A Fun Day in Brisbane

Over the 8 moths we've spent abroad we have seen a lot of citys. Bejiing, Tokyo, Seoul, Kathmadu, Bangkok, Phenom Penh, Ho Chi Minh, Darwin. Plus all the cities we have visited before, New York, Chicago, Montreal, Quebec, Cusco, LA, Bogata. I have to say in my opinion Brisbane has been the nicest and cleanest so far. The parks were neat and large and there are many opportunities for walkers and joggers. There was a very modern feel too.

Driving wasn't too bad and finding parking downtown wasn't hard. We walked through the beautiful parks to the public pools with sand and everything. Justin walked around the neighborhood while the rest of us swam. When I floated on my back there was a great view of the skyline. After Nick and I were satisfied with our swimming we went out to a fancy lunch. Munching on salmon and burgers surrounded by flowers was a big step up from canned meat in the bush!



We walked around the park some more and rode the Ferris Wheel for panoramic views of the city.

Then we saw the iconic Brisbane sign.

And spent a few hours at an art museum. Nick was bored and made the museum staff a little nervous. There was modern art as well as a Picasso.

Everyone was tired by the time the museum closed and we were dismissed. Traffic was a little heavier exiting the city because it was rush hour but Justin was a good driver and got us out of it. We spent the night in Mermaid Beach a few miles out of town.

Bowen

We drove quickly through this coastal vacation town on our way south and stopped to see the Worlds Largest Statue of a Mango. The area is a large producer of the tasty fruit and we had some good sorbet at the visitors center. The green ant was the artists touch, we think the statue is made of fiber glass

Billabong Sanctuary

Holding a baby croc!

Nick and I were very excited. We were going to hold one of the cutest animals on the planet- a koala!

We were the only car in the Billabong Sanctuary parking lot two hours before opening time. We waited impatiently, checking if the gates had opened yet. Through the fence we could see the shape of dogs- dingoes being taken for a morning walk. Finally it was 9 am and we were the first through the door.

All kinds of Australian critters from the smallest bilby to the biggest croc call Billabong Sanctuary home. But we were most excited for the most famous tenant- the Koala.

Through out the day we went to all the exhibits and a good number of shows and feedings. The first was the cassowary. Smaller than an ostrich but heavier than an emu this jungle bird is a "key stone" species that is vital to it's ecosystem and can not be replaced. The cassowary is native to Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea and does it's part by eating large fruit and passing it so that the plant can spread. The fruit is too large for anything else to eat so you can see why this prehistoric looking bird is so important. We learned that the large lump on it's head is a built in air conditioner that draws heat away from the cassowary's body. The males incubate and raise the chicks.

Next we fed turtles. This wasn't too special but there sure were a lot of them.

During the wombat show we learned all about this intriguing creatures. Weighing up to 80 pounds wombats are prolific diggers and can excavate cubic feet in a single night. They can run 42 miles an hour for short distances and when a predator follows them into their burrow they use a bony plate on their backside to crush the intruders skull against the roof of the tunnel. Nick and I got to hold a wombat named Ruben. He was pretty heavy and more like a stuffed animal than a living one.

Koalas are a wombat's closest relative. They have a bony plate too except they use it to sit on so they don't get pins and needles. The eucalyptus that makes up their diet provides very little excess energy which is why they sleep 23 hours of the day. The leaves give them all the water they need so they never need to come down, talk about lazy! It doesn't help that their brains have a diameter of less than an inch. I guess it just floats around in that big skull..... We got to hold Malaku the koala who was soft and smelled like- yep, eucalyptus. Legally a koala can only "work" (that means being touched) 30 minutes a day and every 2 days get a day off. Can I be a koala? That sounds like the life!

Nick with a Bilby statue

Nick was excited to see the bilby and managed to get a peek at one before it went to sleep. Bilbys are a small species of marsupial that has rabbit ears and a mouse body.
On our way out we saw a crocodile show and got to here the blood chilling sound of their jaws coming together. We also saw cassowary's less attractive cousin the emu and as we left picked up a photo of us holding the animals. We won't forget the koalas and wombats of Billabong Sanctuary any time soon!

Emu alert!

Snakes!

Other than a platypus the echidna is the only mammal that lays eggs

Dingoes on an afternoon walk

Hungry turtles

Diving the Great Barrier Reef

There was a cool morning breeze coming off the Townsville harbor. I was jittery with anticipation of my second dive trip to none other than the largest reef in the world. We loitered at the dock until the boat crew had us try on our rental gear and welcomed us aboard. We had worked it out the day before when booking our trip with Adrenaline Dive- Michele and I would do one dive together while Justin and Nick snorkeled and then after lunch Justin and I would dive while the other two snorkeled. Nick was disappointing that you have to be 12 to do a Discovery Dive in Queensland. 10 is the age everywhere else in the world but where we were.

It was a two hour ride out to Lodestone reef. We got to know some Canadians on board and soaked in the ocean sun. There were about 20 other passengers on board snorkeling and diving. Before we got to the reef our dive guide Achim briefed us on some logistics. He told us it was likely we would see some reef sharks.
"Those won't hurt you, but a week ago we did have a tiger shark. If we see a tiger shark we go down" he did the signal for descend, "and make a circle on the bottom. Now hold hands." All of us 8 divers did. "Closer closer." Everyone scooted in. "And then I get in the middle" he joked.

Girls before gearing up

A mile and a half from the reef we all struggled into our wet suits and slipped into our gear. I had set mine up during the ride. The water out on the open ocean was the bluest I had ever seen. It looked like blue raspberry cotton candy!

Michele and I were dive buddies. We followed Achim around the reef as he pointed out all kinds of corals and marine life. Prior to our dive I had heard how severe reef bleaching was. Lodestone was untouched with giant sea fans swaying in the current and twisting hard corals creating a 3 dimensional labyrinth for fish. Giant clams a yard across had the most beautiful turquoise and rich purple colors and clown fish would peek out at me from their anemones. We did see a crown of thorns star fish. Crown of thorns leech life from coral reefs killing square yards at a time. They are spreading insanely quick through coral all over the pacific and doing lots of damage. Divers actually kill them by injecting vinegar into one of their limbs.

White Tips of Queensland
Image credit naturelive.net

At one point we came to a spot where table coral formed an overhang a bit like a cave. Achim straightened his hand and put it on his head with his fingers pointed towards the surface. The signal for shark. Two white tipped reef sharks were circling in the cave. White tips are harmless but still intimidating at 5 or 6 feet long. Achim beckoned me down and I keeled on the bottom a few feet away from the predators. They swam in circles their beady eyes flicking over to us and away. Over and away. I looked up to see Nick snorkeling on the surface. Little did he know 30 feet below were two circling sharks. Eventually the pair got sick of us and swam off to another part of the reef. It was a pretty incredible experience!

Having some fun before ascent

Meanwhile up above Nick and Justin also got to see the sharks and just as close up. The coral where they were was 3 or 4 feet below the surface so perfect for snorkeling. Because the closer to the surface the more colorful things are they got to see some hues us girls didn't.

We all reunited on the dive boat and swapped shark encounter stories over lunch. I slipped in a quick snorkel with Nick before my other dive and I would say the view from above was just as good if not better.

For me and Justin's dive we didn't get to see as much but we had lots of time to study things up close.

It was a really fun day and on the ride back to the main land Michele and I detailed our adventures in our dive logs. We all slept well that night and I think it's fair to say we can check Great Barrier Reef off of our bucket lists!

We had a great time with Achim and the rest of the Adrenalin crew!

Trials of the Outback

Adventure. Solitude. Rugged wilderness. Wild life.
Desolation. Ants. Heat. Flies. Drought. Flood. Loneliness. Scarcity. Flies. Sunburn. Flies.

This post is not complaining. It is just describing our experiences on the stretch between Kathrine in the Northern Territory to Townsville in Queensland. Acording to Google Maps it is a 1360 mile trek, 25 hours of driving. That is farther than the distance between San Diego and Seattle. That sounds about right.

The night after we left Kirijini our provisions were plagued by ants. We went to bed with a few in our tent and woke to find our selves in the Arc De Triomphe of ant traffic. And that was the tent, never mind the table. We had idiotically left our food out instead of putting it in the car as we usually do. Everything was crawling in ginger ants. They were small but bit hard! We cleaned up best we could and shook out all bedding. Despite our best efforts a large population of tiny hitch hikers continued the journey with us.

We thought Western Australia was empty, it was nothing like this! Goods in lone convenience stores were 5 or 6 times more than they had been in Darwin. We ate a lot of canned food.

One day we got up and were driving by 6:30 and didn't stop until 10. We had decided to push on another 200 kilometers from where we had planned to stop with a lure of a restaurant at the end of the road. The road lead right int the heart of a super thunderstorm. Lightning was striking 360 degrees all around us and gusts of wind pushed our car a foot to the left. Justin was tired from a long day but he kept a steady hand on the wheel for the 2 or 3 hours we were stuck in cell. Rain was coming down so thick we couldn't see and the inches standing on the road were tossed up by our tires. The worst part was the road trains. If the gales were moving our little car that much we could only imagine what it was doing to the container boxes connected together like sails. Nick and I fell asleep to the sound of howling wind but Michele and Justin got to the restaurant where they hung out with some locals.

I have told you about out back flies before but they were so much worse now.

After 2 full days of hard out back driving we arrived in Townsville, a well sized city on the coast. The East Coast! We had finally made it! With less name recognition then Cairns it is a quieter access point to the Great Barrier Reef. Justin and I had looked at maps of coral bleaching and noticed that the farther south we went the better condition of the reef so we saved the gas and parked it in Townsville for a few days.

Kakadu National Park

When someone says Australia the word often conjures up images of red dirt, blue skies, gnarled trees, kangaroos and aboriginal culture. Kakadu National Park checks all the boxes. We spent two days and one night in this vast protected area learning about the history of the unique peoples who lived here. The 20,000 square kilometers of Kakadu border Arnhem Land, a traditional aboriginal land. The Northern Territory has the strongest sense of Native culture in modern day Australia and we learned about all aspects of traditional life in the visitor and cultural center. There are an estimated 1000 people still living as they have for thousands of years in the remote areas of the park.

During the rainy season, which we came at the end of, heavy flooding often closes roads. Then, to make matters worse crocodiles occupy the swamped roads and cause even more problems. This meant that 80 % of the dirt roads in the park were off limits even to our 4 wheel drive and we couldn't go to all the phenomenal waterfalls the park is renowned for. However, Nourlangie Rock was accessible and it's cliffs are the canvas for many aboriginal paintings in good condition. Native Australians have been around for 60,000 years and stories of ancient times have survived to this day. Lot's of paintings depicted mythical beings such as the Lightning Man as well as kangaroos and hunters. Over time the number of people living at Nourlangie Rock fluctuated and different art styles from varying time periods can be observed. After we walked the paths between decorated cliffs there was an out look on the valley. Up and and around us were towering walls of stone and one outcropping was the home of the Lightning Man and was forbidden to approach. Speaking of lightning, white flashes sparked the blue sky above the natural bowl. On the way out we saw lots of wild cockatoos and parrots.

Home of the Lightning Man

We camped in a park camp ground and after dinner were visited by a native creature! Much to our disappointment it was later identified as a common possum not a rare species.

One issue Kakadu management faces is mining. Before European influence Aboriginal tribes identified certain areas "Poison Places." It turns out they could sense the large uranium deposits through out the region. The reason Jabiru, the only town in park borders exists is because of the mining in the area. Kakadu is ripe with natural resources so whether it should be exploited is a topic of contention. 

Justin Enjoys Breakfast in the Park

The rest of the next day was spent exiting the park. We opted not to stop and do a long, unmarked hike in the smothering heat even though it was the only other thing open.

The remote beauty of Kakadu National Park with it's rich history and dramatic landscape really was a wonder and the detour was worth it.

Because of the abundant rain Kakadu is quite green
this time of year

Spectacular Jumping Crocodiles

Before Australia we had been warned about the dangers that lurked beneath the murky rivers of the north.
Yep, that’s right. The modern day dinosaurs, Salt Water Crocodiles. These monsters can get up to 20 feet in length and chomp down with a bite force of 3,700 pounds per square inch. After a leisurely stay in Darwin we decided to get up close and personal with a croc.

Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise is located in the wetlands east of Darwin, an hour drive from the city. We got there at 10 to learn that all the tours were full until 3 so we drove over to the National Parks Wetland Center to learn about the flora and fauna of the unique ecosystem we were about to dive (Not literally!) into. There were lots of nice exhibits on all the animals from barrumundi to buffalo. Feral buffalo are actually a large threat to Australian wetlands because their trampling destroys habitat. While Justin and Michele talked with the ranger Nick picked up a souvenir boomerang.

After killing lots and lots of time we were all excited to get down to the river. Walking onto the boat we saw a saltie on the rivers edge. We were the first ones on the boat and secured the best seats in the house, right by the water. The motors revved up and the hull sliced through the water eagerly.
Just minutes after pulling off shore I spotted a dark shape torpedoing towards us. The ranger over the speakers announced the crocs arrival.

"Ay there's Stumpie! G'day Stumpy!" Despite missing all but 1 complete limb, Stumpy was pretty big. He swam up to the boat with powerful swishes of his tail. Once he was a few feet below us he froze, drifting in the lazy current. His dark leathery skin was a few shades darker than the coffee brown water but matched the hue of the muddy bank perfectly. The assistant ranger had a long pole with a few hunks of meat strapped onto the end of a long rope. She stood behind think metal railings and dangled the tantalizing scraps in front of the salty's nose. He lunged forward, jaws snapping inches away from the meat. It reminded me of those feather toys I'd use with our cat. After a few more near misses Stumpy shot out of the water and his enormous jaws aimed true. Using his tail he lifted himself out of the river. The movement looked slow but there was no way an quarry could have reacted in time. In an instant he was down below the water, resurfacing just in time to crunch the large bones between his teeth like nothing. Everyone on the boat cringed in unison.

There were lots of resident crocodiles in the short stretch of river we traveled. The boat crew knew them all by name but they all looked the same to me- big and scary. They would disappear under the water and teleport to the other side of the boat. Scales on their back eliminate ripples so you could never see them coming. We probably got 6 or so good "jumps". It's incredible how much of themselves they can hold above the water- imagine the weight!

On the way back multiple hawks circled our boat and the rangers threw them small bits of meat. They would swoop up from behind the boat, winds pumping to gain until they were equal with the ranger. In a fluid movement once the food was thrown they would fly down and sideways to snatch it out of the air and then disappear up into the sky.

We learned lots about Estuarine (Salt water) crocodiles and most of all, we learned that we didn't want to go swimming anytime soon!

Darwin

Parks of Darwin

This was our first actual Australian City so far and after what felt like eons in the remote bush the northern outpost of 122,000 people might as well have been heaven. It had showers for crying out loud!
We parked down town, unsure of our evening plans. No one had decided if we would break down after almost 2 weeks of camping and book a hotel or stay strong and endure the grime some more. There was a beautiful park running the border between buildings and ocean. Even though it was the heat of the day we walked up and down, enjoying the feel of grass under our red dust covered toes.

Spoiler alert: We caved.
Michele got on the Internet after some delicious donner kebabs (A large improvement over canned camping fare) and found us a heavily discounted hotel with a great location. For 24 hours we just napped and showered in the glorious air conditioning. Ahhhhhh.
Now that there was internet that lasted more than 10 seconds everyone tied up loose digital ends they had been neglecting in the wilderness.

Nick does some homeschool 

It took a lot of will to leave the hotel the next afternoon to explore our surroundings. Not only is it the hottest time of the year in the north it’s also pretty humid! We meandered through the empty streets towards the water front. If there was one thing that struck me about Darwin it is how dead it was. The capital city was practically a ghost town during the off season. Friendly locals informed us it does fill up during other times of the year but we were the only ones in the streets. It wasn’t bad or creepy, in fact it was very relaxed after the crazy Asian cities we’ve been to recently.

Down by the waterfront we admired all of the public infrastructure. Because the water is too dangerous to swim in (Salt Water Crocodiles and jelly fish) a large pool is closed off for recreation. We had a nice meal looking out over the ocean and we were all wondering the same thing-
How could we go back to the empty, buggy, outback after this?

Forget the pizza, I’m eyeing the fresh greens I have been missing for 2 weeks!