Looking for the Crocs or have you seen the flat people

October 23rd already! Where has the time gone but we were off again to the Daintree Wilderness and Cape Tribulation. Our first stop on the adventure took us to the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary to have morning tea with the birds, crocs, roos, koalas, frogs, snakes and bats. Man can those roos drink the tea! We got some great photos of the animals and I'm not talking about the ones on the bus.

mom with joey hanging out of her pouch, heading back from tea

After our refreshment stop we moved on to Mossmann Gorge where we hiked through the rainforest and our guide told us how all the plants and trees fight to get to the sunshine. He also told us how some vines use the large trees as hosts until they get started and eventually choke out the host tree. We saw examples of that in the forest. The process takes several hundreds of years to complete.

We continued on to the Daintree River and crossed it on the bus using a cable-driven ferry. We noticed all the warning signs about crocodiles (I think this is where we may have lost the flat ones.) We scoured the banks of the river hoping to spot the salt water crocs but none were sighted. We were told the day before they saw a croc that was over six meters long near the ferry crossing. If you want to know what that is in feet here is the conversion formula 6X300-457+631/72= really big croc or almost 20 feet. After we crossed the Daintree river we headed up to Cape Tribulation where we stopped for lunch and a walk on the beach. The beaches were really nice but we didn't have enough time to go swimming with the crocs and marine stingers (jelly fish). Several people took advantage of the beach and the swim. The bus was less crowded on the way home. No just kidding!

Soaking up the rays on the beach

News flash: croc dies from choking on paper

On our way back we stopped at the Daintree river and took a river cruise. We were looking for crocs, snakes, frogs and birds. You could always tell the birds that were slow on the takeoff from the river. They were the ones with one leg. The guide did tell us to keep our hands, arms, feet and heads inside the boat. He said the crocs can leap out of the water to snag a meal out of the air such as birds, snakes and frogs on limbs, flat people etc. We did see snakes, birds, frogs and just the head of one croc. After the cruise we were welcomed back on dry land with afternoon tea and back on our bus for the treck home. We had fantastic sights, met great people and that's no croc!

Can you see the croc? He's looking at you!

He paid us a visit on our boat on the river

Hey guys we can come out now, I think the boat is gone!

Clam what Clam

We boarded the catamaran Ocean Spirit I for our cruise to Michaelmas Cay

Approaching Michaelmas Cay

Onward and outward, out to sea and the Great Barrier Reef that is. The bus picked Cindy & I up at our hotel at 7:30AM on 10/22 and dropped us at the dock in Cairns, so we could board our catamaran and head out the 27 miles to Michaelmas Cay on the reef. Another disappointing day for the flat ones, they forgot their swimmers (bathing suits) and they didn't go. We got onboard and yes, first thing before even the lifeboat drill, morning tea! After tea we were given a safety briefing and a rundown on the day's activities at the reef. Whilst on our two hour journey to the reef we were shown a video of what we would see on the reef. It was narrated by Marine Biologist onboard. He pointed out the diffrent types of coral, fish, sea creatures and clams and I mean clams. After the video we all were outfitted with snorkel gear or SCUBA gear. We arrived at the Cay and were ferried onto the Cay by a smaller boat so we could snorkel from the beach. It was low tide; we had to be really careful of the coral. In some areas the water was too low to snorkel over the reef. Once Cindy and I got away from the masses and found a deserted section of reef, we saw some of the most colorful & varied types of coral we have ever seen in our lives. I was surprised that there weren't as many kinds of fish as you see in Hawaii. The best part were the giant clams. I dove down to one and it was as big as my outstretched arms. I bet it was close to six feet wide. I tried to talk Cindy into putting her hand into the clam to see if it would close up but she wouldn't cooperate. Some people just don't know how to have fun. We next went looking for Nemo but were told that he was back in Disney World. So no Nemo on this trip, bummer. We were in the water for a couple of hours and got out just in time to catch the tail end of the lunch provided by the tour operator. I couldn't believe how much they fed us. After lunch we decided not to snorkel, instead we sat on the boat taking in the beauty of the reef from above water level.

I caught Cindy having a snack between lunch and Afternoon tea!

Next on the agenda was Afternoon tea. Next a viewing of the photos the photographer took of everyone snorkeling, eating, drinking and sun bathing. We then headed back to Cairns and celebrated the successful cruise with a champagne toast. The reef is so big and there is so much to see. I guess we will have to come back and spend more time at the reef.

Taming the Tully

Hanging on for dear life (we are the two at top of photo)

Maybe we should point out the rock to the guide

Wild ride - is the raft still inflated?

Early Sunday morning (6:35) on 10/21 Cindy and I were picked up in front of our hotel for a 150k (90 mile) bus ride to the Tully river for a day of white water rafting. There were 30 or so people on the bus with us heading for the white water challenge. I looked around and realized we were the oldest on the bus including the bus driver by some 20 years! Well we got the last laugh. The head guide asked who had experience rafting. Cindy and I were the only ones who raised our hands. Now we're not only the oldest but here we are surrounded by white water rafting virgins. On our bus ride down to the Tully you guessed it we stopped for morning tea (love this country). After tea we picked up eight more rafters and headed up to the put in spot on the Tully. The guide told us, in rafter speak, that the Tully was a dam controlled water release river and at this time of the year we would hit level three and four rapids and it was a very technical river. Now to say that in terms we all can understand here is what he meant. Rapids are rated from one to six. One being barely a ripple in the water and six being a waterfall that can not be rafted. The very technical part means the water is low and we will be hitting and seeing lots of rocks and boulders in the river. Now you know a little rafter lingo. We got on to the river about 9:50AM and the guides told us we had to be ready to go by 10AM. I asked why we had to be ready at 10 and we were told that is when the dam would open the spillway and release water to bring the level of the river up so we could raft it. They leave it open for four hours and then close it off. This is only done on the weekends and the rafting companies have to pay for the release. During the week the dam is used to generate electricity and the dam is open all day to meet the elecricity demand during the work week. I guess you are wondering about the flat people and how well they did in water. Well they both slept in back at the hotel. They were exhausted from the rainforest tour the day before. Back to my story we got on the river and the water poured out and we went charging down the river. We both managed to stay in the raft through all the rapids. Other rafts had a few swimmers (not by choice) through some of the rapids. We spent about five and a half hours on the river. We had a great time and met some great people. We had two students from Korea and a girl from Canada in our raft with us. All three had been working in either Japan or Australia for about 10 months and were taking two months off to travel before they went home. After we completed the raft ride you guessed it, it was time for afternoon tea but this time we all celebrated with beer and chips! We got back to our hotel about 7PM. The flat ones were still in bed but some of our wine was missing and they both had smiles on their faces.

We surived to tell the story! Speaking of surviving, this area near the Tully river was where Survivor Australia was filmed (so we were told).

Off to Cairns

About 24 hours after arriving at Ayers Rock, we were back at the airport for our 1,112 mile flight to Cairns in the Sunshine State of Queensland. As soon as we landed, we kept saying, "This reminds us of Hawaii!" and it did in lots of ways. It is tropical and laid back. We got settled in our hotel, then walked into town to visit the Night Markets and grab something to eat.

The 4 of us aboard the Kuranda Scenic Railway

The next day, Saturday the 20th, we had a tour to the village of Kuranda. We boarded the Kuranda Scenic Railway for a trip through the rainforest and a deep river gorge on our way to the village. We had some time to stroll through the quaint streets, then we got onto the Skyrail cablecar to travel over the rainforest. We had the opportunity to get off at an intermediate station and take advantage of scenic walkways through the rainforest.

It was an amazing sight! We were oohing and aahing the entire hour. At the end of the cablecar ride, we walked to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park for a full afternoon of demonstrations, dances, and music of the local tribes. We each tried our hand at throwing boomerangs, and Bill tried spear throwing as well. It was a very entertaining and informative afternoon.

Trying to find a didgeridoo for Verne

Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock as seen from the plane


We flew from Perth to Ayers Rock on Thurs., the 18th, a flight of 1,021 miles. It was 66 degrees when we left Perth, and 110 degrees when we landed at Ayers Rock! It really reminded us of Phoenix without the cactus. We were very excited about the Sounds of Silence Dinner that we had planned for that night, and it definitely lived up to our hopes. We were driven out to the desert floor near the base of the Rock where we were served champagne and canapes (including crocodile with macadamia nuts in phyllo, and kangaroo with mango on crackers) while we watched the sunset. As we sat down to dinner at candlelit tables, a didgeridoo was played. The delicious buffet included lamb and barramundi, an Australian fish. After dinner, while having coffee and dessert, an astronomer pointed out various constellations of the southern hemisphere.

Getting ready for the sunset

Luckily our hotel was only about 10 minutes from the site of the dinner, because we had to get right to bed. The next morning we were scheduled to do a Sunrise Tour which meant getting up at 4:00 a.m. Fortunately, that tour started with -- what else -- Morning Tea! We didn't mind getting up so early, because we knew it would be worth it to see the sunrise over Ayers Rock, but the Morning Tea gave us an extra incentive. After the tea and sunrise, we had a guided walk around parts of the base of the Rock where we were able to see Aboriginal cave paintings and learn about the customs and culture of the native peoples.
The Flat Ones didn't complain about getting up early to see the sunrise.

Wave Rock & Dog Cemetery

On Wed., the 17th we took a bus tour inland from Perth that included a HUGE granite rock formation called Wave Rock. The wind has carved it over thousands of years. It was really impressive, and hopefully you can see its scope in the photo. We also saw some rocky areas that were significant to the Aboriginal peoples, and heard the legends of the area. Along the way, we stopped at another area of interest: a cemetery for working sheep dogs. One of the graves was for a dog named Cindy; I couldn't resist taking Bill's picture there.

Whew!

Sorry for not posting for awhile. We've been to Ayers Rock (awesome) and Cairns (terrific) and have just been TOO BUSY to get online! We'll update once we're on the Gold Coast and have some free time. We can't believe we have only a week left here down under. The time has flown by! Can't wait to show some pictures of our adventures with the flat ones (who are getting a little rough around the edges.) Yesterday in the rainforest along the Daintree River, Flat John almost lost a leg to a crocodile! Photo to follow . . .