and sharpness on tree branches and eating freshly planted seeds from crop beds. Extremely loud call.
townsville - day 17 - HINCHINBROOK ISLAND
Day 17 – 7 Sept
Woke up around 6:30am today, had some tea and a roll with PB for brekky. P and I packed up our things and moved on towards Mulligan Falls (MF). We traveled most of the way with four older Australian blokes, adventuring types who have shared many expeditions over the years: caving, abseiling (rappelling), canyoning, kayaking and other extreme outings – they were great fun and had the best stories! We walked with them part of the way and rested with them part of the way – along beautiful creek beds and rocky creek-sides, seeing the ever-so-beautiful Ulysses butterfly and crawling green ants. At one point we had to climb up a 15 foot rock face using a knotted rope that was provided for us, it was so cool! After that we hiked through a saddle in the mountains overlooking Sunken Reef Bay, 260m above sea level, where we could see the shallow reefs just under the water’s surface along the coastline. We could also see the distant Palm Islands and Magnetic Island and the entire watery horizon…perhaps Columbus was right about the world being flat, because I couldn’t see California! :) We stopped at Diamantina Creek, the biggest creek crossing so far. There were lots of warnings on the shore to only cross at the marked location so that injury or death would not occur. So we followed our instructions, rock-hopping the whole way over.
We arrived at MF about 2pm, after a hike of 7.5km (4.5 hrs). Upon arrival, we put on our swimmers and jumped in the pool below the waterfall, along with a bunch of others: the four adventuring blokes, two Swiss brothers, a couple from Brizzy (Brisbane), and three others who we didn’t meet. Peter and I debated over whether or not to keep moving towards George’s Point, the southernmost point of the island where we would be picked up the following morning to go back to the mainland. We decided that we would stay as it was so beautiful at MF, the campsite was virtually bug-free and there was a fresh water source. So up went the tent, out came the sleeping bags and mats and up went the rope to hang our bags overnight.
It was still early and we weren’t hungry so we went back to the ‘pool’ and hung out on a 20 foot rock, soaking up the remaining afternoon sun – me writing in my journal and Peter gazing into the waterfall, thinking about who knows what…. Dinner tonight was rehydrated spaghetti Bolognese, yum! We also made a bottle of son-to-be-iced tea for the following morning, since we didn’t want to spend time using the stove in the a.m. After dinner we went for a short walk through the woods, along the trail we would be hiking in the morning. The cicadas were out – and SO LOUD – so we tried to find them, but no success. When we got close enough they would go silent and then we were stumped! So off to bed as it was getting dark anyway. Before bed, the older Swiss brother stopped by on his way to the dunny (toilet) and we all chatted for about a half hour – where were we from, work, families, how long were each of our vacations, etc.
After all that chatting it was time to hit the hay! Peter and I switched mats tonight – I got his comfy, cozy Thermarest and he got my four year old not-so-comfy mat.
Wildlife seen from ZB to MF:
- Zoe falls (we stopped at the top of the falls for some fresh water and to look down the flowing creek)
- South Zoe Creek, narrow rocky tributaries, Diamantina Creek (very wide and rocky!)
- Ulysses butterfly (again…and still so beautiful!)
- the rare Blue Banksia (Banksia plagiocarpa)
- Lasiandra (Melastoma malabathricum)
- Coral Fern (Lycopodiella cernua)
- Sundew (Drosera adelae and Drosera spatulata) – insectivorous plants
- She-oak (Casuarina equisetifolia)
- Grasstree (Xanthorrhoea johnsonii)
- Cicadas (heard but sadly not seen – couldn’t find them in the dark!)
Woke up around 6:30am today, had some tea and a roll with PB for brekky. P and I packed up our things and moved on towards Mulligan Falls (MF). We traveled most of the way with four older Australian blokes, adventuring types who have shared many expeditions over the years: caving, abseiling (rappelling), canyoning, kayaking and other extreme outings – they were great fun and had the best stories! We walked with them part of the way and rested with them part of the way – along beautiful creek beds and rocky creek-sides, seeing the ever-so-beautiful Ulysses butterfly and crawling green ants. At one point we had to climb up a 15 foot rock face using a knotted rope that was provided for us, it was so cool! After that we hiked through a saddle in the mountains overlooking Sunken Reef Bay, 260m above sea level, where we could see the shallow reefs just under the water’s surface along the coastline. We could also see the distant Palm Islands and Magnetic Island and the entire watery horizon…perhaps Columbus was right about the world being flat, because I couldn’t see California! :) We stopped at Diamantina Creek, the biggest creek crossing so far. There were lots of warnings on the shore to only cross at the marked location so that injury or death would not occur. So we followed our instructions, rock-hopping the whole way over.
We arrived at MF about 2pm, after a hike of 7.5km (4.5 hrs). Upon arrival, we put on our swimmers and jumped in the pool below the waterfall, along with a bunch of others: the four adventuring blokes, two Swiss brothers, a couple from Brizzy (Brisbane), and three others who we didn’t meet. Peter and I debated over whether or not to keep moving towards George’s Point, the southernmost point of the island where we would be picked up the following morning to go back to the mainland. We decided that we would stay as it was so beautiful at MF, the campsite was virtually bug-free and there was a fresh water source. So up went the tent, out came the sleeping bags and mats and up went the rope to hang our bags overnight.
It was still early and we weren’t hungry so we went back to the ‘pool’ and hung out on a 20 foot rock, soaking up the remaining afternoon sun – me writing in my journal and Peter gazing into the waterfall, thinking about who knows what…. Dinner tonight was rehydrated spaghetti Bolognese, yum! We also made a bottle of son-to-be-iced tea for the following morning, since we didn’t want to spend time using the stove in the a.m. After dinner we went for a short walk through the woods, along the trail we would be hiking in the morning. The cicadas were out – and SO LOUD – so we tried to find them, but no success. When we got close enough they would go silent and then we were stumped! So off to bed as it was getting dark anyway. Before bed, the older Swiss brother stopped by on his way to the dunny (toilet) and we all chatted for about a half hour – where were we from, work, families, how long were each of our vacations, etc.
After all that chatting it was time to hit the hay! Peter and I switched mats tonight – I got his comfy, cozy Thermarest and he got my four year old not-so-comfy mat.
Wildlife seen from ZB to MF:
- Zoe falls (we stopped at the top of the falls for some fresh water and to look down the flowing creek)
- South Zoe Creek, narrow rocky tributaries, Diamantina Creek (very wide and rocky!)
- Ulysses butterfly (again…and still so beautiful!)
- the rare Blue Banksia (Banksia plagiocarpa)
- Lasiandra (Melastoma malabathricum)
- Coral Fern (Lycopodiella cernua)
- Sundew (Drosera adelae and Drosera spatulata) – insectivorous plants
- She-oak (Casuarina equisetifolia)
- Grasstree (Xanthorrhoea johnsonii)
- Cicadas (heard but sadly not seen – couldn’t find them in the dark!)
18 September 2007
townsville - day 16 - HINCHINBROOK ISLAND
Day 16 - 6 Sept
This morning we slept in a bit. We had plans to spend a full day at Zoe Bay, just relaxing. So we woke up when everyone else was leaving. We hung our wet things out on the trees by the beach, to be dried by the sun. It was quite a sight, seeing everyone's things out there. Then we said our goodbyes and talked about how nice it was spending the first two days together. Peter made porridge (oatmeal) for breakfast, but I wasn't in the mood. I had a little and then frowned at my bowl, wishing it was something else.
We threw on our swimmers and hiked up to Zoe Falls. On the way there we saw a large goanna lizard - it just sauntered away, couldn't be bothered by our presence. The falls were gorgeous...tall and flowing into a cool and refreshing pool just below. We crawled over the rocks to sit and look at the water, trying to brave up to jump in! It was cold! But eventually we got in and enjoyed every moment. We tried skinny dipping and succeeded as noone was around...but then as I was drying off on a rock, bum facing the sun, a group of three came along and wanted to swim too. I quickly threw on my suit. One lady yelled, "Sorry!" and I responded with, "That's okay, I'm sorry for you!" haha It was funny. At least we got our chance....
While we were there we saw the rarely-seen blue and black Ulysses butterfly (Papilio ulysses) - a protected species that is classified as 'common' in Queensland, but I was told that it's rarely seen elsewhere. Beauty at its best. After lounging for a couple hours at the falls, we went back to the camp because we hadn't yet put on any sunscreen! Yikes! Don't worry, no burns.
For lunch Peter spoiled me with Mac-n-cheese, my fave!!! Most of you know how healthy I eat, but I still have a strong love of boxed mac-n-cheese (with all the preservatives and colorings). Ahh, childhood favorites. haha. We walked along the beach, near the lagoon, searching for crocs, but didn't find any. Along came new hikers from the northern end of the island and set up camp at a site just south of ours on Zoe Bay. Yay, we had our site to ourselves again...unless you count the rats and bats!
After the beach walk we settled down for dinner - rehydrated chicken cashew curry. I'm telling you, those dehydrated meals are tasty! We tried to have dinner on the sandy beach, but there were so many sandflies, they just swarmed when we got near. I forgot to mention the sandflies - they are almost invisible, they bite fiercely and if you have sensitive skin (which I don't, thank goodness) then you're in for the itch of your life! I barely got any mozzie (mosquito) bites. We were using this all-natural anti-bug roll on stuff, but it really didn't work. Just made us smell lovely like neem oil, tea tree oil, menthol and citronella, haha. Oh and it helped keep my face clean too (b/c of the tea tree oil) as we weren't showering this week!
Off to bed with sundown... and once again, awaken in the middle of the night by the flying foxes. My gosh they are loud!!!! :)
This morning we slept in a bit. We had plans to spend a full day at Zoe Bay, just relaxing. So we woke up when everyone else was leaving. We hung our wet things out on the trees by the beach, to be dried by the sun. It was quite a sight, seeing everyone's things out there. Then we said our goodbyes and talked about how nice it was spending the first two days together. Peter made porridge (oatmeal) for breakfast, but I wasn't in the mood. I had a little and then frowned at my bowl, wishing it was something else.
We threw on our swimmers and hiked up to Zoe Falls. On the way there we saw a large goanna lizard - it just sauntered away, couldn't be bothered by our presence. The falls were gorgeous...tall and flowing into a cool and refreshing pool just below. We crawled over the rocks to sit and look at the water, trying to brave up to jump in! It was cold! But eventually we got in and enjoyed every moment. We tried skinny dipping and succeeded as noone was around...but then as I was drying off on a rock, bum facing the sun, a group of three came along and wanted to swim too. I quickly threw on my suit. One lady yelled, "Sorry!" and I responded with, "That's okay, I'm sorry for you!" haha It was funny. At least we got our chance....
While we were there we saw the rarely-seen blue and black Ulysses butterfly (Papilio ulysses) - a protected species that is classified as 'common' in Queensland, but I was told that it's rarely seen elsewhere. Beauty at its best. After lounging for a couple hours at the falls, we went back to the camp because we hadn't yet put on any sunscreen! Yikes! Don't worry, no burns.
For lunch Peter spoiled me with Mac-n-cheese, my fave!!! Most of you know how healthy I eat, but I still have a strong love of boxed mac-n-cheese (with all the preservatives and colorings). Ahh, childhood favorites. haha. We walked along the beach, near the lagoon, searching for crocs, but didn't find any. Along came new hikers from the northern end of the island and set up camp at a site just south of ours on Zoe Bay. Yay, we had our site to ourselves again...unless you count the rats and bats!
After the beach walk we settled down for dinner - rehydrated chicken cashew curry. I'm telling you, those dehydrated meals are tasty! We tried to have dinner on the sandy beach, but there were so many sandflies, they just swarmed when we got near. I forgot to mention the sandflies - they are almost invisible, they bite fiercely and if you have sensitive skin (which I don't, thank goodness) then you're in for the itch of your life! I barely got any mozzie (mosquito) bites. We were using this all-natural anti-bug roll on stuff, but it really didn't work. Just made us smell lovely like neem oil, tea tree oil, menthol and citronella, haha. Oh and it helped keep my face clean too (b/c of the tea tree oil) as we weren't showering this week!
Off to bed with sundown... and once again, awaken in the middle of the night by the flying foxes. My gosh they are loud!!!! :)
townsville - day 15 - HINCHINBROOK ISLAND
Day 15 - 5 Sept
Didn't sleep too well last night. It's always awful the first night in a tent, on the hard ground, esp. after a few years of non-tenting and not being used to it. So we woke up with the birds and not the sun today, as it was still raining! It was too wet to cook, so I made PB&J sandwiches. The inside of the tent had gotten a bit wet and our packs also - not too bad though since we hung them covered with one of the ponchos we brought. Everyone else seemed to get a wriggle on (get a move on) faster than us, but we eventually packed up the tent and agreed to meet Claire at the other end of the beach. She wanted to get a head start so that we could eventually hike together, as she knew we would hike through the rocky intertidal zone much faster than her. I love rock skipping!
So I was prepared - waterproof pants and all! Green poncho covering me and my pack, dark yellow for Peter. We three ended up catching up with Royce and his gf, all five then trekking on together, making sure that everyone stayed safe on all the slipperiness of today. Today the scenery was absolutely amazing - it changed every 10 minutes to a different forest and flowing creeks...
Wilderness seen from LRB past Banksia Bay to Zoe Bay:
- North Zoe, Fan Palm, Cypress Pine and South Zoe creeks
- exceptional hollowed-out rocks (during the coastal rock hopping parts of the hike)
[- fringe reefs and golden orchids (Dendrobium discolor) at Banksia Bay, but we didn't see that, just wanted you to know about it!]
- dry open forest (where we could see the entire coastline, horizon and distant Palm Islands and Magnetic Island)
- Rainforest (WET!)
- Mangrove swamps (where I lost half of my left leg in a big muddy 'shlurp', but then I got it back; it reminded me of the sinking mud swamp from The Neverending Story, if you've seen it!) - Palm swamps (GORGEOUS!) - one sp. was the Pandanis Palm (don't know sci. name)
- sounds of the Wompoo Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus) - didn't see, but heard
- Yellow Lawyer Cane aka 'Wait-a-While' (Calamus moti)
- Hairy Mary (Calamus australis) - both of these last listed are climbing palms that use hook-studded branches to support growth towards the canopy
- Alligatorbark (Calyphyllum sil)
- tall, buttressed Blue Quandong (Elaeocarpus grandis)
We arrived at Zoe Bay after 10.5km (6 hrs) of complete wetness and grand beauty. Again, there was a chance that we would be eaten by crocs, but lucky for us five, none. The creeks were flowing too fast anyway! Halfway there we had our lunch in a little opening between scene changes, salami and cheese sanger (sandwich). And at one point, after crossing a too-deep creek with muddy banks, Peter slipped off and fell into the water, backpack first. Thank goodness he didn't get hurt or too wet. Okay, he got quite wet, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been!
Same routine as the night before - arrive, set up tent, start cooking dinner. Oh I forgot to mention that there was a proper dunny (toilet) at each campsite, making things MUCH easier than we had expected. I only had to use the wilderness once or twice. Tonight we had rehydrated Chana Masala for dinner - YUM! That was my choice. Once again, we had dinner and went to bed with the sun. This night was much drier, but I was woken up two times by the scuffling and sniffing around of the rats, followed by the screeching flying foxes (bats) who were eating the fruits from the trees above us and then dropping the seeds on our tent, the loud metal rat box and the wooden picnic table. Gosh! Needless to say, it was another bad night's sleep.
Didn't sleep too well last night. It's always awful the first night in a tent, on the hard ground, esp. after a few years of non-tenting and not being used to it. So we woke up with the birds and not the sun today, as it was still raining! It was too wet to cook, so I made PB&J sandwiches. The inside of the tent had gotten a bit wet and our packs also - not too bad though since we hung them covered with one of the ponchos we brought. Everyone else seemed to get a wriggle on (get a move on) faster than us, but we eventually packed up the tent and agreed to meet Claire at the other end of the beach. She wanted to get a head start so that we could eventually hike together, as she knew we would hike through the rocky intertidal zone much faster than her. I love rock skipping!
So I was prepared - waterproof pants and all! Green poncho covering me and my pack, dark yellow for Peter. We three ended up catching up with Royce and his gf, all five then trekking on together, making sure that everyone stayed safe on all the slipperiness of today. Today the scenery was absolutely amazing - it changed every 10 minutes to a different forest and flowing creeks...
Wilderness seen from LRB past Banksia Bay to Zoe Bay:
- North Zoe, Fan Palm, Cypress Pine and South Zoe creeks
- exceptional hollowed-out rocks (during the coastal rock hopping parts of the hike)
[- fringe reefs and golden orchids (Dendrobium discolor) at Banksia Bay, but we didn't see that, just wanted you to know about it!]
- dry open forest (where we could see the entire coastline, horizon and distant Palm Islands and Magnetic Island)
- Rainforest (WET!)
- Mangrove swamps (where I lost half of my left leg in a big muddy 'shlurp', but then I got it back; it reminded me of the sinking mud swamp from The Neverending Story, if you've seen it!) - Palm swamps (GORGEOUS!) - one sp. was the Pandanis Palm (don't know sci. name)
- sounds of the Wompoo Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus) - didn't see, but heard
- Yellow Lawyer Cane aka 'Wait-a-While' (Calamus moti)
- Hairy Mary (Calamus australis) - both of these last listed are climbing palms that use hook-studded branches to support growth towards the canopy
- Alligatorbark (Calyphyllum sil)
- tall, buttressed Blue Quandong (Elaeocarpus grandis)
We arrived at Zoe Bay after 10.5km (6 hrs) of complete wetness and grand beauty. Again, there was a chance that we would be eaten by crocs, but lucky for us five, none. The creeks were flowing too fast anyway! Halfway there we had our lunch in a little opening between scene changes, salami and cheese sanger (sandwich). And at one point, after crossing a too-deep creek with muddy banks, Peter slipped off and fell into the water, backpack first. Thank goodness he didn't get hurt or too wet. Okay, he got quite wet, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been!
Same routine as the night before - arrive, set up tent, start cooking dinner. Oh I forgot to mention that there was a proper dunny (toilet) at each campsite, making things MUCH easier than we had expected. I only had to use the wilderness once or twice. Tonight we had rehydrated Chana Masala for dinner - YUM! That was my choice. Once again, we had dinner and went to bed with the sun. This night was much drier, but I was woken up two times by the scuffling and sniffing around of the rats, followed by the screeching flying foxes (bats) who were eating the fruits from the trees above us and then dropping the seeds on our tent, the loud metal rat box and the wooden picnic table. Gosh! Needless to say, it was another bad night's sleep.
17 September 2007
townsville - day 14 - HINCHINBROOK ISLAND
Day 14 - 4 Sept
Woke up and had a quick breakfast of honey yogurt, lady finger bananas (yummy) and OJ that we had bought at a little market the night before. We hopped on the teeny shuttle (euro-van) to Port Hinchinbrook and checked in. They offered us a complimentary EPIRB - Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon - when activated, the beacons send out a distress signal that allows the beacon to be located [and identified] by the satellite system and/or Search and Rescue aircraft and ground search parties who can in turn come to the aid of the concerned party. EPIRBs are a component of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS). I got that from Wikipedia, I'm not really that smart about global positioning systems :)
On the ferry there were lots of schoolchildren from Townsville who were out on a day trip to the island. they were super cute, eating all their lollies (candy) and talking with those cute kid Australian accents. The water was calm, which is good for P as he has a tendency towards seasickness. We were informed that we might see some whales or dugongs (relative of the manatee and closest land relative is the elephant)...but we didn't.
Arriving on Hinchinbrook, all the hikers and some day trippers got off. We had to climb up a steep ladder onto a wooden walkway because we got off the boat in the middle of a river surrounded by magrove trees and... crocs? We didn't see any of those either.
The bushwalk started at Ramsay Bay, through Blacksand Beach and then a 312m hike up Nina Peak (minus backpacks, it was steep!) to see the gorgeous view of Little Ramsay Bay (LRB) that we would soon be camping in. We met this woman Claire who became our new hiker friend. She was travelling alone, backpacking for the week on holiday. Once we came down from Nina Peak we had a granola bar snack - mine was all nuts and honey, it was tasty but I thought it was going to pull my teeth out! So no more of those for me....
We bushwalked through Nina and Boulder Bays with Claire, Royce and his gf (I didn't catch her name). There were also two doubles who had steamed off ahead of us: 2 German guys on a one year Oz holiday and a father-son pair, out celebrating the boy's 13th birthday.
Wilderness from Ramsay Bay to LRB:
- 100-200m of creek at Nina Bay and Blacksand Beach
- broad-leaved tea trees (Melaleuca leucadendra)
- Gympie messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana)
- red-flowered mangrove (Lumnitzera littorea) - in the mangrove forest
- spotted mangrove (Rhizophora stylosa) - in the mangrove forest
- creek at LRB, upstream from the lagoon (crocs? nope, still none)
Luckily we didn't hit any high tides or crocs, and sadly, didn't see any green turtles in the sea. After 6.5km (4.5 hr), we arrived in Little Ramsay Bay. Here we would spend the night. First thing, we set up the tent and put our food in the rat proof box - long metal boxes provided so that the 'locals' wouldn't get our food - fawn-footed melomys (Melomys cervinipes) and the giant white-tailed rat (Uromys caudimaculatus). We even strung up rope so we could hang our packs at night, as there was no room in the tent. We had a dinner of rice with dehydrated green beans and peas, mixed with two Thai green chili soup spice packets. Just as we cleaned up dinner and washed up for bed, the rain started...and didn't stop.
Woke up and had a quick breakfast of honey yogurt, lady finger bananas (yummy) and OJ that we had bought at a little market the night before. We hopped on the teeny shuttle (euro-van) to Port Hinchinbrook and checked in. They offered us a complimentary EPIRB - Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon - when activated, the beacons send out a distress signal that allows the beacon to be located [and identified] by the satellite system and/or Search and Rescue aircraft and ground search parties who can in turn come to the aid of the concerned party. EPIRBs are a component of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS). I got that from Wikipedia, I'm not really that smart about global positioning systems :)
On the ferry there were lots of schoolchildren from Townsville who were out on a day trip to the island. they were super cute, eating all their lollies (candy) and talking with those cute kid Australian accents. The water was calm, which is good for P as he has a tendency towards seasickness. We were informed that we might see some whales or dugongs (relative of the manatee and closest land relative is the elephant)...but we didn't.
Arriving on Hinchinbrook, all the hikers and some day trippers got off. We had to climb up a steep ladder onto a wooden walkway because we got off the boat in the middle of a river surrounded by magrove trees and... crocs? We didn't see any of those either.
The bushwalk started at Ramsay Bay, through Blacksand Beach and then a 312m hike up Nina Peak (minus backpacks, it was steep!) to see the gorgeous view of Little Ramsay Bay (LRB) that we would soon be camping in. We met this woman Claire who became our new hiker friend. She was travelling alone, backpacking for the week on holiday. Once we came down from Nina Peak we had a granola bar snack - mine was all nuts and honey, it was tasty but I thought it was going to pull my teeth out! So no more of those for me....
We bushwalked through Nina and Boulder Bays with Claire, Royce and his gf (I didn't catch her name). There were also two doubles who had steamed off ahead of us: 2 German guys on a one year Oz holiday and a father-son pair, out celebrating the boy's 13th birthday.
Wilderness from Ramsay Bay to LRB:
- 100-200m of creek at Nina Bay and Blacksand Beach
- broad-leaved tea trees (Melaleuca leucadendra)
- Gympie messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana)
- red-flowered mangrove (Lumnitzera littorea) - in the mangrove forest
- spotted mangrove (Rhizophora stylosa) - in the mangrove forest
- creek at LRB, upstream from the lagoon (crocs? nope, still none)
Luckily we didn't hit any high tides or crocs, and sadly, didn't see any green turtles in the sea. After 6.5km (4.5 hr), we arrived in Little Ramsay Bay. Here we would spend the night. First thing, we set up the tent and put our food in the rat proof box - long metal boxes provided so that the 'locals' wouldn't get our food - fawn-footed melomys (Melomys cervinipes) and the giant white-tailed rat (Uromys caudimaculatus). We even strung up rope so we could hang our packs at night, as there was no room in the tent. We had a dinner of rice with dehydrated green beans and peas, mixed with two Thai green chili soup spice packets. Just as we cleaned up dinner and washed up for bed, the rain started...and didn't stop.
townsville - day 13 - HINCHINBROOK ISLAND
Day 13 - 3 Sept
Woke up this morning, had my tea and packed my bags for the next adventure... Hinchinbrook Island!!! It would be 5 days 4 nights on a remote island with diversified wildlife and lots of beauty. I was too busy to have breakfast with all the packing, so we ended up just having lunch on the patio with Honor: a small salad. Then we raced to the car and sped to the bus station.
2:20 pm Australia Greyhound - en route to Cardwell (remember that small town from before?).
Woke up this morning, had my tea and packed my bags for the next adventure... Hinchinbrook Island!!! It would be 5 days 4 nights on a remote island with diversified wildlife and lots of beauty. I was too busy to have breakfast with all the packing, so we ended up just having lunch on the patio with Honor: a small salad. Then we raced to the car and sped to the bus station.
2:20 pm Australia Greyhound - en route to Cardwell (remember that small town from before?).
Upon arrival to Cardwell we hiked up to the Kookaburra hostel where we had already reserved a one night double occupation reservation. We would get the ferry in the morning to the island. We decided that we needed to fill our bellies with a big, yummy dinner before adventuring off into the land of dehydrated food and granola bars. We stopped by the Hotel pub but they only had a choice of beef, pork or lamb roast and I was not in the mood for that! So we ended up getting a greasy soft-of fast food dinner at this other place - there were only two food places open!!!! Mind you that 'downtown' is only a strip about 1/4 mile long, just on one side of the road! Dinner: veggie burger (fried mashed potato, corn and pea patty) with salad (lettuce and tomato on the sandwich, this is how Aussies refer to it) on a humungous roll and a side of 4 calamari rings (not too impressive). But the 'burger' was yummy and I enjoyed every bite! While we ate we chatted with a lone traveler from Melbourne, living in Airlie Beach - cycling all the way to Cairns on a last-minute adventure holiday (vacation). She mentioned her non-athletic, normally lazy ways but we cheered and admired her adventure spirit! Turns out she was staying at the hostel too, so we all walked back together.
At the hostel we had some loud neighbors and the bed was a bit hard so we didn't sleep as well as we had hoped.
townsville - day 12
Day 12 - 2 Sept
Woke @ 9am, watched the news, drank some tea. Breakfast: toast with margarine and Vegemite (I can't believe I'm admitting to this!) and also tried some Rosella jam. Yummy and super sweet!
Today we're going to Paluma with Nix! It's a bit chilly today so we're all geared up. Packed a lunch bag full of yummy salad fixins and crackers and fruit for dessert. Arriving in Paluma, we first checked out McClelland's lookout and then bushwalked to Witt's lookout. It was quite beautiful - seeing the Strangler Figs, Birdsnest and Basket Ferns, hearing the loud sounds of the local birds. Since it was chilly, we headed back to the picnic table to have lunch. While we were eating there was this Australian Bush Turkey who was nodding about, hoping for a scrap to fall on the ground. We didn't give in, so frustrated, the Turkey flew up onto the grill that was just next to us and started picking at the leftovers on the grill. We took a picture because it was so funny to see him there, looking ready to be cooked. ha
On the way out we stopped in Paluma Dreaming coffeeshop. The man there wanted to take a look at my journal so I showed him some drawings and writings. He then told me that he was a poet and had a wall full of his poems behind us that he was selling. I commented on how wonderful that was, but was secretly thinking that I really don't like poetry. haha I had to be polite! So Pete and Nix had coffees while I grew interested in the extremely tame Lewin's Honeyeaters that we saw out on the porch. One of them bravely flew onto our table and then even onto Nikki's coffee cup for a drink! It was so funny when she squealed (she does that).
Leaving Paluma, we stopped at Crystal Creek, where P used to swim as a kid. The sign there says no jumping into the water, but noone follows that rule anyway... We first hiked up to the highest spot on the creek - there were about 5 or 6 beautiful pools all flowing into one another. On our little bushwalk I encountered being pinched by a black ant that got stuck in my sandal, a handful of skinky newts slithering about and a very-camouflaged toad/frog (not sure which yet). We hiked back down, threw on our swimmers and joined some of the local teen boys who were rock-jumping into one of the pools (the same one P jumped into as a kid!). I think the rock I jumped from was about 20' high and Peter ventured up to the 30' jump!!! It was chilly water but so much fun to jump! It was safe, no worries please...
On the drive back to Townsville, we stopped at the Frosty Mango, an ice cream place on the Bruce Hwy. I had a single scoop of the Macadamia nut ice cream on a sugar cone - YUUUUMMMMMMYYY! haha It was a perfect end to a refreshing day.
Woke @ 9am, watched the news, drank some tea. Breakfast: toast with margarine and Vegemite (I can't believe I'm admitting to this!) and also tried some Rosella jam. Yummy and super sweet!
Today we're going to Paluma with Nix! It's a bit chilly today so we're all geared up. Packed a lunch bag full of yummy salad fixins and crackers and fruit for dessert. Arriving in Paluma, we first checked out McClelland's lookout and then bushwalked to Witt's lookout. It was quite beautiful - seeing the Strangler Figs, Birdsnest and Basket Ferns, hearing the loud sounds of the local birds. Since it was chilly, we headed back to the picnic table to have lunch. While we were eating there was this Australian Bush Turkey who was nodding about, hoping for a scrap to fall on the ground. We didn't give in, so frustrated, the Turkey flew up onto the grill that was just next to us and started picking at the leftovers on the grill. We took a picture because it was so funny to see him there, looking ready to be cooked. ha
On the way out we stopped in Paluma Dreaming coffeeshop. The man there wanted to take a look at my journal so I showed him some drawings and writings. He then told me that he was a poet and had a wall full of his poems behind us that he was selling. I commented on how wonderful that was, but was secretly thinking that I really don't like poetry. haha I had to be polite! So Pete and Nix had coffees while I grew interested in the extremely tame Lewin's Honeyeaters that we saw out on the porch. One of them bravely flew onto our table and then even onto Nikki's coffee cup for a drink! It was so funny when she squealed (she does that).
Leaving Paluma, we stopped at Crystal Creek, where P used to swim as a kid. The sign there says no jumping into the water, but noone follows that rule anyway... We first hiked up to the highest spot on the creek - there were about 5 or 6 beautiful pools all flowing into one another. On our little bushwalk I encountered being pinched by a black ant that got stuck in my sandal, a handful of skinky newts slithering about and a very-camouflaged toad/frog (not sure which yet). We hiked back down, threw on our swimmers and joined some of the local teen boys who were rock-jumping into one of the pools (the same one P jumped into as a kid!). I think the rock I jumped from was about 20' high and Peter ventured up to the 30' jump!!! It was chilly water but so much fun to jump! It was safe, no worries please...
On the drive back to Townsville, we stopped at the Frosty Mango, an ice cream place on the Bruce Hwy. I had a single scoop of the Macadamia nut ice cream on a sugar cone - YUUUUMMMMMMYYY! haha It was a perfect end to a refreshing day.
townsville - day 11
Day 11 - 1 Sept
Woke up 9 am - returned car to Thrifty (I got to drive the stick-shifting Mitsubishi one more time!). Shopping at Castletown (shopping mall-like place): Target, Woolworths, Post (to buy stamps), Brumby's Bakery for more pies (veggie pastie for me, beef and kidney for Pete, ick).
Went home, blogged a bit, organized our food and supplies for camping. Lunch with the family: green salad (always lettuce, sweet peas, avocado and cukes), potato salad, grape tomatoes and probably some deli meat, but I didn't have any. Did some laundry... Washed my shoes (they had gotten dirty somewhere, I don't usually spend my Saturdays washing shoes, haha). Gave the dogs (Trouble and Kinky) baths outside - muhaha evil humans.
Showered and dressed for the night out on the town. Went to see an 8pm showing of 'The Dresser' at the old Magistrate's court downtown, which has since been transformed into a small black-box theatre and gathering place. We got there and met up with Monda (very posh Victorian Brit accent), Judy and John. Monda told me I was a 'rude girl' at some point and it made me laugh with the accent and all. She's a harmless jokester, but comes across quite strong at first! I didn't chat much with J&J. The play is set in London during some war (Blitz?) and is about some actor guy whose Dresser (the person who dresses him and does his makeup before shows) is the main character. They're all on rations and depressed. It was pretty boring, although the acting was wonderful. I was tired and slept through part of the first half, woke up to buzz about during intermission (thinking maybe a Coca-Cola would wake me?) and slept through most of the second half as well. It was hot in there anyway! haha After the show we shmoozed with some other friends of the Stephensons and then head home... to hit the hay around 12:45am.
Woke up 9 am - returned car to Thrifty (I got to drive the stick-shifting Mitsubishi one more time!). Shopping at Castletown (shopping mall-like place): Target, Woolworths, Post (to buy stamps), Brumby's Bakery for more pies (veggie pastie for me, beef and kidney for Pete, ick).
Went home, blogged a bit, organized our food and supplies for camping. Lunch with the family: green salad (always lettuce, sweet peas, avocado and cukes), potato salad, grape tomatoes and probably some deli meat, but I didn't have any. Did some laundry... Washed my shoes (they had gotten dirty somewhere, I don't usually spend my Saturdays washing shoes, haha). Gave the dogs (Trouble and Kinky) baths outside - muhaha evil humans.
Showered and dressed for the night out on the town. Went to see an 8pm showing of 'The Dresser' at the old Magistrate's court downtown, which has since been transformed into a small black-box theatre and gathering place. We got there and met up with Monda (very posh Victorian Brit accent), Judy and John. Monda told me I was a 'rude girl' at some point and it made me laugh with the accent and all. She's a harmless jokester, but comes across quite strong at first! I didn't chat much with J&J. The play is set in London during some war (Blitz?) and is about some actor guy whose Dresser (the person who dresses him and does his makeup before shows) is the main character. They're all on rations and depressed. It was pretty boring, although the acting was wonderful. I was tired and slept through part of the first half, woke up to buzz about during intermission (thinking maybe a Coca-Cola would wake me?) and slept through most of the second half as well. It was hot in there anyway! haha After the show we shmoozed with some other friends of the Stephensons and then head home... to hit the hay around 12:45am.
townsville - day 10 - ROAD TRIP!
DAY 9 - 31 Aug
This morning we checked out of the hotel at 9:30 and had brunch on the Esplanade: poached eggs with bacon, grilled tomato, wilted rocket (same as arugula) and buttered toast. We walked around a bit then grabbed our swimmers (swimsuits) and headed to the community pool, 'The Lagoon'. Everyone swims there as the beach is nothing but a mudflat, with the possibility of encountering Esturarine Crocs and marine stingers like the Box Jellyfish (DEADLY!). And here's the road trippin'...
Cairns (via Bruce Hwy South)
--> Gillies Hwy (really windy and twisty!)
--> Yungaburra Pub (with a stop inside for a drink and chat with locals, all 5 of them)
--> Atherton (driving through the Atherton Tablelands)
--> Tolga (here we stopped at Tolga Woodworks and admired the gorgeous pieces of local woodworkers and furniture-makers, also having a tasty lunch: sandwich w.eggplant, capsicum [bell pepper], sundried tom and cheeze on toasted bread with salad... then finished off with HOT CHOCOLATE, YUMMY!)
--> Kennedy Hwy (note: this is where I experienced my first time driving on the L side of the road WHILE driving a manual shift car with my L hand [YOWSA!] ON A thin road where if someone's coming on the other side you have to place the two L wheels off the road onto the side [no shoulders!]... needless to say we came about 6" to the local guy who came flying past in the opposite direction... I almost had my first heart attack!)
--> Millaa Millaa (Waterfalls: Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Elinjaa - we put our feet in, BRRR!)
--> Palmerston Hwy
--> back to the Bruce Hwy
--> and 'home' to Townsville!
This morning we checked out of the hotel at 9:30 and had brunch on the Esplanade: poached eggs with bacon, grilled tomato, wilted rocket (same as arugula) and buttered toast. We walked around a bit then grabbed our swimmers (swimsuits) and headed to the community pool, 'The Lagoon'. Everyone swims there as the beach is nothing but a mudflat, with the possibility of encountering Esturarine Crocs and marine stingers like the Box Jellyfish (DEADLY!). And here's the road trippin'...
Cairns (via Bruce Hwy South)
--> Gillies Hwy (really windy and twisty!)
--> Yungaburra Pub (with a stop inside for a drink and chat with locals, all 5 of them)
--> Atherton (driving through the Atherton Tablelands)
--> Tolga (here we stopped at Tolga Woodworks and admired the gorgeous pieces of local woodworkers and furniture-makers, also having a tasty lunch: sandwich w.eggplant, capsicum [bell pepper], sundried tom and cheeze on toasted bread with salad... then finished off with HOT CHOCOLATE, YUMMY!)
--> Kennedy Hwy (note: this is where I experienced my first time driving on the L side of the road WHILE driving a manual shift car with my L hand [YOWSA!] ON A thin road where if someone's coming on the other side you have to place the two L wheels off the road onto the side [no shoulders!]... needless to say we came about 6" to the local guy who came flying past in the opposite direction... I almost had my first heart attack!)
--> Millaa Millaa (Waterfalls: Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Elinjaa - we put our feet in, BRRR!)
--> Palmerston Hwy
--> back to the Bruce Hwy
--> and 'home' to Townsville!
townsville - day 9 - ROAD TRIP!
DAY 9 - 30 Aug
This morning we woke up and had quite a time making porridge with the campstove. We used too much water so it was very gooey. haha But still yummy. After brekky we packed up the car and then chatted a bit with an older couple who was walking by. They gave us a Bible. Gideons. It was funny - afterwards, Peter said he knew they were Gideons because of the guy's beard, but I just thought they were being chatty. A bible... ha.
So onward we drove... back down the teeny windy hills and onto Cardwell. What a small town! I think the population must be just a few hundred people. There was a bright yellow pie van that we passed on the way in, but stopping and pulling a u-turn immediately so as not to miss out on the fresh, hot yumminess. There I was having my first Cardwell pie from the yellow van. We both had the beef with mushy peas. YUM-O! And a little tomato sauce (ketchup) to put on it for extra yumminess. Oh and a stubby (size of the bottle) Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Tasty!
I wanted to check out the beach, so I tore off my shoes and we walked down. There was a huge tree growing just by the edge of the grass all the way out to the water. Green ants crawling... already-eaten iridescent-inside oysters stuck to a log on the ground... funny cocoon-like spider webs in the tree crevices... and us. We walked a bit, the sand was actually very small stones, crunching nicely below our feet. Then we found a coconut, yahoo! (Okay, so there were a lot of them, since the coconut palms were everywhere, but I was still excited.) I wanted to open it... but where? Then Peter, the N. Queensland native brought the coconut over to a spiky mangrove root that was popping out of the sand. He husked that thing like he'd been doing it for years... oh yeah, he has! Then we grabbed our newly husked nut and head back to the car. We would drink the juice later. While in Cardwell we also arranged the plans for our ferry ride to Hinchinbrook island the following week, for the hiking trip.
Following the Bruce Highway, we pulled off at the Murdering Point Winery - and the story behind the name? As found on the winery website:
'The name Murdering Point originates from a shipwreck that occurred on inshore King Reef only a few hundred metres from the coast of Kurrimine Beach in 1878, “The Golden Era” – the gold rush days of Northern Australia. King Reef was the undoing of a number of sailing ships that foolishly tried to use a difficult passage through the reef to the beach.
'The ship, the “Riser”, sailing North and having previously stopped at Cardwell, ran aground on the King Reef and was being broken up by heavy seas. The shipwrecked victims gathered scant provisions and came ashore in the ship’s dingy, landing on a sandy point at the northern end of Kurrimine Beach. There they made a temporary camp for the night but that evening they were attacked, murdered and dragged by the local aboriginals into the nearby sand dunes to be partially eaten. Some weeks later, after reports of a shipwreck on King Reef, the local constabulary from Cardwell arrived to investigate and found the remains of the bodies of the shipwrecked sailors and the signs of an aboriginal camp. This investigating party, who tracked down the group involved, is attributed with naming the coastal protrusion, Murdering Point.'
While at the winery we endured an extremely arduous wine tasting of all the delicious wines - all derived from tropical fruits: WHITES - Panama Gold (mango), Pinnacle (passion fruit), Romance (lychee), Misty Gem (lemon aspen). REDS - Red Emperor (Davidson plum), Supherb (jaboticaba, ginger, ginseng). PORTS - The Point (mulberry, citrus, plum) and Black Devil (black sapote). All very delicious and unique... so we were convinced to buy a 'few' bottles to bring to Peter's family and for ourselves as well.
On we drove...to Innisfail, the town where Peter grew up to age 12. I saw his old house on Lower Hicky St, where he had his first bike accident on Carmel hill and his primary (elementary) school. A small, sleepy town full of young men with loud suped up cars who drive too fast through the city streets.
Lastly, we found Cairns, which is similar to Townsville, only a bit bigger and more modern. We found a reasonable room at a little hotel owned by a sweet couple from Madrid, Spain. The woman mentioned salsa dancing that night at the casino, so can you guess what I wanted to do??? We headed to the Esplanade (the road along the coast) and had a yummy Indian dinner at Spicy Bite. Then onto the casino...the band played two sets and we danced a few songs. There was a talent show too! Only one of the four couples was any good, or so I thought, but they all made it onto the next week's competition. It was entertaining :) I could have danced all night...
This morning we woke up and had quite a time making porridge with the campstove. We used too much water so it was very gooey. haha But still yummy. After brekky we packed up the car and then chatted a bit with an older couple who was walking by. They gave us a Bible. Gideons. It was funny - afterwards, Peter said he knew they were Gideons because of the guy's beard, but I just thought they were being chatty. A bible... ha.
So onward we drove... back down the teeny windy hills and onto Cardwell. What a small town! I think the population must be just a few hundred people. There was a bright yellow pie van that we passed on the way in, but stopping and pulling a u-turn immediately so as not to miss out on the fresh, hot yumminess. There I was having my first Cardwell pie from the yellow van. We both had the beef with mushy peas. YUM-O! And a little tomato sauce (ketchup) to put on it for extra yumminess. Oh and a stubby (size of the bottle) Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Tasty!
I wanted to check out the beach, so I tore off my shoes and we walked down. There was a huge tree growing just by the edge of the grass all the way out to the water. Green ants crawling... already-eaten iridescent-inside oysters stuck to a log on the ground... funny cocoon-like spider webs in the tree crevices... and us. We walked a bit, the sand was actually very small stones, crunching nicely below our feet. Then we found a coconut, yahoo! (Okay, so there were a lot of them, since the coconut palms were everywhere, but I was still excited.) I wanted to open it... but where? Then Peter, the N. Queensland native brought the coconut over to a spiky mangrove root that was popping out of the sand. He husked that thing like he'd been doing it for years... oh yeah, he has! Then we grabbed our newly husked nut and head back to the car. We would drink the juice later. While in Cardwell we also arranged the plans for our ferry ride to Hinchinbrook island the following week, for the hiking trip.
Following the Bruce Highway, we pulled off at the Murdering Point Winery - and the story behind the name? As found on the winery website:
'The name Murdering Point originates from a shipwreck that occurred on inshore King Reef only a few hundred metres from the coast of Kurrimine Beach in 1878, “The Golden Era” – the gold rush days of Northern Australia. King Reef was the undoing of a number of sailing ships that foolishly tried to use a difficult passage through the reef to the beach.
'The ship, the “Riser”, sailing North and having previously stopped at Cardwell, ran aground on the King Reef and was being broken up by heavy seas. The shipwrecked victims gathered scant provisions and came ashore in the ship’s dingy, landing on a sandy point at the northern end of Kurrimine Beach. There they made a temporary camp for the night but that evening they were attacked, murdered and dragged by the local aboriginals into the nearby sand dunes to be partially eaten. Some weeks later, after reports of a shipwreck on King Reef, the local constabulary from Cardwell arrived to investigate and found the remains of the bodies of the shipwrecked sailors and the signs of an aboriginal camp. This investigating party, who tracked down the group involved, is attributed with naming the coastal protrusion, Murdering Point.'
While at the winery we endured an extremely arduous wine tasting of all the delicious wines - all derived from tropical fruits: WHITES - Panama Gold (mango), Pinnacle (passion fruit), Romance (lychee), Misty Gem (lemon aspen). REDS - Red Emperor (Davidson plum), Supherb (jaboticaba, ginger, ginseng). PORTS - The Point (mulberry, citrus, plum) and Black Devil (black sapote). All very delicious and unique... so we were convinced to buy a 'few' bottles to bring to Peter's family and for ourselves as well.
On we drove...to Innisfail, the town where Peter grew up to age 12. I saw his old house on Lower Hicky St, where he had his first bike accident on Carmel hill and his primary (elementary) school. A small, sleepy town full of young men with loud suped up cars who drive too fast through the city streets.
Lastly, we found Cairns, which is similar to Townsville, only a bit bigger and more modern. We found a reasonable room at a little hotel owned by a sweet couple from Madrid, Spain. The woman mentioned salsa dancing that night at the casino, so can you guess what I wanted to do??? We headed to the Esplanade (the road along the coast) and had a yummy Indian dinner at Spicy Bite. Then onto the casino...the band played two sets and we danced a few songs. There was a talent show too! Only one of the four couples was any good, or so I thought, but they all made it onto the next week's competition. It was entertaining :) I could have danced all night...
02 September 2007
townsville - day 8 - ROAD TRIP!
DAY 8 - 29 Aug
Today we hired (rented) a Mitsubishi Colt from Thrifty and hit the road! We drove North on Australia Hwy 1 - the Bruce Hwy - passing tons of sugarcane fields. We turned off onto a windy road up the mountain towards the rainforest, stopping only for photos with a Termite mound (almost as tall as me!) and for cattle. They were everywhere - in the road, off the road - and very skinny. Almost malnourished looking!
As we drove on, we entered the Wet Tropics area of North Queensland. Our main stop today was Girringun National Park, just South of Ingham, to see Wallaman Falls (an 800 ft waterfall!). Upon arrival we set up the tent and went for a bushwalk (hike) down Bangurru Trail (I think that was the name). It was then that I saw my first wild wallaby!!! And she had a joey! It was even sticking its head out to say "Hi Sarah, welcome to Australia!" :) It's all so exciting...
After the bushwalk we set up the camp stove, the Whisperlite Internationale, and cooked up some Continental Thai Lime Chili Rice. Yum. By now it was getting dark and we heard a ruffle in the grass below the picnic table. It was a Bettong! A big mousey, opossum-like creature who was trying to get a free snack! haha So cute. Now after dinner is where we got lucky... We cleaned up the dishes and ourselves for bed. As soon as we got in the tent to settle in - yep, it POURED! It rained for hours... and hours...
I woke up to what I thought was morning light, but in fact it was the full moon shining bright! I visited the toilet and got freaked out when I heard the door creak on my way in - haha - just that old fear of the dark sneaking back in from childhood :) I walked around and stared at the moon for a bit before getting back in the tent, just in case it rained again. It had sure cooled off a lot, brrr. I wasn't ready to go back to sleep so I did some crossword puzzles... and then eventually turned in like Snoozin' Susan.
Wildlife seen:
- Strangler Figs
- Birds' nest ferns
- Basket ferns
- trees with large Buttress roots
- Lawyer vines aka Wait-a-whiles (a spindly, sharp vine that will 'catch' you if you get too close)
- Wallaby!!!! and her Joey!!!
- Bettong
Today we hired (rented) a Mitsubishi Colt from Thrifty and hit the road! We drove North on Australia Hwy 1 - the Bruce Hwy - passing tons of sugarcane fields. We turned off onto a windy road up the mountain towards the rainforest, stopping only for photos with a Termite mound (almost as tall as me!) and for cattle. They were everywhere - in the road, off the road - and very skinny. Almost malnourished looking!
As we drove on, we entered the Wet Tropics area of North Queensland. Our main stop today was Girringun National Park, just South of Ingham, to see Wallaman Falls (an 800 ft waterfall!). Upon arrival we set up the tent and went for a bushwalk (hike) down Bangurru Trail (I think that was the name). It was then that I saw my first wild wallaby!!! And she had a joey! It was even sticking its head out to say "Hi Sarah, welcome to Australia!" :) It's all so exciting...
After the bushwalk we set up the camp stove, the Whisperlite Internationale, and cooked up some Continental Thai Lime Chili Rice. Yum. By now it was getting dark and we heard a ruffle in the grass below the picnic table. It was a Bettong! A big mousey, opossum-like creature who was trying to get a free snack! haha So cute. Now after dinner is where we got lucky... We cleaned up the dishes and ourselves for bed. As soon as we got in the tent to settle in - yep, it POURED! It rained for hours... and hours...
I woke up to what I thought was morning light, but in fact it was the full moon shining bright! I visited the toilet and got freaked out when I heard the door creak on my way in - haha - just that old fear of the dark sneaking back in from childhood :) I walked around and stared at the moon for a bit before getting back in the tent, just in case it rained again. It had sure cooled off a lot, brrr. I wasn't ready to go back to sleep so I did some crossword puzzles... and then eventually turned in like Snoozin' Susan.
Wildlife seen:
- Strangler Figs
- Birds' nest ferns
- Basket ferns
- trees with large Buttress roots
- Lawyer vines aka Wait-a-whiles (a spindly, sharp vine that will 'catch' you if you get too close)
- Wallaby!!!! and her Joey!!!
- Bettong
townsville - day 7
DAY 7 - 28 Aug
Guess what today is? Day two of diving!!!
Woke up this morning and had breakfast of toast with avocado, tomato and balsamic vinegar with a cup of tea. Peter brought me to school again. Today's lesson consisted of the DVDs for chapters 4 and 5, with knowledge review quizzes. Same as before... Then in the pool we completed confined dives 3-5.
We received bad news today that our dive trip for Tues night to Fri was canceled due to high winds (high pressure coming from the South). It was up to 30 or 35 knots, a bit windy for the old tub we'd be sailing on. Because of this, we all had to reschedule. Ross needed to leave class early so he and his pals could go hiking for a few days before the Thurs-Sat dive trip that they signed up for. Peter and I will be diving from the 11th-14th Sept.
After the confined dives and rescheduling we had the final exam! It was damn easy, except for one or two questions that I couldn't remember the facts for. It was during this time that I had my lunch of fruit salad and rice crackers. Oh yeah and a bit of chocolate too :) A Tim Tam and a Mint Slice - both very yummy cookies.
Peter picked me up from school again and we head home. I was tired and hungry so I cooked up a Continental pasta alfredo and chowed down. Nikki came over and we three hung out staring at the red moon. Did you see it?! It was a beautiful lunar eclipse. The newspaper said that Queensland and the east coast of Australia were "in a prime location to observe this extraordinary astronomical event". So we broke out the wine for Nikki and I, beer for Peter, and set up shop outside. It was lovely.
The newspaper also went on to say:
"It's no wonder this harmless alignment of the Sun, Earth and Moon gripped ancient civilisations with fear. In February 1504, Christopher Columbus warned the Jamaicans that unless they supplied his crew with food, God would punish them. He knew a lunar eclipse was about to occur, so he invited the Jamaicans aboard his ship. He explained that as a mark of his intent, God would display a sign in the sky.
Then, right on cue, the Moon turned red. Filled with terror, the Jamaicans begged Columbus to intercede on their behalf. The eclipse ended and they gave the Spaniards provision."
What a slimy bugger, eh?
Guess what today is? Day two of diving!!!
Woke up this morning and had breakfast of toast with avocado, tomato and balsamic vinegar with a cup of tea. Peter brought me to school again. Today's lesson consisted of the DVDs for chapters 4 and 5, with knowledge review quizzes. Same as before... Then in the pool we completed confined dives 3-5.
We received bad news today that our dive trip for Tues night to Fri was canceled due to high winds (high pressure coming from the South). It was up to 30 or 35 knots, a bit windy for the old tub we'd be sailing on. Because of this, we all had to reschedule. Ross needed to leave class early so he and his pals could go hiking for a few days before the Thurs-Sat dive trip that they signed up for. Peter and I will be diving from the 11th-14th Sept.
After the confined dives and rescheduling we had the final exam! It was damn easy, except for one or two questions that I couldn't remember the facts for. It was during this time that I had my lunch of fruit salad and rice crackers. Oh yeah and a bit of chocolate too :) A Tim Tam and a Mint Slice - both very yummy cookies.
Peter picked me up from school again and we head home. I was tired and hungry so I cooked up a Continental pasta alfredo and chowed down. Nikki came over and we three hung out staring at the red moon. Did you see it?! It was a beautiful lunar eclipse. The newspaper said that Queensland and the east coast of Australia were "in a prime location to observe this extraordinary astronomical event". So we broke out the wine for Nikki and I, beer for Peter, and set up shop outside. It was lovely.
The newspaper also went on to say:
"It's no wonder this harmless alignment of the Sun, Earth and Moon gripped ancient civilisations with fear. In February 1504, Christopher Columbus warned the Jamaicans that unless they supplied his crew with food, God would punish them. He knew a lunar eclipse was about to occur, so he invited the Jamaicans aboard his ship. He explained that as a mark of his intent, God would display a sign in the sky.
Then, right on cue, the Moon turned red. Filled with terror, the Jamaicans begged Columbus to intercede on their behalf. The eclipse ended and they gave the Spaniards provision."
What a slimy bugger, eh?
townsville - day 6
DAY 6 - 27 Aug
Know what today is? MY FIRST DIVE LESSON!!!!
Woke up and had cereal with a banana. Peter dropped me off at school and I met Gregg, a Welsh dive instructor. He's just moved to Townsville with his wife who is a Neurologist. Lucky for him he got the fun job :) My instructor is Davide, from Rome. Gregg is training under Davide as an instructor for Pro Dive, as he's never taught with this company before. My only classmate was Ross, from Melbourne. He's up to the area for the week with two diving pals of his. We started class with ...
Oh wait, I remember what I spent time doing on Saturday and Sunday - STUDYING! We had to read the first three chapters (2/3 of the book!) before class today. Neither Ross nor I finished, we both got halfway through. I couldn't believe the amount of material. And I wasn't expecting the self-study. Anyway, we watched the DVDs of the first three chapters while Davide and Gregg got our gear ready. The DVDs were good, we completed quizzes (knowledge reviews) afterwards and all went over the answers. It's simple stuff, except for the physics stuff that I've never really liked... it was like being in Dr. Malik's lecture hall all over again!!!
So then we had a lunch break. Ross and I went to Woolworths to get some snacks for later. I only needed granola bars and juice, but ended up getting Doritos too since it's been a while :) heh I love snacks. We ate lunch nextdoor to Pro Dive at the backpacker's hostel, where Ross and his friends were staying. I had a huge sanger (sandwich) of chook (chicken), potato salad, tomato and sugar snap peas.
After lunch we changed into our swimmers and headed to the pool! We tackled the wetsuits and setting up the gear (tank, BCD, regulator, etc) and then putting it on with help from our buddy (for me, it was Ross... my only classmate!). Next, we prepped and put on snorkels and fins, then learned how to properly jump into the water. It was cold! My wetsuit was a bit big and let the cold water run through it too easily for my liking. So we did our first two confined dives today and learned the basics. Pretty cool!
Peter picked me up from school today. We had to run a few errands before heading home. Dinner tonight was beef curry, basmati rice, tomatoes, cucumber yogurt, two different lime thingys (totally gross) and Pavlova for dessert, YUM-O! I was totally exhausted from today's learning and diving, so I had a two hour nap after dinner! Then I woke up and had to study some more... chapters 4 and 5. Needless to say I was up late trying to get it all done...
An exhausting and fun-filled day! :)
Know what today is? MY FIRST DIVE LESSON!!!!
Woke up and had cereal with a banana. Peter dropped me off at school and I met Gregg, a Welsh dive instructor. He's just moved to Townsville with his wife who is a Neurologist. Lucky for him he got the fun job :) My instructor is Davide, from Rome. Gregg is training under Davide as an instructor for Pro Dive, as he's never taught with this company before. My only classmate was Ross, from Melbourne. He's up to the area for the week with two diving pals of his. We started class with ...
Oh wait, I remember what I spent time doing on Saturday and Sunday - STUDYING! We had to read the first three chapters (2/3 of the book!) before class today. Neither Ross nor I finished, we both got halfway through. I couldn't believe the amount of material. And I wasn't expecting the self-study. Anyway, we watched the DVDs of the first three chapters while Davide and Gregg got our gear ready. The DVDs were good, we completed quizzes (knowledge reviews) afterwards and all went over the answers. It's simple stuff, except for the physics stuff that I've never really liked... it was like being in Dr. Malik's lecture hall all over again!!!
So then we had a lunch break. Ross and I went to Woolworths to get some snacks for later. I only needed granola bars and juice, but ended up getting Doritos too since it's been a while :) heh I love snacks. We ate lunch nextdoor to Pro Dive at the backpacker's hostel, where Ross and his friends were staying. I had a huge sanger (sandwich) of chook (chicken), potato salad, tomato and sugar snap peas.
After lunch we changed into our swimmers and headed to the pool! We tackled the wetsuits and setting up the gear (tank, BCD, regulator, etc) and then putting it on with help from our buddy (for me, it was Ross... my only classmate!). Next, we prepped and put on snorkels and fins, then learned how to properly jump into the water. It was cold! My wetsuit was a bit big and let the cold water run through it too easily for my liking. So we did our first two confined dives today and learned the basics. Pretty cool!
Peter picked me up from school today. We had to run a few errands before heading home. Dinner tonight was beef curry, basmati rice, tomatoes, cucumber yogurt, two different lime thingys (totally gross) and Pavlova for dessert, YUM-O! I was totally exhausted from today's learning and diving, so I had a two hour nap after dinner! Then I woke up and had to study some more... chapters 4 and 5. Needless to say I was up late trying to get it all done...
An exhausting and fun-filled day! :)
townsville - day 5
DAY 5 - 26 Aug
Sunday... another relaxing day. Just getting ready for my dive week. Class starts tomorrow!!!! I honestly don't remember much about the early parts of today.
Tonight we went to the Civic Theatre for some live music! Performers: James Morrison (not to be confused with Jim Morrison of the Doors!), the Barrier Reef orchestra conducted by Sean O'Boyle, Townsville Brass, the Band of the First Battalion RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) and guest vocalist Emma Pask. These guys were amazing! James Morrison took the show to a whole new level - he is a middle-aged man who has played with jazz greats like Dizzie Gillespie, B.B. King and Wynton Marsalis. He is multi-talented with the trombone, fugelhorn, euphonium, tuba, sax, piano and trumpet... not to mention a GREAT sense of humor! Okay, okay, I am not selling him, but it was a great night had by all!!!
And lucky for me it wasn't a school night, so I got to stay up late :)
Sunday... another relaxing day. Just getting ready for my dive week. Class starts tomorrow!!!! I honestly don't remember much about the early parts of today.
Tonight we went to the Civic Theatre for some live music! Performers: James Morrison (not to be confused with Jim Morrison of the Doors!), the Barrier Reef orchestra conducted by Sean O'Boyle, Townsville Brass, the Band of the First Battalion RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) and guest vocalist Emma Pask. These guys were amazing! James Morrison took the show to a whole new level - he is a middle-aged man who has played with jazz greats like Dizzie Gillespie, B.B. King and Wynton Marsalis. He is multi-talented with the trombone, fugelhorn, euphonium, tuba, sax, piano and trumpet... not to mention a GREAT sense of humor! Okay, okay, I am not selling him, but it was a great night had by all!!!
And lucky for me it wasn't a school night, so I got to stay up late :)
townsville - day 4
DAY 4 - 25 Aug
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEENA!!! I love you girl! :) xoxo
Woke up this morning to a cereal and tea brekky. Skipped the shower, it's Saturday! Went to Stockland's shopping center (on the corner of Nathan St and Ross River Rd) with Peter. We've plans to go to the races tonight! So I need a dress... As soon as we went inside we found a cute dress shop. Some items were on sale right up front, so I checked 'em out... and found a winner! A cute black, white and red lightweight dress for $35. There were some other gorgeous dresses in the store for much more money, but I wasn't on a shopping spree and need to save room in my pack for later on in the trip when I get other "stuff". We got hungry and headed to Brumby's Bakery and I tasted my very first Australian meat pies! We shared a cottage pie and a Cornish pastie. (You would think to say "pay-stee" but these Ozzies say "pah-stee") Just linguistics...
On the drive home we ended up at a red light next to one of Nikki's friends. She kindly informed us of the equine virus outbreak and that the races had been canceled but the partying (drinking) was to go on. We got home and all decided that it wasn't worth it to go and get pissed (drunk) if there weren't any races happening. (Not that I was planning on drinking much, but these Ozzies can sure throw 'em back!)
Me, Peter, Honor, Nikki and Kevin ended up going to downtown Townsville for dinner. Almost all of the restaurants were chukka (full), so we put our name in at the Australian Hotel and headed to another bar for a starter drink. I wasn't drinking so I just stood there and stared off into space... Dinner was yummy - I had a veggie thingy with salad and chips (fries). I'm starting to get used to how fries are called chips here. Oh and ketchup, it's called tomato sauce. And the tomato sauce that we use on pasta? Called spaghetti sauce. And marinara sauce, to Peter and Nikki it means seafood - so pasta with marinara sauce should have seafood on top! Funny, eh?
Again, linguistics...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEENA!!! I love you girl! :) xoxo
Woke up this morning to a cereal and tea brekky. Skipped the shower, it's Saturday! Went to Stockland's shopping center (on the corner of Nathan St and Ross River Rd) with Peter. We've plans to go to the races tonight! So I need a dress... As soon as we went inside we found a cute dress shop. Some items were on sale right up front, so I checked 'em out... and found a winner! A cute black, white and red lightweight dress for $35. There were some other gorgeous dresses in the store for much more money, but I wasn't on a shopping spree and need to save room in my pack for later on in the trip when I get other "stuff". We got hungry and headed to Brumby's Bakery and I tasted my very first Australian meat pies! We shared a cottage pie and a Cornish pastie. (You would think to say "pay-stee" but these Ozzies say "pah-stee") Just linguistics...
On the drive home we ended up at a red light next to one of Nikki's friends. She kindly informed us of the equine virus outbreak and that the races had been canceled but the partying (drinking) was to go on. We got home and all decided that it wasn't worth it to go and get pissed (drunk) if there weren't any races happening. (Not that I was planning on drinking much, but these Ozzies can sure throw 'em back!)
Me, Peter, Honor, Nikki and Kevin ended up going to downtown Townsville for dinner. Almost all of the restaurants were chukka (full), so we put our name in at the Australian Hotel and headed to another bar for a starter drink. I wasn't drinking so I just stood there and stared off into space... Dinner was yummy - I had a veggie thingy with salad and chips (fries). I'm starting to get used to how fries are called chips here. Oh and ketchup, it's called tomato sauce. And the tomato sauce that we use on pasta? Called spaghetti sauce. And marinara sauce, to Peter and Nikki it means seafood - so pasta with marinara sauce should have seafood on top! Funny, eh?
Again, linguistics...
01 September 2007
townsville - day 3
DAY 3 - 24 Aug
Woke up 8:30 today, had breakfast with P: eggs with bacon on toast. The bacon here is Emailed a bit. Showered and then off to the Billabong Sanctuary with P and Honor. What a great place! It's a bit like the American petting-zoo, but with much cooler animals! We saw everything and got to touch many... I volunteered to pull an Amethystine water python out of a canvas bag in front of the crowd. It was black with a yellow underside, not to be confused with the yellow-bellied python, because there is no such thing. haha I also got to hold a koala, Humphrey, and we got our pic taken with him. Koalas are SO SOFT!!!!!! I love them, there was another one we got to pet too and it was so gentle and sweet. Apparently they are quite dumb - with a walnut-sized brain, they only do three things in life: eat, sleep and sit in trees. There were multiple feedings for the crowd to see: for the Salties (saltwater crocodiles - the most dangerous), Freshies (freshwater crocs - harmless), Dingoes. You'll see the full list of creatures below...
After the sanctuary I visited Dr. Iosef for my dive medical exam. I passed, yahoo! The best part was when he made me stand with one foot in front of the other for a whole minute... thought I was going to fall over! But he did reprimand me for not seeing a doc for my post-nasal drip :)
I can't remember what we had for dinner or did for the rest of the night, but then again it was Friday. It's just an old routine - come home from work on Friday after a 40 hr work week and transform into a puddle of blob without a brain. It's the best way to relax, turning into blob....
Wildlife seen:
- Pythons (Black headed, Amethystine water python, Olive)
- Wide-finned fresh water eel
- Eastern grey kangaroo (I fed them with my hands and pet them all over, SO SOFT!)
- Emus (even one with a lopsided beak, haha)
- Magpies
- Koalas!!!! (an Aboriginal word meaning 'no water')
- Dingoes
- Crocodiles (saltwater and freshwater)
- Cockatoos (Sulfer crested, Pink, Galah)
- Red legged Pademelon
- Pigeons (white headed, Torresian)
- Yarraba (Southern Cassowary)
- Bush stone curlew
- Swans (black and mute)
- Pied (Magpie) Goose
- Plumed 'Whistling' ducks
- Wedge tailed eagles (gorgeous creatures!!!! and they just sit around on the ground with their wings spread open... not sure why?)
- Australian brush turkey
- Dusky Gallinule
- Masked owl
- Gliding squirrels
...there were many more, but I could have been there for a few days just writing all the names down, nevermind actually looking at them!
Woke up 8:30 today, had breakfast with P: eggs with bacon on toast. The bacon here is Emailed a bit. Showered and then off to the Billabong Sanctuary with P and Honor. What a great place! It's a bit like the American petting-zoo, but with much cooler animals! We saw everything and got to touch many... I volunteered to pull an Amethystine water python out of a canvas bag in front of the crowd. It was black with a yellow underside, not to be confused with the yellow-bellied python, because there is no such thing. haha I also got to hold a koala, Humphrey, and we got our pic taken with him. Koalas are SO SOFT!!!!!! I love them, there was another one we got to pet too and it was so gentle and sweet. Apparently they are quite dumb - with a walnut-sized brain, they only do three things in life: eat, sleep and sit in trees. There were multiple feedings for the crowd to see: for the Salties (saltwater crocodiles - the most dangerous), Freshies (freshwater crocs - harmless), Dingoes. You'll see the full list of creatures below...
After the sanctuary I visited Dr. Iosef for my dive medical exam. I passed, yahoo! The best part was when he made me stand with one foot in front of the other for a whole minute... thought I was going to fall over! But he did reprimand me for not seeing a doc for my post-nasal drip :)
I can't remember what we had for dinner or did for the rest of the night, but then again it was Friday. It's just an old routine - come home from work on Friday after a 40 hr work week and transform into a puddle of blob without a brain. It's the best way to relax, turning into blob....
Wildlife seen:
- Pythons (Black headed, Amethystine water python, Olive)
- Wide-finned fresh water eel
- Eastern grey kangaroo (I fed them with my hands and pet them all over, SO SOFT!)
- Emus (even one with a lopsided beak, haha)
- Magpies
- Koalas!!!! (an Aboriginal word meaning 'no water')
- Dingoes
- Crocodiles (saltwater and freshwater)
- Cockatoos (Sulfer crested, Pink, Galah)
- Red legged Pademelon
- Pigeons (white headed, Torresian)
- Yarraba (Southern Cassowary)
- Bush stone curlew
- Swans (black and mute)
- Pied (Magpie) Goose
- Plumed 'Whistling' ducks
- Wedge tailed eagles (gorgeous creatures!!!! and they just sit around on the ground with their wings spread open... not sure why?)
- Australian brush turkey
- Dusky Gallinule
- Masked owl
- Gliding squirrels
...there were many more, but I could have been there for a few days just writing all the names down, nevermind actually looking at them!
townsville - day 2
DAY 2 - 23 Aug
Woke up 7:30 today, had tea and cereal for breakfast. Wrote in my journal a bit. Had morning smoko (snack) of toasted with avocado, tomato and balsamic vinegar. Showered, hit The Strand with P and wandered around a bit. Then lunch: sandwich of spicy salami, Jarlsberg chz, sundried tom, artichoke hearts and fresh tomato on a hard roll. Next we hit the Reef HQ aquarium for two hours - I had to see what animals I'm going to encounter out there on the reef! Afternoon smoko of a banana and Orange-mango flavored sparkly mineral water. P & I walked around downtown for a while to check things out and take photos. It looks as though the city is trying to attract residents, they are building new condos and apts all over the place, esp near the water. In the evening we went to Nikki's house for snacks and drinks. Three of her friends were there, including Kevin the guy she is dating (it was the family's first time meeting him). Everyone had a good amount of wine (I was having water that night) and we got around to telling a funny story - the kind where someone starts and then the next person adds more to the story, etc, going around the circle. This is what we came up with:
"The other day I was walking through the rainforest and I saw an opossum. It went "Aahh!" so I went "Aahh!" and the strangler fig got me and I died. Then I said "Holy crap!" and when I woke up I was looking face-to-face with a shark. And I realized that St. Peter had brought me back to earth. So I decided to have a glass of wine. But one wasn't enough so I had another. Then I had 2 bottles (snort). And then 6 bottles (snort). Then I started running out of the rainforest and I realized that I was running on the wrong side of the street, but I was in Australia and was actually on the right side of the street! Then I saw a sign that said "Skippy" and it's eyes were HUGE and it said "Aahh!" because a semi was coming at it. So then I hopped on its back and rode it. But then I got cold so I went up front and jumped in its pouch to warm up."
NOTE TO READERS: one of Nikki's friends, Kim, she snorts a lot when she laughs, hence the snorts added to the story - the wine was still being consumed and the laughing was getting more intense! - and the colors are the different people, if you didn't already get that, and a few dropped out at the end :)
Wildlife spotted:
(in the wild)
- Silver gulls
- Masked lapwing plovers
- Magpie larks aka PeeWee larks b/c of their 'Pee-o-wit' song
- Laughing Kookaburras
- House Sparrows
- Australian Brush Turkeys.
(in the aquarium)
- Moray eels (Starry, Yellow margin, Zebra)
- Angelfish
- Barramundi Cod
- Trout (Coronation, Bar-cheeked Coral)
- Starfish (Crown of thorns &...)
- Sea cucumbers (Beachball, Prickly red, Burnt sausage &...)
- Coralfish (Beaked &...)
- Fire dartfish
- Flashlight fish (lives in comeplete dark and communicate by blinking their "flashlights" that are located below their eyes)
- Shrimp
- Pineapple fish (has bioluminescent bacteria that live below its eyes, they glow!)
- Nautilus (only 2 species left in the world, life span ~16 yrs, taking 5-10 yrs to mature, lay ~12 eggs per yr, taking 14 months to hatch)
- Redtooth trigger fish
- Moorish Idol
- Royal Dottyback
- Wrasse (Lunar, Striped cleaner &...)
- Sea Urchin (mouth is called 'Aristotle's lantern' on one of them)
- Ray (Blue spotted, Giant shovelnose)
- Razorfish (these guys float upside-side vertically in the water and move up and down all day!)
- Giant trevally
- Sea snakes (Hardwick's, Olive &...) VENOMOUS
- Red firefish VENOMOUS
- Estuarine stonefish (most venomous fish in the world!) VENOMOUS
- Scorpionfish (blends in with light-colored coral and sand on the ocean bottom) VENOMOUS
...of course there are many more, but these were some of the most beautiful and dangerous that I could find the names for. I left out the sharks and green sea turtles. I'll be seeing much more once I'm down there...
Woke up 7:30 today, had tea and cereal for breakfast. Wrote in my journal a bit. Had morning smoko (snack) of toasted with avocado, tomato and balsamic vinegar. Showered, hit The Strand with P and wandered around a bit. Then lunch: sandwich of spicy salami, Jarlsberg chz, sundried tom, artichoke hearts and fresh tomato on a hard roll. Next we hit the Reef HQ aquarium for two hours - I had to see what animals I'm going to encounter out there on the reef! Afternoon smoko of a banana and Orange-mango flavored sparkly mineral water. P & I walked around downtown for a while to check things out and take photos. It looks as though the city is trying to attract residents, they are building new condos and apts all over the place, esp near the water. In the evening we went to Nikki's house for snacks and drinks. Three of her friends were there, including Kevin the guy she is dating (it was the family's first time meeting him). Everyone had a good amount of wine (I was having water that night) and we got around to telling a funny story - the kind where someone starts and then the next person adds more to the story, etc, going around the circle. This is what we came up with:
"The other day I was walking through the rainforest and I saw an opossum. It went "Aahh!" so I went "Aahh!" and the strangler fig got me and I died. Then I said "Holy crap!" and when I woke up I was looking face-to-face with a shark. And I realized that St. Peter had brought me back to earth. So I decided to have a glass of wine. But one wasn't enough so I had another. Then I had 2 bottles (snort). And then 6 bottles (snort). Then I started running out of the rainforest and I realized that I was running on the wrong side of the street, but I was in Australia and was actually on the right side of the street! Then I saw a sign that said "Skippy" and it's eyes were HUGE and it said "Aahh!" because a semi was coming at it. So then I hopped on its back and rode it. But then I got cold so I went up front and jumped in its pouch to warm up."
NOTE TO READERS: one of Nikki's friends, Kim, she snorts a lot when she laughs, hence the snorts added to the story - the wine was still being consumed and the laughing was getting more intense! - and the colors are the different people, if you didn't already get that, and a few dropped out at the end :)
Wildlife spotted:
(in the wild)
- Silver gulls
- Masked lapwing plovers
- Magpie larks aka PeeWee larks b/c of their 'Pee-o-wit' song
- Laughing Kookaburras
- House Sparrows
- Australian Brush Turkeys.
(in the aquarium)
- Moray eels (Starry, Yellow margin, Zebra)
- Angelfish
- Barramundi Cod
- Trout (Coronation, Bar-cheeked Coral)
- Starfish (Crown of thorns &...)
- Sea cucumbers (Beachball, Prickly red, Burnt sausage &...)
- Coralfish (Beaked &...)
- Fire dartfish
- Flashlight fish (lives in comeplete dark and communicate by blinking their "flashlights" that are located below their eyes)
- Shrimp
- Pineapple fish (has bioluminescent bacteria that live below its eyes, they glow!)
- Nautilus (only 2 species left in the world, life span ~16 yrs, taking 5-10 yrs to mature, lay ~12 eggs per yr, taking 14 months to hatch)
- Redtooth trigger fish
- Moorish Idol
- Royal Dottyback
- Wrasse (Lunar, Striped cleaner &...)
- Sea Urchin (mouth is called 'Aristotle's lantern' on one of them)
- Ray (Blue spotted, Giant shovelnose)
- Razorfish (these guys float upside-side vertically in the water and move up and down all day!)
- Giant trevally
- Sea snakes (Hardwick's, Olive &...) VENOMOUS
- Red firefish VENOMOUS
- Estuarine stonefish (most venomous fish in the world!) VENOMOUS
- Scorpionfish (blends in with light-colored coral and sand on the ocean bottom) VENOMOUS
...of course there are many more, but these were some of the most beautiful and dangerous that I could find the names for. I left out the sharks and green sea turtles. I'll be seeing much more once I'm down there...
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