Brisbane, A nice place to visit, but……….

I arrived safely in Brisbane and made it to the hotel relatively problem free. My only comment is that if you ask someone how far it is from the place you will be getting dropped off with a very heavy suitcase, a travel bag, your purse and laptop and they look at the map then put their fingers a couple of inches apart and say “it is only this far”, you should know that they have no idea how far it is and you should find alternate transportation. I should have know this because that is what I do when I have no idea how far it is from one place to another. I promise to never do that again.




I went to the Australia Zoo today. If this experience doesn’t make a person “go green”, nothing will. The theme of the zoo is educating the public on simple ways to save the wildlife from extinction. They remind you throughout the zoo that it is all about supply and demand. If we don’t purchase things that are made out of wood from the rainforest or from animals that come from the rainforest, the demand for these products will reduce thereby reducing the reason to supply these items. You hear that all the time, but once you experience the rain forest, you know you would miss it and all the animals that call it home if they no longer existed. They don’t do this in a preachy way that would annoy you, they simply state the facts. It is a beautiful zoo and very clean. You don’t even smell the animals. I believe she mentioned they had mostly female animals because the males were want stunk up the place. The animals live in an environment that is as close to their own as possible. There is a zoo keeper with each animal to answer any questions as well as make sure no harm comes to the animals.



The koala’s are all hanging from trees in an open area and they have a designated koala you can pet. You can only pet the designated one because there are very strict labor laws for the koala. They are only able to work 30 minutes a day, three days a week. Don’t you wish you were in their union?

The kangaroos are also in an open area so you can feed them if you so desire. I fed a lazy one that wouldn’t even get up to be fed. He wanted the food, but felt no need to even open his eyes to eat.





They have a pair of otters that were given to them by another zoo because they couldn’t keep them contained properly. The otters would escape every night by stacking rocks up and climbing out of the enclosure. Right before the sun would rise, they would return to their enclosure and put the rocks back exactly where they got them. The only reason the zoo knew they were escaping is they left trails of otter poo all over the zoo. The zoo was quite puzzled as to how they were getting out at nigh so they put a camera in their cage and watched them work.



The most impressive animal to me was the cassowary. These birds are in danger of extinction but can still be found in the wild. You just don’t want to be the one to find them. Apparently they will rip your stomach open until everything falls out. They look prehistoric and very scary.






Polly will be happy to know that everyone here seemed to like Steve Irwin as mush as she did. He was not just a famous name the zoo used for publicity. He was the life force of the zoo and very hands on in the daily activities of the zoo. In fact we crossed a footbridge that the tour guide said he made himself. He had started a zoo expansion and donated large sums of money to get it going. They are still working on that project using his plans.





This is my last day is Australia and I will miss it. However, I have no clean clothes and I just ate my last balance bar, so I think it must be time to go home. Today I am going to do the city tour. This is a bus that you can jump on and off of all day to see the sights. I had planned on going to a National Park, but the hotel clerk pointed out to me that there was no point in coming to Brisbane if I didn’t see the city. I could see her point. Brisbane is a very large city. I feel like I am in San Francisco and it sounds like there is a lot to see.

Change of plans, I left here at 8:00 to walk to the mall to use the internet. At 10:00 I headed back to the hotel to drop off my laptop so it could charge while I was doing the tour. It is now 3:00 and I just found my way back to the hotel. I don’t think there is much left to see on the bus tour that I didn’t see on foot. There will be a lot of Australians watching the news tonight to see if the crazy American ever found her hotel. This is a very nice hotel so it surprised me that no one had any idea which direction it was is in. It didn’t help that I didn’t know what street it was on. I know, always take a card with you. In addition to getting lost, it started pouring down rain while I was wondering aimlessly through the city. I of course, didn’t have a jacket and ended up drenched. All in all, it was a great day. However, I see room service in my future.

The Great Barrier Reef

Today was the day we had all been waiting for. We were going snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. I have no pictures to share, so you will all have to take my word for this one. To get there we had to endure a 90 minute ride in very rough waters. Leaving nothing to chance, we all took a couple of Dramamine and a couple of ginger tablets they were offering on the boat. We must have been the only ones that took the threat of getting seasick seriously, because it doesn’t appear that the others took any precautions against it. There were people getting sick all over the place. I am happy to say that not one person from our group got sick.

When we arrived the crew gave you a quick lesson on what to do. From there you were on your own in the ocean with waves splashing over your head and no land in sight. It was a bit intimidating at first, but once you started looking at the fish and coral, the fear disappeared. They had noodles available for anyone who felt they needed help staying afloat. I started out with one figuring it was the only way to come out of this activity alive. The problem with the noodle was it made it very hard to maneuver around, but I felt safer with it. I kept having problems with my mask filling with water and had to go back to the boat and get a new one. When I went back out in the water, I forgot my noodle.. It probably took me about ten minutes before I realized I didn’t have it and didn’t need it. It didn’t take long for me to realize that there wasn’t much danger of me drowning or even swimming to far from the boat . I couldn’t sink and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t get very far away from the boat. I kicked and kicked and was sure I had gone a long ways only to turn around and see the boat the same distance it was before. The minute I stopped kicking, the waves would carry me right back to the boat. At first I suspected they had placed a magnet in my fins that would keep me from swimming to far away. I finally had to admit to myself that I just wasn’t strong enough of a swimmer to go far. They purposely anchor the boat where the waves will push the snorkelers into the boat instead of away from it. They know the weak swimmers won’t get far. I even asked them if that was their strategy and they smiled and admitted to me that it was. Luckily for me there was plenty to see within 20 feet of the boat. I would tell you about everyone else’s day, but the only time I saw them was at lunch. Apparently I was the only one that couldn’t escape the pull of the boat.

How To Get Arrested in Australia

No, we didn’t really get arrested, but I think if we stayed long enough, it could happen.




Today was another amazing day. I realize that I have probably overused the word amazing, but what can I say, this has bee an amazing vacation. This morning we went in search of the kangaroos we had seen the day before. They were still in the field, but we still could not find a place to lull over. No worries, Wayne will find a way. He decided that if we got off the highway and circled around on the surface streets, the kangaroos would be within our reach. Sounded good in theory, but the execution was a little dicey. When we got to where he thought the kangaroos would be there was a school in the way. Once again no worries. Wayne decides to drive into the schoolyard on a very short unpaved road. The only sign insight was one that said no trucks allowed. According to Wayne, the English interpretation is cars may go wherever they want to. I’m not so sure he interpreted it correctly. He drove through the school field and onto a soccer field. Me, being the rule follower that I am, felt pretty confident that we were not suppose to be there. Wayne, not concerned at all, stayed his course and continued to drive to the farthest end of the soccer field. When he ran out of field it was time to leave the car and set out on foot. I was all for that. My name wasn't on the car, so there was no way top connect me to it if I wasn't in it. As we sat out we encountered a very lovely lady who seemed unphased that we were parked on the soccer fiedl. We explained to her that we were in search of the kangaroos and asked if she knew how we could get closer to them. She was very helpful and told us exactly where we needed to go. We didn’t think she even noticed that we had a car parked in the soccer field, but her directions began with, “I don’t know how you got that car in here” and ended with “there is a policeman at the end of the road. If you have been drinking, you will want to stay clear of him. We had not, but that comment pretty much said it all.








Wayne slowly drove off the soccer field so no damage would be done to the grass. He then proceeded to the spot the lovely lady had told us about. Her directions were right on. Wayne even adhered to the no cars beyond this point sign and parked the car. The kangaroos were hanging out in the horses pasture. We could see them very well, but not close enough for some people.











There was a barbed wire fence around the pasture and I am pretty sure the fence was to keep us out and the horses in. Dana decided there must be someplace to get a better look and took off in the brush behind the pasture. Wayne decide she was right and also took off. I, not wanting to get left out of the excitement followed. We were knee deep in brush and I was a bit concerned about the snakes. The Brazelton’s however are fearless and I apparently am a follower. I kept telling myself it would be better to get bit by a poisonous snake than to go home having missed out on the excitement. While in the brush one of the kangaroos went running right past me which made it all worth it. We circled around and came up on the back of the pasture and the barbed wire fence









Dana and Wayne decided we should climb under the barbed wire fence to get a closer look. I very firmly said no that would be trespassing, then very quickly crawled under the fence before they had a chance to leave me. There we were standing in the same field as the kangaroos.












As you probably guessed, this is a best day everbefore it even began. We were headed to the Skyyrail which takes you high above the rainforest. It is a magnificent sight. When yoiu get to the other side, there is plenty to fill your day.














There was kangaroo or crocodile pie.














We went to the butterfly sanctuary in search of a blue butterfly.

















And got up close and personal with the kangaroos.











Some people got more up close and person than others.
















There were lots birds. What do you suppose was falling from from the sky?




























You can’t leave Australia without having your picture taken with a koala.












It is amazing the things peer pressure will cause one to do. While we were there I had my picture taken with a python.

Cairns

I arrived in Cairns without any incidents. Dana was standing there when I got off the plane waiting to greet me. The house we are staying in is lovely. Our backyard is the rainforest. The birds sound like they are in the house with you and a couple that may have been if given an opportunity. My only concern was the very, very large spider in the backyard.








Before I went to bed last night I opened my window so I could fall asleep listening to the birds, crickets and other wildlife. I woke up at about 4:00 and I decided to peer out the windows to see if I could catch any wildlife running across the backyard. When I got up the back door was wide opened. At first I thought Dana must be outside, but after a while I could tell no one was there. I had to decide whether I was brave enough to go outside by myself in the pitch black darkness. I kept thinking about the humongous spider I had seen the night before and was a bit concerned that it would be on the couch for me waiting for me to sit on it so he would have an excuse to bite me. Irrational I know, but you didn‘t see the spider. I decided it would be safer to just move a chair in front of the door and watch safely from inside. I sat there for about 30 minutes until I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I threw caution to the wind and sat outside. Dana joined me soon after that and we sat there and listened as the rainforest woke up. It is an experience I highly recommend. Luckily, I didn’t find out until later that the spider was missing from where we first spotted it.










After Dana and I felt confident that every animal in the rainforest had said good morning to us, we decided to take a walk. We went to the beach, took our shoes off and went wading in the ocean. The water was surprisingly warm. It was 7:00 AM, we were splashing in waves above our knees and we were warm. It was amazing.








We ran into a dog that was fishing in a little pool of water. The dog had caught a fish the day before, but was having no luck today.






Today’s itinerary included a visit to the wetlands for a sunset tour hoping to catch a glimpse at some wildlife.. It was about an hour from where we were staying over some very windy roads.. On the way there we passed a field full of Kangaroos. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any place to pull over to take pictures, but it was quite a site..

The sunset tour started at 3:30. Unfortunately, the tour guide forgot to tell the wildlife what time it started so most of them failed to show up. We did see a lizard, a couple of birds whose names I can‘t remember. We also saw a couple of kangaroos, however, they wouldn’t be still so we could take their picture.





After the tour we were served wine and cheese and watched a beautiful sunset.

It was quite dark when we left and before we even made it to the main road a very large kangaroo run across the street in front of our car. Fortunately for the kangaroo, Wayne’s spidey sense kicked in and he could sense the kangaroo before he could see it and was able to avoid hitting it.