Normally
in our updates about Thailand we try to include tidbits about Thai culture,
observations we had about life in general, and other cultural exchange stuff.
This update is going to be different. To be honest, in this update we intend
to simply gloat about how wonderful our trip to Australia was. That was our
boat out there, and we were the only ones on this island in the midst of tropical
weather, arid vegetation like pine trees and colorful lichen, and parts of the
great barrier reef to snorkel. Denny took this picture in the Whitsunday Islands,
in Queensland.We decided that since we are already half way around the globe in Thailand, we'd just head a bit further (a lot further in fact) and go see Australia. We had the good fortune of being able to convince Denny's parents that they wanted to visit Australia too, so we could piggy back our trip with theirs. Given that Australia is almost as big as the US, and we had only 11 days there, we can't claim to have seen it all, but we did have fun.
We flew in and out of Sydney, and were lucky enough to be able to stay at the apartment of our friend Bettina, a former Peace Corps Volunteer from Nepal who is now working in Sydney. Unfortunately, when we passed through, she was visiting family in the US, but she gave us directions and graciously offered her apartment. She directed us to Sydney's urban train system, which was quite thorough, if a bit expensive (Australia may seem cheap if you're coming from the States, but it was
pretty
spendy for us). We spent most of 2 days seeing Sydney via the trains, public
ferries, and on foot. The main harbor area, near the opera house, has some restored
wharfs and museums for the history buffs, good restaurants, shopping, and pleasant
botanical gardens for those seeking a bit of peace. One of the first differences
that we noticed about Australia (aside from the money and the fact that the
toilet water really does swirl around the other way south of the equator) was
that the birds were different. The Australian version of the pigeon seems to
be the cockatoo. They were everywhere: in downtown Sydney, flying around our
friend's apartment, zipping around our boat as we cruised the Whitsunday Islands,
and everywhere in between. Sure, sometimes you would see gulls or western pigeons,
but the cockatoos were by far the most common and certainly the loudest. Squawkkk!After making obligatory visits to the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge, we flew north up to Cairns where we met up with Denny's parents for the rest of our trip. They had been traveling in New Zealand and Australia for almost a month, by the time we came along. They had arranged much of their trip in advance, so the day after we arrived in Cairns we were off on a tour. It was an all day affair starting with a train ride up a beautiful canyon, then we got to hop off at the end of the line, and go check out the bird sanctuary (very cool with lots of colorful birds that would fly around a land on your shoulder, or try to chew on your camera) and wildlife park. At the park you
had
the chance to hold a koala and feed the kangaroos. Lisa says, "The little
koala was sooo cute and fuzzy, but boy were his claws sharp!" We rode a
tram back down the hill over the top of a rain forest, and once back near sea
level we spent the afternoon at a Aboriginal Cultural center watching their
cultural performances, listening to the haunting sounds of the didgeridoo (a
musical instrument made from a hollowed out tree trunk), and throwing boomerangs.
The Aboriginal Center, and the general focus on things aboriginal in Australia, was interesting. In a way, the center reminded us of the Riverboat Discovery: the canned speeches and performances were geared towards tourists and it was tough to get an idea of what the real situation is. The Aborigines were persecuted to a much higher degree, and much more recently, than natives in the US. It would appear that the pendulum in Australia has now swung the other way, and Aboriginal art, etc. is now "in." It is for sale everywhere, but the only aboriginals that we saw (at the center) seemed rather bored and uninterested in things aboriginal which they were presenting. However, the actual information they presented was interesting, especially the demonstration of fire-building rubbing two sticks together. It would've taken us a week to get a fire that way and then only if we tied one of the sticks to a lightning rod and put the other in a gas can. Perhaps we'll have to check out the "real story" on our next trip to Australia.
The next day we drove all day going from Cairns to Arlie Beach - our cast off point for cruising the Whitsunday Islands. Denny's parents had arranged to rent a catamaran from one of the many companies around the Whitsunday Islands where you could rent a boat (considered a "bareboat" as there is no crew except yourselves) and explore the islands at your own pace. Prior to leaving land, Denny, having spotted a "Subway" restaurant in Cairns, had his mind set on having a sandwich (Subway style sandwiches are among the many things we cannot find in Thailand). We did not take time to stop in the one in Cairns, and then we drove past another on the way but didn't stop. Denny was beginning to despair until he looked in the Arlie Beach phone book, and there was a SUBWAY!!! So, before we went to get onto the boat, Denny dragged the family off to pick up his lunch, then off to pick up the boat.
The
catamaran was roomy and comfortable, and stocked by the company with food, snorkel
gear, and pretty much everything we needed. So we cruised around the Whitsunday
Islands for 5 days, snorkeling and generally having a good time. The coral was
fantastic, as the Whitsundays are considered part of the Great Barrier Reef
system. There were lots of fish and even a few manta rays. At one point we also
saw a school of dolphins. (School? Pod? Flock? Pack? Who's a biologist that
can tell us the correct term?) Denny enjoyed jumping off the top deck of the
boat and crashing into the water with a big kerplunk. Later that day Lisa read
in the guidebook, "Making loud splashes is not recommended as it can attract
sharks." Jaws never appeared.Interesting tie back to Thailand - everywhere we went there were Thai restaurants, though we never tried one because we figured we get enough at home. In Sydney not only were there Thai restaurants, but there were enough Thai people on the street that our ears frequently perked up at the sound of people chatting in Thai (other languages could be heard as well, but they just sound like gibberish to our untrained ears).
Our parting shot is taken from the end of a 6 kilometer long uninhabited, undeveloped, beautiful white silica sand beach that changed colors with the tide. (Yes the beach really did look like that, no we did not doctor the photo.) Enjoy the view.
Merry Christmas.
Denny & Lisa
