Marvelous Melbourne, Great Ocean Road and a National Tragedy

There has always been a deep rivalry between "Marvelous Melbourne" and Sydney both of which claim to be the best city in Australia to live in. Sydney has its harbour and Melbourne has its waterfront and both have a lot of history and are great places to visit. While in the area, we visited Surfers Paradise (Torquay), toured the arts fair on the Esplanade and ran in some magnificent parks. Here is a picture of the downtown from across the Yarma river with the Australian Moving Pictures Center in the foreground.

One of the interesting things about Australia is that they readily admit they have a drinking problem with "Bottle Shops" on almost every corner (there were 26 in the small town of Port Douglas!) and beer and wine sold in grocery stores as well. On the highway you will pass a sign declaring "Police in this area are targeting Drink Driving" one minute and then go past a drive through bottle shop, like the Thirsty Camel store pictures below, the next minute.

The day we chose to take the "Great Ocean Road" we had perfect weather and stopped at a number of surf stores, scenic viewpoints and expansive beaches along the way. This picture is from Surf Beach and Danger Point, so named due to the number of shipwrecks that occurred along the coast here. Those little dots in the picture are surfers and people walking along the shore with the tide out. It's hard to imagine from this small picture the size and beauty of this stretch of beach but trust me it was amazing.

This is Bell's Beach where they have the Rip Curl Pro surfing championships next month. You can see some a number of spectator grandstands in the top right corner of the picture but again it's hard to grasp the scale of it from a small picture.

Other sites along the 5 hour 150 km winding drive include the Aireys point lighthouse.

At one point we stopped at a stand of Eucalyptus trees where a number of cars had stopped and people were pointing up into the trees. We counted 10 Koalas right in that one spot, hanging in the trees right above the highway. Here are two of the cute animals right next to each other.

Some of them were sleeping but some were moving around in the tree tops like this one, swaying and peering down at us from the end of a branch that looked hardly big enough to support him (I know it's a him due to the marking on his chest).

One of the most photographed and spectacular sites along the road is the 12 Apostles, which is a series of 6 limestone towers (there used to be 12 at one time) carved by the waves from the surrounding cliffs.

On the next day, we drove from Melbourne to Wodonga and passed through the King Lake area that was absolutely devastated by bush fires a few weeks ago which we all heard about on the news. Pictures do not really reflect the devastation and I really cannot describe in words what it was like to see the miles and miles of burnt trees, charred forests, burned out cars and leveled homes, knowing that many people died in the fires.

It was a perfect storm situation with 4 years of draught conditions, the halting of planned burning of the under brush due to "Greeny" protests, high winds and 46 deg C temperatures to boot. Here is a picture of a once stately home with a garage off to the side and only a few pieces of metal remaining.

Here is a picture of what's left of a brick house where the entire contents have been burned out so that very little remains. In some cases you would see a burned out house next to one perfectly intact, followed by another burned out shell. I suppose that chance decided which way the winds would blow and which houses would be destroyed and which ones would remain but regardless everyones life has been changed forever.

In some cases the owners were allowed and almost encouraged to stay based on government recommendations, which I am sure are being reviewed, but this fire storm had a life and ferocity of it's own like none that had ever been seen before. Even though more than a hundred people perished we heard many stories of bravery and sacrifice so that a number of people were saved that otherwise may have died. It's not a sight that we will soon forget or ever want to see again.

Visit to Perth to see Amanda and Nick

We had a great time on the cruise but we were really looking forward to spending some time with Amanda and Nick in the sunny city of Perth. One of the first things we did was head out to Rottnest island to go Scuba diving. The trip out on the 65 foot cruiser the Sea Lion was rockin' at times but everyone managed to hang on to their breakfast and even smile for the camera.

Rottnest got its name because the early settlers thought there were huge rats on the island and Ratsnest later became Rottnest or Rotto as the locals call it. They were in fact not rats but marsupials called Quakers that are only found on this island. Here is a picture I got from another blog.

Here is a short video of Amanda and Nick underwater.

The water was a little cool at 70 deg F and the surge, especially in the morning, kept you moving back and forth whether you wanted to or not. We saw a number of interesting stuff including a couple of spiny lobsters hiding under a rock shelf that I would have loved to bring back for supper but no fishing was allowed.

Since Amanda and Nick had to spend some time in class (at least that is what they told us... Maybe I should double check with the Admissions Office) Jude and I went on a road trip to an area called the Margaret River Wine region. On one side is the ocean, beaches and surfers and on the other is hundreds of wineries and breweries as well. It is a big tourist area and internationally known for fine wines. After a quick stop at the tourist info building we decided that the Watershed Winery would be a perfect place to stop for lunch and of course some wine tasting.

The view from the cafe terrace stretched across the tidy rows of vines to a small lake below. The sun was shining, the food was great and we toasted to another eventful day on our adventures. I tried some local beer with lunch and then we both enjoyed some great wine tasting afterwards.

On Sunday we decided to spend the day at the beach so we all headed off to Cottesloe to enjoy the sun, sand and surf. There is an annual event held there called "Sea Art" where a number of artists are encouraged to utilize their creative talents and place large sculptures on and around the beach. They range from recycled tire Emus, large scrabble tiles, a drain plug, kangaroo road kill, stairs to nowhere and a clear globe floating offshore with a gold ball inside it. Here are a couple of examples to show you what they looked like. The first one is called "Crab in the Works" and it looks like a giant wrist watch.

The next one is called "Life Savers" and of course it is located right next to the Aussie Lifeguard station.

It was a clear, sunny and hot day so we went snorkeling off the shore over a reef to cool off. Nick kept diving down and finding stuff caught in potholes in the reef including a ring, sunglasses, four leaf clover pendant and even a rusted usb drive.

We also spotted several giant sea slugs but I thought that I would spare you from seeing pictures of those (Li I can forward those to you personally for your collection)! One strange thing about the beaches in Perth is that while you are splashing around in the water, you can see these helicopters patrolling back and forth above the beach. When Jude found out that they were there to try and spot the big sharks before they try to move in for a snack she decided that staying high and dry on the beach would be just fine for her!

Towards the end of the day we drove over to Scarborough beach to find a place to have dinner and a few drinks. As we came up to the beach we could see a huge line of cars heading the other way and banners and grandstands set up all along the waterfront. The Aussie lifesaving championships are held in March on Scarborough beach and they had just finished the competitions for the day. All these beaches face west so they have the most gorgeous sunsets you can imagine, almost every day.

We settled down for some pub food (fish and chips) and a couple of pints in Peter's by the Sea and watched the sun set behind the Cook's pines. On the way home we ran right into the beach patrol ride program. In Australia you can get charged with "Drink Driving" (note it's not Drunk Driving) with only 0.05 and the roadside breathalyser is mandatory. After blowing into the machine there was a delay during which I was really starting to worry but then he said I was only at 1/3 of the limit and was ok to drive. What a relief, I don't know what we would have done if things had turned out differently.
Now it's time to say goodbye to the kids and head off to Melbourne. Although Australia seems like a perfect fit, Jude threatened that she will come back and make their lives miserable if they don't return so we should see them home in June.

Riding off into the Sunset

Our last two ports of call in Northern Australia were Broome and Exmouth. The approach into Broome harbour was delayed several hours to wait for the tides to rise and for the winds to die down, but this highlighted even more all the different torquoise colours of the water, the blueness of the sky and the red earth of the cliffs. The sun beat mercilessly down and the mercury topped out at about 38 deg C as we toured the pearl shops the port is famous for.

During the late afternoon we headed off for an adventure we had been anticipating for several days, a sunset camel ride on Cable beach! What an adventure as we go from sharks to crocs to snakes to koalas and now camels...what's next? Here is Jude petting and talking nicely to our trusty Horace hoping that it wouldn't spit at her.

When they are crouched down it's actually not too hard to climb aboard, you just have to watch out when they stand up. The back end goes up first so if you are not holding on you can get tossed off right over their head. Horace was the lead camel and a bit of an attention seeker, just look at him smiling for the camera!

Horace was a gentle beast, he didn't spit, hiss, complain or do any other nasty things everyone had warned us that camels do. Most of the camels in the train of 15 animals were captured in the wild but he was the exception being raised in captivity and also the oldest at 25 years old. As the sun set, the shadows grew longer, the moon rose up behind us and we enjoyed our ride more and more. What a great way to spend an afternoon on a stunning beach with a gorgeous view of the sunset and doing something you may never get another chance to do!

After another two days at sea to relax and eat even more food, we stopped in the small town of Exmouth, population 2000, until we showed up and it doubled! This town is really in the start of the outback which we knew as soon as we drove into town and had to stop to let wild Emus cross the highway.

Even though it was just at the end of "The Wet" as they call the rainy season, the air was dry and the ground was parched. Most of the Roos were hiding in the shade but we scared a couple off and I managed to get this parting shot as they hopped and bounded away.

One of the most famous attractions of the area is the Ningaloo reef which is the best place in the world to swim with the huge but harmless whale sharks. Unfortunately they were just starting to return to the area but we did go out to Turquoise Bay to snorkel, float effortlessly in the 32 deg C Indian Ocean water and soak up some rays on the pure white sand beaches. It really was paradise as we almost had the entire beach to ourselves!

Besides wild camels in the area, the outback here also has herds of wild horses roaming around. These two were just standing off the highway, which is the only paved road in this whole area, munching on grass and keeping a close eye on us. There are supposed to be hundreds of thousands of camels and horses that have bred from those that escaped or were released into the wild after the job they brought them here for, like mining or construction, was done.

After another day at sea we had to say goodbye to all the new friends we met on the ship and enjoyed time with. We had some great dinner conversations and tried out various pubs with Keith and Sammy and Bob and Kymm and enjoyed a number of shore excursions together as well. They were all continuing on the cruise as it made its way to Tasmania and New Zealand but we were excited to disembark the Rhapsody of the Seas in Perth so that we could spend time with Amanda and learn more about Western Australia.

Popua New Guinea and Darwin

Our only non Australian port was Port Morsby in Papua New Guinea which is ranked in the top 5 most dangerous cities in the world and all we heard before getting off the ship was to travel only in large groups, don’t bring jewellery or valuables, don’t wonder around in parks or cemeteries and be aware of your surroundings at all times! So with that send off we headed out, in a convoy of 12 buses to invade a couple of poor fishing villages’ and a small resort. As we drove along the countryside you could tell that this area was used to flooding from both inland rivers and heavy rains and from large tides as well. Here is a typical suburban house on the tidal flats (keep in mind that there are lots of 5 and 6 meter crocs in the water).

As this group of 250 strange looking white people, descended upon the village, they showed us their dance moves in their traditional native costumes. Tourism has been very light here, since 1975 when Papua New Guinea gained their independence from Australia, which, based on the amount of poverty we saw, was a big mistake.

The fishing village was littered with mounds of garbage everywhere; skinny, skinny dogs ran through the streets. Some of the kids had no clothes and many did not have shoes.

Here are the restroom facilities we were invited to use, very practical but definitely on the primitive side.

Only the kids whose parents could afford it went to primary school and learned English and the local Patois . Most of those only stayed until grade 6 and very few make it to high school never mind university. AIDS is rampant and most of the population is illiterate so it is very hard to get the message out about safe sex to the general population. Here is a class we got to see were the kids sit on a gravel floor, in a shack with tins sides, using just a blackboard and pencils and paper and these are the lucky ones!

Jude was very quiet during this excursion and I could see that it really bothered her that we really couldn’t do much for these people to help them. It really is a heartbreaking situation. All of us should be thankful for what we have and focus what really is important in life. The country just announced the start up on a new natural gas mine that is producing at a world record pace but I doubt that much of that money will get past the government officials and trickle down to these poor fishermen. Despite that, everyone smiled and waved as we drove by, the kids were laughing and playing and looked fairly healthy.

The next port was Darwin which is where much of the movie Australia, with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, is set. It is the largest city in the Northern Territory with about 80,000 people and what seemed like 200,000 crocodiles! We hired (not rented) a car and drove out to Litchfield National Park to see a number of waterfalls and swimming pools. The area is quite flat and the roads go up to a 130 Km/hour limit on a two lane highway. Also trundling along at 130 Km/Hr were huge Truck Trains with four trailers, each a 50 footer, tagging along. One of the sites in the area is these gigantic 15 foot high Cathedral Termite Mounds.

We also took the Amazing Jumping Crocodile cruise in this area where you sit in a little tin boat and they entice 5 meter long crocs to jump out of the water to grab a hunk of raw chicken dangling from the end of a pole. It’s amazing that these guys can get so high just using their tails to propel them up out of the water.

This albino faced croc (named Michael Jackson of course) was 5 meters or about 16 feet long and although he couldn’t jump as high as some of the smaller crocs his jaws were huge and you knew if he got a hold of you he wouldn’t be letting go!

They coaxed this fellow onto the land so we could get a better look and he was only a couple of feet away from the ramp onto the front of the boat.

Since Jude got to cuddle the Koala, I volunteered to snuggle with a 6 foot Green Python snake which surprisingly was cool and smooth to touch. Like most of the inhabitants, snakes in Australia are very friendly as it seemed to like wrapping itself around me.

After a hot day in the Australian heat there is nothing like a cool pint of VB (Victoria Bitters) in a local pub to quench your thirst.

Sunsets in this part of the world are just spectacular and ideal way to end some pretty fantastic days.

Whitsunday Islands and Cairns

The second port of call on our cruise was the beautiful resort area called the Whitsunday Islands which is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. They were formed by the tops of ancient mountains, now below sea level, resulting in a perfect area for sailing. We booked on the 60 foot Sailing Ship the Banjo Paterson, for a leisurely 2 hour tour through the islands

Some of the smaller islands have pine trees and almost make you think of the Muskokas, other than the colour of the water, which are many different shades of turquoise. The port we anchored next to is on Hamilton Island and it has a big Yacht club with many power boats and sailboats for the members to tour on.

Hamilton Island was bought for $220 million by the man that sold the wine company named Rosemount and he has added a number of exclusive resort villas frequented by guests like Bill Gates, John Travolta and Kate Hudson. Here is a picture of one the hotel pools (this is the small one, the one next to it is really huge) looking back over the bay.

The third port of call was at Yorkey’s Knob next to Cairns and we decided to head up the mountain on the “Skyrail” into the tropical rainforest town of Kuranda. You get a great view, dangling high above the treetops, back towards Yorkey’s Knob and of the town below. On the right side of this picture you can see a part of a square brown man-made lake which has wakeboard ramps and jumps. It has a big tow rope going around the outside of lake (like you would see on a bunny ski hill) with a number of handles dangling down, that the skiers grab onto. No boats required!

At the top of the hill you can stop for a guided tour of the rainforest to hear about the many types of hanging and climbing vines and thousands of different species of trees. Other residents include huge Goliath Butterflies, Pythons, Wild Boars and this 6 inch spider with inch long red fangs.

One interesting plant is the Strangler Fig, whose fruit is eaten by the Flying Fox bats and the seeds are deposited on the top of an unsuspecting tree. Over the next ten to fifteen years the fig encircles the tree completely, eventually killing off the host. Here is a picture of the strangler fig after the host tree has died and been eaten by bugs. Some of the trees were so big that the aboriginals would hide inside them during cyclones.

We had lunch and toured around the craft shops of Kuranda which also has a butterfly farm, Koala park and a snake zoo. For some reason Jude was happy to hold a Koala but had no interest in doing the same with a 10 foot python, I can’t imagine why. On the way back down the mountainside we travelled on the Kuranda Scenic Railway which was like going back in time a hundred years.

The railway also stopped at several scenic spots including these magnificent waterfalls.

In between ports the cruise ship is usually out to sea for a day or so which makes for a relaxing trip but I didn’t think pictures of us going to meal after meal would be very interesting, although we are enjoying it. Next we are off to Papua New Guinea, our only non Australian stop, which I’m sure will be very interesting


So we are halfway through our trip and we have now covered 23,000 Km!