Australia - Reef & Red Rocks

We are going back down under! The plan is to visit and hike in national parks, learn about aboriginal culture and rock art at Uluru/Ayers Rock and in the Northern Territory, and to scuba and snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef! En savoir plus

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Début du voyage
24 juillet 2019
Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Blue Mountains
24 juillet 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
After flying for over 14 hours to Sydney, we weren’t sure if we were crazy to go straight onto a 2-hour train ride for a day and a half of hiking in the Blue Mountains. Turns out it was the perfect plan. We had gotten some sleep on the flight and upon arriving in the crisp clear air of this World Heritage-designated area we were refreshed!

The topography of the Blue Mountains is kind of like the Grand Canyon with a forested valley below. The dramatically featured sandstone walls and rock formations were also reminiscent of the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde or the red-rock areas in Utah. The ‘blue’ comes from the sunlight refracting through the oils of the eucalyptus forest.

We hiked up and down steps carved in the rock, past small cascades and larger waterfalls (not Oregon-sized waterfalls), and got our breath back as we traversed the relatively level paths on the rim of the valley.

Our B&B for the night is perched at the edge of the escarpment, with gorgeous sunrise-colored cliffs on view upon waking.
The bird-song was heavenly, although actual bird sightings were somewhat elusive. We did see many Crested Cockatoos and some red and green ‘Crimson Rosella’ birds.

Speaking of red and green, it’s “Christmas in July” here. Holiday songs, Christmas tres and Noel feasts are on the menu.En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Sydney with Opera
26 juillet 2019, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
After our trip to the mountains, we got the train back to Sydney in good time to spruce up for an evening at the opera. We had booked tickets for the Sydney Opera House production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. The location was an easy stroll from our hotel near the Sydney Harbour, so we got to take in the evening views of the iconic structure and Harbour Bridge. As for the opera, the staging was minimalist, yet very effective, the costumes were a combination of period and contemporary, and of course the arias and orchestra were outstanding.

The next day, our only full day in Sydney, we wandered around the harbor area, taking in a street market and historic buildings. A tip from Lonely Planet was to climb the observation tower at the cruise terminal ‘for a killer view.’ They got that right! In the afternoon we took a 2-hour narrated cruise around the harbor. Hey, Finding Nemo fans, our guide pointed out 42 Wallaby Way!En savoir plus
Ha! I'm so glad to hear that 42 Wallaby Way actually exists!
29/07/2019Répondre
That's from me, Erin!
29/07/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Melbourne to Great Ocean Road
27 juillet 2019, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
Today we joined a bus tour along the Great Ocean Road. The coastal route was built in the 1920s as a project to employ soldiers returned from World War I. With a length of 150 miles, it is considered the largest war memorial in the world, dedicated to Australian soldiers killed during the war.

The sights along the way were pretty, but the 8-hour drive out (with stops for lunch and other sightseeing) was a bit tiring. It stayed chilly and cloudy all day, as you can see from our photos. Still, we got to see a couple of koalas munching in the eucalyptus. We learned later that they sleep for up to 20 hours a day (probably not continuously!), so we may have been lucky to see them in action.

We also climbed up the Cape Otway Lighthouse, the oldest standing lighthouse in Australia. It is fully automated—no lighthouse keepers, with solar-powered lights (only six 35-watt bulbs). The turnaround point was at The Twelve Apostles, a group of limestone pillars out in the Tasman Sea.En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Penguin viewing at Phillip Island
28 juillet 2019, Australie ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
We started day two in Melbourne with a cafe breakfast in a nearby ‘laneway’ — pedestrian-only dining and shopping passages with a European feel. We jostled for table space with the enthusiastic crowd who had just finished a half-marathon run past our apartment.

At noon we set off with a small group tour to Phillip Island, about 2 hours south of Melbourne. On the way, we stopped at the Brighton Beach bathing boxes—brightly painted wooden beach huts built in the early 1900s. You can buy one for $300K, but you can’t live in it. They are just for day use. See the sunshine? Much warmer than yesterday’s trip!

Next, we arrived at a conservation sanctuary focusing on Australian wildlife. We sat in on a show & tell about a clever pink cockatoo, a barking owl (should have gotten a video for the sound!), a dingo and a couple of other birds. Wandering through ‘Wallaby Walk,’ we encountered kangaroos and wallabies wandering loose for feeding by the visitors. Cute!

Then it was on to the ‘Penguin Parade’ on Phillip Island, the nightly return of the Little penguins from the sea to their burrows. At dusk, when their airborne predators have gone, the penguins emerge from the sea in groups—safety in numbers—and waddle up the beach to the grassy hills farther up. We had a ranger with us for a couple of hours, and she was so informative and passionate about the penguins. Some burrows are close by, and some penguins have to waddle up to 2 km. They always nest within 40 meters of where their parents raised them.

Since most of this amazing spectacle took place after dark, we had to use some photos from the conservation center’s website. We got the shot of the lone penguin gathering nesting materials. The group photos were very representative of what we saw.En savoir plus
VoyageurWow! So special! The penguins look like they must be pretty small and adorable. - Erin
29/07/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Melbourne city
29 juillet 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
Today was pretty relaxed. Breakfast at yesterday’s laneway, then a walk along the riverbank to catch one of the free city center trams to Melbourne’s version of the London Eye. The skies were really clear for our half-hour viewing over the city and Docklands area.

Later, we caught the free tram to the Melbourne Museum to explore their First Peoples exhibit. We learned a bit about the history and culture of the Aboriginal people in the area around Melbourne. The history after European contact is, as we know, much like it was for the indigenous peoples of North America — introduced diseases, loss of land and resources, and removal to settlements/reservations.

Still, it seems the modern-day Aboriginal people are doing more to try to preserve their culture today, as we saw videos and stories of the making of bark canoes, sacred possum capes, and carved tools.

Tomorrow we leave the city areas and head to the Outback. A few impressions of our time here so far: it’s still winter in these parts (brrr!); the people have been very friendly and like to hear where we’re from; the cities are very tourist-friendly—clean, public restrooms are not scary, good signage and great transportation coverage.En savoir plus
Carol: Wow you've done a lot already. Great photos and posts!
29/07/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
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Uluru-Ayers Rock
31 juillet 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
Waiting for the Melbourne tram at dawn on Tuesday, we watched two hot air balloons lift off and soar over the city. An auspicious start for our 3-hour flight to the Outback to visit Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock). Located in a national park, the land has been a sacred site for the aboriginal people here (the Anangu), whose ancestry dates back at least 65,000 years.

We watched a documentary in the cultural center chronicling the 1985 ‘handback,’ when the Anangu were finally recognized by the government as the traditional owners of the land. This was a 20-year legal process, resulting in a collaboration between the indigenous people and the national park system. It was important to the Anangu that they be allowed to maintain their culture of careful stewardship of the land. There is evidence around us of controlled burns to allow revegetation to take place. Also, since their oral history and their creation stories are so rooted in specific sites here around Uluru, it was important the Anangu be able to pass along their traditions to the younger generation at those sites.

Uluru is a rocky outcrop that looks relatively smooth from a distance but is folded, pockmarked and interestingly weathered up close. We’ve spent hours observing it at sunrise, sunset and other times in between.

There are several other similar formations, including Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). Kata Tjuta is the only one accessible in the park—a few of the others we only see in the far distance.

While this is a desert, it supports much more plant life than we expected. Most of the ground is covered in yellow-white Spinifex grass. The trees are spindly and consist of desert oaks (pine needle-like leaves!) and many varieties of eucalyptus. The temperatures are what you would expect in the desert. When you’re in the sun you’re comfortably warm and when you’re in the shade it’s a bit too cool. The night sky has been clear and star-filled.En savoir plus
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Beautiful photo!
02/08/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Uluru and Kata Tjuta
2 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
For our second full day, we did not get up for the sunrise viewing with the hordes again, but we did take the 6.5 mile walk around the base of Uluru. It was a flat, easy walk, with changing views of the rock as we circled Uluru. It took us past the spot where tourists have been drawn to climb Uluru since the 1940s. This is something the Aboriginal people discourage, as it is the route their ancestors followed as part of their creation story. Still, a great number of people make the climb daily.

We’re heading out with our camping tour in the Outback for the next 5 days, and have run out of time to post more descriptions of our photos. We’ll catch you up later!En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Getting WayOutback
3 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
We met up with our WayOutback tour group yesterday afternoon, climbed aboard the 4-wheel drive bus and rode into the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. WayOutback had arranged for a talk and walk with an Aboriginal Anangu woman. Through an interpreter, she explained some of the art in a cave where men would teach boys to hunt. She demonstrated women’s and men’s tools, and talked about what women would find with their digging stick—witchetty grubs and various insects, great sources protein if the men’s hunt wasn’t fruitful. Their language is mesmerizing to listen to, and the interpreter (from New Zealand) was very knowledgeable. This was a special experience. No photos were allowed, unfortunately.

Later, after dark, some of us had booked tickets for Bruce Munro’s Field of Light display. 50,000 hand-blown color-changing lights on pedestals cover the equivalent of 7 football fields in the desert. It is a temporary installation, inspired by the Aboriginal dot paintings.

Our group of 16 is mixed in nationality —- French, German, Belgian, Australian, English, and we are the only Americans. Ages range from early 20s to a couple around our age, and one 12-year old. Everyone is friendly and cooperative with the plans. There is only one guide, so part of the experience is to help with food preparation, clean-up and firewood gathering. Adam is our Australian guide, and provides a wealth of commentary along the drives or hikes about the geology, astronomy and cultural history of the Outback and its people. It’s shaping up to be a great 5 days.

In the morning we were awoken from our platform tents (with cots and pillows!) at 5 a.m. for an early breakfast. We had a short drive ahead of us to catch the sunrise on Kata Tjuta, the other large rock formation in the park. Its cluster of misshapen domes catch the sunlight nicely. It’s mighty cold before the sun is up — low 30s!

By mid-morning, we set off on the 4.5 mile Valley of the Winds trail. This hike goes around one of the domes, which involves a lot of climbing up and down rocky paths, with rewarding views over the valley and close-up looks at cave paintings. Looking over the valley, Adam pointed out that we can see how Aboriginal dot painting came to be—the terrain was dotted with acacia shrubs and mounds of spinifex grass.

The afternoon consisted of a 3-hour drive to WayOutback’s private campsite near Watarrka (King’s Canyon) National Park.

Dinner was grilled kangaroo meat and veggies, as well as potatoes and homemade bread, both cooked in Dutch ovens over the campfire. The bread had the best crunchy crust, and kangaroo is hard to distinguish from ground beef.

That night, we bedded down in swags, which are like heavy canvas sleeping bags with a foam pad. You put your sleeping bag and pillow inside, zip up, and you’re snug as a bug in a rug! The desert nights are still very cold, but with a beanie hat and extra blanket we were toasty. The star-filled sky stretches to the horizon in any direction, with no city lights or buildings obstructing the view. The Milky Way has been clear and vast every night and we saw many shooting stars.En savoir plus
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VoyageurThese photos are giving me a good idea of what an incredible experience this must be! Looks fantastic and adventuresome. Love, Erin
13/08/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Watarrka (Kings Canyon) National Park
4 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
Another early start and a few hours drive got us into Watarrka (Kings Canyon) National Park for a 2-hour hike on the rim trail. First you have to climb up to the rim, some 100 meters of stone steps (heart attack hill). The canyon walls are striated, tilted, and amazingly smooth in some sections. There were more trees around here—desert plum, acacia, and of course eucalyptus. Up at the top we saw fossil evidence of the old seabed that covered this part of the Outback 350 million years ago. Kings Canyon reminded us of some of our favorite places in Utah and Arizona (but without the heat!) and it was just as special to us.

After our refreshing hike, we went to a picnic ground for lunch to grill some sausages and veggies for Australian-style quesadillas. All of the campgrounds and picnic areas have propane-fueled BBQs—with griddles. Then it was time to leave for the 4-hour drive to our next campsite—at least half of it on the dirt road called the Mereenie Loop. On the drive over we saw dingos, wild horses and a camel. Because kangaroos and wallabies are nocturnal, and rest in the shadows of trees or rocks in the daytime, we have missed out on spotting any in the wild so far. We did stop for a look at some tall termite mounds.

Back on pavement again, we visited Hermannsburg, established by the Lutherans as an Aboriginal mission in 1877. The land was handed over to traditional ownership in 1982, and the area is now World Heritage-listed. It is kind of like a reservation, but the Aboriginal people were invited to live there for support and education. Hermannsburg had a little store with supplies for locals and tourists alike, and local art for purchase—which we did!

We camped at another ‘reservation’ community called Wallace Rockhole. A rockhole is a water hole in a canyon or gorge. After another cooperatively prepared meal and campfire stories from Adam, we opted for the tents again instead of swags.En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Wallabies and Kangaroos! West MacDonnell
5 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
We got to sleep in until 6am (whoopee!), and had time for a hot breakfast of eggs, bacon and tomatoes all on the BBQ griddle, and toast from the well-equipped camp kitchen. Other mornings we have had cereal, fruit and coffee/tea. All of the kitchens have had French press coffee pots and electric kettles. Some have refrigerators and all have had good counter space for laying out food, and sinks for washing up.

A 90-minute drive got us to the West MacDonnell National Park. The ~100-mile long park runs along a huge red-rock ancient mountain range and contains three permanent waterholes. Our first stop was at Ormiston Gorge, one of those waterholes. The 2-hour hike took us around similar terrain to Kings Canyon, but with less climbing. Because of the availability of water here, they say this park is a refuge for plants, some found only here, and some palm-like trees dating to the time when this was a lush, tropical area (~350 million years ago).

It was here we saw our first wallabies in the wild! Three black-footed rock wallabies were perched high up on the cliff, probably preparing to settle for the day in a cave or tree shade. It took Adam to point them out to us, as we were occupied with admiring the scenery.

Next stop was to Glen Helen, where some people opted to swim, but we were content with soaking our feet in the icy water. The temperatures have been warming by 5 degrees or so each day, but still very comfortable for hiking in the sunshine (and potentially too cool in the shade).

After lunch, we visited the Ochre Pits in the park. Ochre had many uses, traditionally. Mixed with water or animal fat, it is the paint used for body decoration in ceremonies and cave art. It also has medicinal uses (colds or muscle aches), and preservative powers when made into a paste and wrapped around berries or tools to protect from termites.

Our last stop in the park was to Ellery Creek Big Hole. This was the most picturesque of the waterholes.

Then it was off on a dirt road for 1-2 hours, which is not that fun in a vehicle built to withstand the bumps and dust, but not necessarily built for comfort. However, it was along this road, as dusk was coming on, that we had our only sightings of kangaroos in the wild, so far. These were the Red Kangaroos, native to the Outback — the largest kangaroo. Hop, hop!En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Loy's Country: Six Generation Thinking
6 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
After another night in the swags observing the Milky Way, Southern Cross and shooting stars, we awoke at dawn to climb a nearby dune hill to take in the splendor of the desert on our last day in the Outback. Small animal tracks were imprinted in the sand from their overnight forays.

During breakfast clean-up, Loy, the traditional indigenous owner of the land we camped on, came by for a chat with us about her culture. Her family has lived on this land for 40,000 years, and they’ve dated some of the cave art on her ‘country’ (as they call their land) to 7-15,000 years old. Loy straddles two worlds, coming from European pioneer ancestors on one side and indigenous ancestors on the other. Growing up, she divided her time between the city and her family’s ancestral lands. She attended university, sometimes drives a 3-trailer hauling truck and spends as much time as she can on her ancestral lands. She is the designated spokesperson for her family clan in legal or government matters concerning their land.

As we sat around the morning campfire with Loy, we talked about modern day struggles of indigenous people and traditional ways in which they lived and managed ‘country.’ She says that her people consider six generations when making decisions about country — three in the past and three in the future. She talked about individuals’ totems — hers is the witchetty grub, which is also used in healing. Her family’s creation story involves the rainbow serpent, which formed the rivers and carved through mountains.

We had a walk around her land where Loy showed us plants traditionally (and still) used for food and medicine. She also took us to a cave with symbols depicting food to be found at the nearby waterhole.

Loy was really approachable and passionate about sharing knowledge about her people. Our time with her was definitely the high point of this trip!

Leaving the Outback and arriving in the town of Alice Springs, we said farewell to Adam and our fellow travelers.En savoir plus
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Wow, looks like a very interesting trip...looking forward to hear more details of it.
13/08/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Alice Springs
8 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
After showering off the red sand and laundering it from our clothing and shaking it out of our backpacks and shoes, we were more presentable for ‘the city.’ Alice Springs is a two-story town with a small central district.

In the morning we rented bikes and rode out to the Alice Springs Desert Park, not because we needed to see more desert, but because they have a nocturnal house. We were guided Around the house by an aboriginal ranger, and saw bilby and mala—both small burrowing marsupials. There were large stick insects (8-10 inches long), ghost bats, and thorny devil. Outside, we saw colorful birds and a few sleepy Red Kangaroos.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service has a museum and dispatch center here to serve remote populations all over the country. We visited and learned about its origins and current mission.

We stopped in a fabric shop and picked out some projects for when we get back home.

Later, we met up with some of our Outback travelers who were still in town for dinner.En savoir plus
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VoyageurI LOVE the fabrics! I'm glad you will bring some home. - Erin
15/08/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Daintree Rainforest
10 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
Yesterday we flew to the coast, and as soon as we got out of the plane, felt like our skin must be soaking up all the moisture in the air after a week in the desert. It’s not overly humid or warm at this time of year, though. Cairns is the launching point for many Great Barrier Reef tours, but for us, it was our meeting point with Nance and Sande for our next few weeks. We set off for a stay in the Daintree Rainforest for a few days.

The Daintree is the world’s oldest rainforest—older than the Amazon by 50 million years. It is also considered the most diverse in plant and animal life. We are lodging at Lync-Haven, a campground and motel with animal sanctuary. In the morning, we saw wallabies hopping about on the grass, and in the reception/cafe/shop we watched a python and other reptiles in boxes. Outdoors on the dining patio were a couple of red cockatoos that would squawk obnoxiously whenever a server went by with food.

Our first destination for the day was to the Daintree Discovery Centre, where we walked on aerial walkways in the forest canopy. They had a good audio tour to point out some of the plants and help us understand the rainforest. We saw blue Ulysses butterflies (photo courtesy of the signs in the center), a few birds and lots of stag-horn ferns and similar ferns attached to the high branches.

In the afternoon, we went zip lining in the rainforest with Jungle Surfing. They have a great setup — we sailed in pairs, relatively gently from platform to platform. At each stop, the guide would give us some information about the rainforest. We learned that the reason we aren’t seeing many flowers is because many of the trees and plants developed in the age before flowers developed, and don’t need flowers to reproduce.

On our drive back to Lync-Haven near dusk, we rode alongside a cassowary who came out of the woods and was just trotting down the road. Cassowary sightings are hit or miss, so we were thrilled to see them on our first day!En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Mossman Gorge in the Daintree
11 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
Today we took an Aboriginal-led walking tour of the Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest. Our guide , Jarrod, showed us some of their hunting tools—for example, the boomerang, which was not used for throwing, but more for striking and breaking an animal’s leg to disable it so it would be easier to catch with a spear. In more open lands, the returning boomerang might be used for knocking birds out of the sky. Jarrod, said it’s really very hard to be in the right place when the boomerang comes down.

He also showed us how red and yellow ochre was used, along with black paste from wood ash, would be used on the body as markings to identify you as members of clans on your mother and father’s sides.

After the tour, we hiked around the gorge area on our own and saw some of the strangler trees that Jarrod had showed us. They grow up around a tree and eventually strangle the life out of it—maybe over the course of 10-20 years. It was in the hollowed out trunks of the ‘host’ tree that Jarrod’s people would wrap their dead in the bark of the paperbark tree and bury them. Now, they aren’t permitted to do that. The rainforest is thick with vegetation, and a few birds were sighted, but no tree kangaroos, as we were hoping to find.

No ice cream stop today, but a nice dinner and some stargazing back at Lync-Haven for our last night in the Daintree Rainforest.En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Daintree River to the Coral Sea
12 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
This morning we took a river cruise on the Daintree River. The feature of this river trip is to see the crocodiles that live along the banks. We did see a couple in the water and some sleepy crocs on the banks among the mangrove trees. The bumps on the crocodiles’ backs help them regulate their temperature, and their excellent circulatory system allows them to cut off blood flow to a limb, for example, if it is hurt and threatening the life of the crocodile. They can also target blood flow to their stomach to help them digest.

Mangrove trees are interesting, too. They have four kinds of roots, some for support in the soft muddy banks and some for collecting nutrients. We liked the ‘snorkel roots’ that stick straight up out of the water. Living in potentially brackish water, but needing clear water, the mangrove can filter salts from the water, sending them to a ‘sacrificial’ leaf that turns yellow and falls off.

At 4pm it was time to meet Coral Expeditions in Cairns for our Great Barrier Reef tour. We boarded a 40-passenger catamaran-style ship, with fairly roomy cabins with large windows and ensuite bath and shower—like having a moving motel room. It will be nice not to have to pack and unpack for a week.

There are more Americans in this group of travelers than any of the other tours we’ve been on in Australia. There are nine certified divers (including us!) and another half dozen who will be getting dive instruction here on the ship. Everyone we’ve met so far has been friendly, and we’ve already made friends with some Kiwis. We sailed off for the evening under a spectacular sunset!En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Great Barrier Reef, Day 1
13 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
After sailing all night, we arrived in Cooktown, on the Cape York peninsula., still part of the wet tropics. Like the Daintree, slightly south of here, it is very lush. The terrain reminds us a bit of Kauai, with its steep, tree-covered mountains surrounded by water.

We got a little walking tour of Cooktown, where Captain Cook stopped to repair the “HM Bark Endeavour.” As good a navigator as Cook was, he underestimated the vastness of the reef and smashed a hole in his ship on the coral. Our trip leader, Dani, said that Cook’s maps are remarkably accurate, using much more rudimentary tools than now.

In the late afternoon, we arrived at Lizard Island, where we could snorkel from the beach. The water temperature is a bit cool, but the clarity is spectacular. We saw plenty of fish, many that we’ve seen in Hawaii (parrot fish, moorish idols, wrasse, etc.), but the amazing array of coral formations and the giant clams were something we have not experienced. The clams almost look like they have a cozy fleece blanket around their ‘lips.’ Each clam’s markings are different, like fingerprints

At sunset, we were taken back to the ship from the island in a 14-passenger glass bottom boat. Underwater photos are courtesy of Nance & Sande’s GoPro. The video of the nurse sharks was during a fish feed off the ship’s deck after dinner.En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Lizard Island & Ribbon Reef #9
14 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
The morning started early with a hike up to the summit of Lizard Island to Cook’s Lookout. Captain Cook climbed up here to get away from his broken ship troubles and to scout a way out of the Reef. He found a good way, but hadn’t brought navigation tools to mark the route. So he ended up missing his planned route out, once the ship was repaired, yet still slipped through safely elsewhere. The hike up was strenuous , but the views at the top and the emerging flowering plants were well worth it!

After a ‘second breakfast’ (like Hobbits!) the divers suited up and went out with the dive master, Robbie. Darryl was under the weather and sat out the dive, and Diane’s air tank valve sprung a leak after 10 minutes, ending her dive. There was still plenty of air, and we were in shallow water, so not a big concern. Diane switched to snorkeling , while Nance continued the dive with the other diver in our group.

Around lunchtime we set sail for another part of the Reef, called the Ribbon reefs. Darryl wanted more time to get over his cold, so Diane and Nance went with a family of 3 and dive master Robbie. Again, there were many coral formations to see, and some royal blue sea stars with long arms. We were down at around 35 feet for about half an hour. We felt like we were still working on our technique and getting used to the sensation of breathing underwater for extended periods.

Overall, temperatures have been pretty comfortable both day and night—probably in the low 70s—a little less wind would be nice. Sometimes the sailing is a little rough, but Dramamine has been working for all of us. The nights have been too cloudy to do any more stargazing. The other passengers are friendly and the crew are great.En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Ribbon Reef #3 & Escape Reef
15 août 2019, Great Barrier Reef ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
This was a great day—Darryl was well enough to dive, and the three of us got to dive on our own with Robbie. At Ribbon Reef #3, we entered the water from the ship, rather than the beach, so entry was easier and we were immediately in clear water, instead of murky sandy water. The ship has an ‘elevator’ platform for us to ride down to water level from the deck. The crew help us with our gear, which can be heavy, and gives everyone assurance we are hooked up properly.

Ribbon Reef #3 is a bommie, which means it is kind of a pillar of coral surrounded by sand (an oasis in the desert for marine life). We found a ‘Nemo’ among the anemone, more giant clams, and saw lots of parrot fish and fabulous coral formations.

The afternoon dive at Escape Reef was another boat dive, with just we three (always with Robbie). Escape Reef has finger-like protrusions of reef, allowing for some very protected areas and slightly warmer water in some sections. More great sea life and colorful coral! We are much more comfortable with diving now, and can focus more on our surroundings than on our gear. Sande is having a great time snorkeling, and we usually go out for a snorkel after diving. The light is better at the top, so colors are more true, but with diving you can get closer to things of interest. The first few photos are taken from a dive website for our reefs, since we don’t have a chance to get such good lighting.

We’ve been enjoying the company of a South Island New Zealand couple in their 70s, and we teamed up with them for the after-dinner trivia quiz. Lots of questions about the plant and sea life, and Captain Cook—things that Dani has been teaching us along the way. We didn’t win, but made a good showing.En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Cairns & Sudbury Cay
16 août 2019, Great Barrier Reef ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
Today was the end of the 4-night portion of this trip and the start of the 3-night portion. We sailed to Cairns overnight and said farewell to most of the passengers we’d been traveling with on the Great Barrier Reef.

Those of us who were staying on had a couple of hours off the ship before sailing on with a new group of travelers doing a 3-night voyage. We were met at the wharf by a volunteer for the Cairns Museum, who walked us to the museum and showed us around for about 45-minutes. They opened the museum just for us at 8:30 am—so nice! It was an excellent museum with displays on the early days of Cairns (aboriginal times), to its gold rush days, to its early days as a tourist destination.

Soon it was time to embark on our next sea adventures. We arrived at Sudbury Cay after lunch, where we 3 dive buddies joined a new couple. A cay is a floating sand island, meaning it can move around. The sand accumulates in one spot due to winds and currents.

The two newcomers were having a lot of trouble with the dive, so we three waited in the sand on the bottom and tried to distract ourselves with watching the fish activity at a nearby coral formation. Not the best dive experience, but we did see a tiny sea urchin that floats upside down, and a fish standing up on its front fins on the sandy bottom, like it was doing push-ups. we also saw a pair of clownfish (Nemos, but with different markings).

After the dive ended, we took off for the reef with our snorkel gear to watch more fish. In the evening, Chef Patty served a delicious seafood buffet. All the food has been tasty, but not decadent.En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Hinchenbrook Island Mangroves & Hiking
17 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Today was a day out of the water, but still on the water. Saltwater crocodiles are in these waters, so it was not a day for swimming. Dani took us on the glass bottom boat and talked to us about the mangrove forest as we motored through a channel of Hinchenbrook Island. The island is a national park and rainforest that is part of the Daintree.

The water was so smooth and mirror-like, you could almost forget it could be a deadly place. We actually didn’t seem any crocs, but we saw a beautiful sea eagle (yay for bringing the binoculars!), some egrets, and a grey heron. Saltwater crocodiles are the largest of the crocodiles (over 5.5 meters long)—and they can live to over 100 years. We also heard about a mud skipper fish that holds water in its gills and can walk across the mud.

Next, we sailed to Dunk Island to hike through the rainforest to the summit of Mount Kootaloo. A lookout point offers a view of the reef and its islands from above. Near the lookout are the ruins of a radar station built during World War II.

Finally, we were treated to drinks on the beach at sunset on tiny Purtaboi Island. Another great day!En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Diving and Snorkeling Nathan Reef
18 août 2019, Great Barrier Reef ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
Overnight we sailed to Nathan Reef, where we were able to stay for water play all day. Diane and Nance took a morning dive with Robbie and the Gallagher family of three (from Rockville, MD!). During our half hour below, we gave a wide berth to a sting ray with a strong, sharp-looking tail lying on the bottom. We saw lots of different coral formations, giant clams, sponges, clownfish in the anemone, some shrimp and other colorful fish. It was a great dive. The Great Barrier Reef really is special for its varied coral formations—check out all the varieties we’ve seen in the photo of Dani’s slide talk.

In the afternoon, Darryl and Nance went diving and Sande and Diane did a ‘drift snorkel.’ We were taken out in the tender boat about 10 minutes away from the ship, and we drifted with the current along the reef edge. Similar views as on the dive, but with better lighting near the surface. The photos don’t always do justice to the colors we saw. Darryl has been enjoying the diving a lot.

In the evening, we finally saw some of the migrating humpback whales we’d been hearing about. They were pretty far in the distance, so no good photos. The captain was nice enough to follow them for awhile, even though it was against our direction of travel.

This was our last night on the ship, so it was time for another trivia quiz. Diane was drafted to the Gallagher family table, in a trade for 11-year old Austin. The Gallagher-Douglas table came in first place!En savoir plus
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Fitzroy Island Turtles; Bats in Cairns
19 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
Our last morning on the ship started with an early morning, steep climb to the summit of Fitzroy Island—for those who were keen. From the top, we could look out over the channel and islands to the sea in a beautiful clear day. Dani pointed out a type of palm tree that ‘walks,’ as it grows new roots in search of water (inspiration for Tolkien’s Ents?)

The hikers got ‘second brekky’ back on the beach, then we got our snorkel gear on for our last time on the reef. There were beautiful jellyfish, which we steered clear of, even though we were told they were not the stinging kind. Darryl saw a small reef shark, and we both hovered over a single green sea turtle a couple of times, and watched them drift to the surface for a breath of air. They looked just like Crush in ‘Finding Nemo.’

After awhile, we were called in from the water to visit the turtle rehabilitation center on the island. One of the founders, Jenny, talked to us about their work, and about the threats to turtles (single-use plastics, and hunting, primarily).

Back in Cairns, we said our farewells to the amazing crew of Coral Expeditions, checked in to to our accommodations and headed over to see the flying fox bats we’d been told about. The bats gather in huge numbers in trees on the library grounds. A sign said their wingspan can be up to 1.5 meters, and they looked 3-4 times larger than the bats we’re used to seeing. The close-up photo on the sign looked just like Erin & Nick’s Rico pup! We tried to wait until the bats flew off in mass at dusk, as we’d been told they would, but after an hour, we were hungry for dinner. We still saw a good showing of bats flying around in the dark.En savoir plus
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VoyageurHaha! Yep, it was Jasmine that first pointed out Rico's similarity to the fruit bat!
29/08/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Kakadu National Park: Rock Art & Birds
21 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
Yesterday was a day of travel—flight from Cairns to Darwin delayed 3 hours (good thing for cards!), then a 3+-hour drive to Kakadu National Park. This is the dry season in Australia’s wet tropics, and while it is so much warmer than our other destinations (mid-90), at least it is not humid.

Today, we zipped off to catch a ranger talk that turned out to be cancelled, but we still had a great walk around the rocky outcropping of Nourlangie, viewing cave art and stopping at lookout points. The rock art here is so much more detailed than the art we saw around Uluru. The indigenous people around Uluru view the world with a bird’s eye view (dot paintings of the landscape, e.g.). We’ll have to ask a ranger about the distinction.

In the afternoon we walked around a billabong — water hole/wetlands area. We were pleasantly surprised with how much bird activity there was. On our 2-hour walk around the billabong, we saw pelicans, jabiru (a stork), egrets, geese and many others. What we did not see—fortunately—were crocodiles, which the signs warned us about every 100 yards or so. The crocs stay in the water or within 5 meters of the water’s edge, so we knew where to put our feet!En savoir plus
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VoyageurLove the colors on the Jabiru!
29/08/2019Répondre
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Kakadu: Sunrise with Birds; Croc Attack!
22 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F
A pre-dawn start got us to our sunrise river cruise on the Yellow Water billabong and down the East Alligator River (a European misnomer).

It was a beautiful, cool, morning on the river! The bird sightings were fantastic, and our boat pilot and guide was humorous and very informative—she positioned us just right to see birds, water lilies, and crocodiles.

Toward the end of the cruise, we saw a crocodile attack a huge buffalo that was swimming across the river. We got it on video, but it might look too small on the screen. Our guide had just finished saying that the crocs don’t try to eat the buffaloes, but probably could if they were smart enough to gang up on them. We’re not sure why this one tried. The buffalo probably got some scratches, but it scampered out of the water, then turned around and gave a shake of its gigantic horns at the croc.

Next, we visited the Warradjan Cultural Centre, a wonderful museum that explains a lot about the ways of life of the traditional peoples of the area.

Finally, we ended the day with the last public tour ever of the uranium mine which is surrounded by, but separate from Kakadu National Park. The founding of the park in 1979 was part of the deal when the Aboriginal owners of the land agreed to allow mining through 2021. The mine will close and the company will restore the land to its natural environment over the next 5-10 years.En savoir plus
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VoyageurWow! Exciting day!
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Australia - Reef & Red Rocks Diane and Darryl
Ubirr: Rock Art Galleries & Injalak Arts
23 août 2019, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F
We set off this morning for a ranger talk about the renowned rock art in the Ubirr section of the park, but no ranger showed up. Kakadu National Park needs to get more rangers (interested, Eliana?). So we walked the paths on our own to view the aboriginal rock paintings, and sometimes we’d catch parts of a private tour guide’s presentation.

The rock paintings are beautifully preserved and represent a variety of things—hunting fish and other animals; ancestral spirits; celebrations (dancing people); and warnings about sickness or danger from European pioneers (guns and slavery).

An added bonus was a hike to a lookout point over the floodplain — just breathtaking! It was what we imagine the Serengeti looks like—Lion King’s Pride Rock overlooking the savannah with a watering hole.

Next up for the afternoon was a trip across the Alligator River, which is an adventure in itself. You need to check the tides before crossing, and near high tide, the saltwater crocodiles are on the hunt for fish. We saw quite a few, from the safety of the shore.

The purpose of crossing was to visit the Injalak Arts Centre in aboriginal land (you have to get a permit to go). The non-profit, community enterprise employs indigenous artists and sells their artwork in a gallery space. There are demonstrations of artists at work as well, and it was there we met Allan and purchased a canvas he had completed that morning. It was in the cross-hatching style that is prevalent in this part of the Northern Territory, and depicts a barramundi fish (good eating on this trip so far), a long-neck turtle and a water monitor.En savoir plus
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