Unlike the US airlines who have all deemed food unnecessary on flights, Australians still understand that travelers are happiest when they are given food and beverages. Each of our domestic flights thus far even the shortest, 1.5 hours, have given us a meal and lots of beverages. Lovely sandwiches and fruit, muesli bars, cookies and all the Lift (lemony soda) you could want.
Yeah!!!
On our early morning flight from Sydney to Melbourne (enroute to Ayers Rock) we even had a choice of 4 different newspapers!!
Ah I love good airline hospitality.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Full Moon in Australia
We are so lucky, we had a full moon in Uluru and another in Port Douglas. (Well, one had to be not quite full but I couldn't tell the difference.)
The one that happened while at Uluru was on the night we had booked a Sky Tour (shout out to Derek Pitt!) a tour of the night sky at the Uluru Observatory. We were worried the moon would make it hard to see the stars. It did and the clouds made it even harder. The official tour was cancelled.
The guide told us when he came to pick us up. I was really disappointed. I asked him to point out the Southern Cross. He was funny. He pointed straight down and said, "The north star is that way," and then pointed towards the sky saying, "The southern cross is that way." When I pressed him he showed us the cross and Jupiter and asked for the refund back. (hehe)
The night before we had watched the sun set from a lookout above the hotel. The moon was so bright and the wind was blowing the clouds so fast that Kris and I decided to go back and check out the sky from there. The path moves away from the lights of the lodge and I couldn't hear any cars or anything except the wind. The day had been so outdoorsey. We had slept in bunk beds, gotten up early for the sunrise, walked Kata Tjuta for three hours, gone to the Cultural Centre, seen the sunset over the Rock, taken showers in a group shower hut and now were outside looking at a movie set moon. It felt like camp. And I felt the same way I felt as a kid when I went camping with my family. There was even a guy playing acoustic guitar! As we walked up the path in the bright moonlight I turned to Kris and said, "We should be getting high." She laughed and said she was thinking the same thing. It just seemed like such an appropriate thing to do, notwithstanding the fact that I have never seen her do it and I haven't smoked since I was a teenager!
When we got to the top I was shocked to see that there was not a single young couple canoodling, no old folks getting high on weed or wine, in fact there was no one there but us! What is wrong with these campers?
We sat and watched the cloud race around, watch the light get stronger and weaker, tried to remember where the southern cross was, tried to remember if Alpha Centuri was the closest galaxy to the ours and other important things. Eventually we had to go to bed because the next day we were getting up early again to watch the sun rise on Uluru.
The full moon in Port Douglas was seen as we raced up a coastal road. More about that later.
The one that happened while at Uluru was on the night we had booked a Sky Tour (shout out to Derek Pitt!) a tour of the night sky at the Uluru Observatory. We were worried the moon would make it hard to see the stars. It did and the clouds made it even harder. The official tour was cancelled.
The guide told us when he came to pick us up. I was really disappointed. I asked him to point out the Southern Cross. He was funny. He pointed straight down and said, "The north star is that way," and then pointed towards the sky saying, "The southern cross is that way." When I pressed him he showed us the cross and Jupiter and asked for the refund back. (hehe)
The night before we had watched the sun set from a lookout above the hotel. The moon was so bright and the wind was blowing the clouds so fast that Kris and I decided to go back and check out the sky from there. The path moves away from the lights of the lodge and I couldn't hear any cars or anything except the wind. The day had been so outdoorsey. We had slept in bunk beds, gotten up early for the sunrise, walked Kata Tjuta for three hours, gone to the Cultural Centre, seen the sunset over the Rock, taken showers in a group shower hut and now were outside looking at a movie set moon. It felt like camp. And I felt the same way I felt as a kid when I went camping with my family. There was even a guy playing acoustic guitar! As we walked up the path in the bright moonlight I turned to Kris and said, "We should be getting high." She laughed and said she was thinking the same thing. It just seemed like such an appropriate thing to do, notwithstanding the fact that I have never seen her do it and I haven't smoked since I was a teenager!
When we got to the top I was shocked to see that there was not a single young couple canoodling, no old folks getting high on weed or wine, in fact there was no one there but us! What is wrong with these campers?
We sat and watched the cloud race around, watch the light get stronger and weaker, tried to remember where the southern cross was, tried to remember if Alpha Centuri was the closest galaxy to the ours and other important things. Eventually we had to go to bed because the next day we were getting up early again to watch the sun rise on Uluru.
The full moon in Port Douglas was seen as we raced up a coastal road. More about that later.
Talllarook
When we arrived at the ParrotFish Lodge in Port Douglas on Wednesday night we were planning to go snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef the next morning. We did a quick email check and saw that our trip had been cancelled. Umm.. it was now about 9pm and we wanted to get our snorkel on. Jason, the ever so helpful hostel owner said he would pull some favors for us and did his magic. He got us booked on the Tallarook, a 90ft sailing yacht. We weren't sure if this was a good or bad idea as there seem to be two choices of snorkeling boats - small or cruise ship huge.
We went to the Marina the next morning and here is the scene - a beautiful yacht with a crew of 5, jack Johnson music playing on board and the crew telling us that there will only be about 20 people for the trip. Fantastic. Small boat definitely the way to go.
It took about two hours to get out to Tongue Reef. The water was a collection of brilliant blue and green hues and we motored/sailed past the highest peak in Queensland.
We all lounged on the boat and got our snorkel briefing. The snorkeling was amazing. Fantastic bright colors, tons of fish. We found Nemo, Dory and the whole gang. At points we were only about 1 meter from the reef and I had a bit of panic that a flipper would hit part of the reef and destroy countless years of growth.
This was an amazing experience. We went out for about 2 hours of snorkeling. On the first round, the crew worked on lunch and we were treated to a major food spread.
The second round of snorkeling was completely different. The current was strong, the colors seemed less vibrant but still amazing. What I did notice on the second time was the sun breaking through the water and seeing the individual rays cutting through the water and hitting the ocean floor. So cool.
For our first snorkeling trip I went off the area at the back of the boat pretty much even with the water and kind of eased my way in. On the second trip. I jumped off the deck of the boat. About 15 feet to the water with my flippers on and mask in hand.
I gotta confess, when I was a little kid I used to play "Jacques Costeu" in our backyard pool by flipping off an inner tube and pretending to explore the ocean. No more pretending, this was the real thing!
We went to the Marina the next morning and here is the scene - a beautiful yacht with a crew of 5, jack Johnson music playing on board and the crew telling us that there will only be about 20 people for the trip. Fantastic. Small boat definitely the way to go.
It took about two hours to get out to Tongue Reef. The water was a collection of brilliant blue and green hues and we motored/sailed past the highest peak in Queensland.
We all lounged on the boat and got our snorkel briefing. The snorkeling was amazing. Fantastic bright colors, tons of fish. We found Nemo, Dory and the whole gang. At points we were only about 1 meter from the reef and I had a bit of panic that a flipper would hit part of the reef and destroy countless years of growth.
This was an amazing experience. We went out for about 2 hours of snorkeling. On the first round, the crew worked on lunch and we were treated to a major food spread.
The second round of snorkeling was completely different. The current was strong, the colors seemed less vibrant but still amazing. What I did notice on the second time was the sun breaking through the water and seeing the individual rays cutting through the water and hitting the ocean floor. So cool.
For our first snorkeling trip I went off the area at the back of the boat pretty much even with the water and kind of eased my way in. On the second trip. I jumped off the deck of the boat. About 15 feet to the water with my flippers on and mask in hand.
I gotta confess, when I was a little kid I used to play "Jacques Costeu" in our backyard pool by flipping off an inner tube and pretending to explore the ocean. No more pretending, this was the real thing!
So much to blog
So much to blog, so much to blog.
Get ready for marathon blog updates from all of us. We found cheap internet in Port Douglas. Still working on the pictures too.
Get ready for marathon blog updates from all of us. We found cheap internet in Port Douglas. Still working on the pictures too.
Raised by a military policeman
Sooooo imagine it is about a week ago----dragon boat races are done, we have packed our bags in preparation for leaving Sydney, the alarm goes off at 3:45 am so we can be ready for our 4:30 am transfer to the Sydney airport, thus beginning the next leg of our adventure--travelling to Ayers Rock.
Our group of six (Rosemary, Jenny, Joann, Jocelyn, Kris and I) travelled with 4 other people to the Sydney airport. As you can imagine we were still half asleep as our drive pulled up in a mini van with a trailer behind for the luggage. We loaded it all up quickly and hopped in ready to go---then it began.
He started fiddling with the spark plugs--apparently the one that controlled the rear brake lights on the trailer had blown and he was trying to fix it. Asking us for various tools, borrowing some from the hotel but to no avail. Finally after we have been anxiously looking at our watches and realizing that our 4:30 departure was creeping ever faster towards 4:45 am --he shut the door on the van and off we went.
From the first block we knew something was up--he raced through one traffic light, braked hard for another and was swerving around a bit. A few people chuckled and made quiet comments which infuriated the driver and he started into a brief tirade of how it wasn't nice to laugh at him, he had already had one heck of a morning--was sent to the wrong hotel to get us and had been stopped by police TWICE!! before getting us!! Oi vey!!
At this point, he told us about the rear lights being out and said if he got stopped by the cops again we wouldn't be able to continue to the airport and he might lose his license. Hmmmmmm
Then the real fun began--just as I thought we were going to get on the highway to continue to the airport--he veered off and began a twisty turvy mad dash through a variety of neighborhoods. Jocelyn innocently said "I don't remember going this way when we arrived." Unable to withhold my annoyance with the driver I sarcastically replied "That is because we are SUPPOSED to be on the highway!!"
The driver was attempting to avoid the cops at all costs. This is where my upbringing really came into play. I watched every sign post, made note of all neighborhood related signage and tried to maintain some sense of direction as we went careening through sleeping neighborhoods. All in an attempt to be able to tell the authorities in case we were dropped off in some dark abandoned warehouse or some other scary place. All sorts of things were running through my brain.
Dad--you would have been so proud of me!!
I was also trying to figure out at what point, I should just yell--pull the van over, we are getting out!! Thankfully, we finally saw a sign for the airport and he indeed had taken us where we wanted to go and we still had 45 minuts before our flight left. Unfortunately, he had taken us to the international terminal and the domestic terminal was a good 5 minutes away.
As you can guess, we made it to our flight in time and got to Ayers Rock ok!
Phew what an adventure in transport!!!
Our group of six (Rosemary, Jenny, Joann, Jocelyn, Kris and I) travelled with 4 other people to the Sydney airport. As you can imagine we were still half asleep as our drive pulled up in a mini van with a trailer behind for the luggage. We loaded it all up quickly and hopped in ready to go---then it began.
He started fiddling with the spark plugs--apparently the one that controlled the rear brake lights on the trailer had blown and he was trying to fix it. Asking us for various tools, borrowing some from the hotel but to no avail. Finally after we have been anxiously looking at our watches and realizing that our 4:30 departure was creeping ever faster towards 4:45 am --he shut the door on the van and off we went.
From the first block we knew something was up--he raced through one traffic light, braked hard for another and was swerving around a bit. A few people chuckled and made quiet comments which infuriated the driver and he started into a brief tirade of how it wasn't nice to laugh at him, he had already had one heck of a morning--was sent to the wrong hotel to get us and had been stopped by police TWICE!! before getting us!! Oi vey!!
At this point, he told us about the rear lights being out and said if he got stopped by the cops again we wouldn't be able to continue to the airport and he might lose his license. Hmmmmmm
Then the real fun began--just as I thought we were going to get on the highway to continue to the airport--he veered off and began a twisty turvy mad dash through a variety of neighborhoods. Jocelyn innocently said "I don't remember going this way when we arrived." Unable to withhold my annoyance with the driver I sarcastically replied "That is because we are SUPPOSED to be on the highway!!"
The driver was attempting to avoid the cops at all costs. This is where my upbringing really came into play. I watched every sign post, made note of all neighborhood related signage and tried to maintain some sense of direction as we went careening through sleeping neighborhoods. All in an attempt to be able to tell the authorities in case we were dropped off in some dark abandoned warehouse or some other scary place. All sorts of things were running through my brain.
Dad--you would have been so proud of me!!
I was also trying to figure out at what point, I should just yell--pull the van over, we are getting out!! Thankfully, we finally saw a sign for the airport and he indeed had taken us where we wanted to go and we still had 45 minuts before our flight left. Unfortunately, he had taken us to the international terminal and the domestic terminal was a good 5 minutes away.
As you can guess, we made it to our flight in time and got to Ayers Rock ok!
Phew what an adventure in transport!!!
Blogging Challenges
G'day to all of our fans,
We apologize for the spotty blogging over the last few days. We have had a variety of blogging issues to contend with from really expensive internet access to well our most interesting challenge--Blogspot in Japanese! The computers at our hostel in Port Douglas translated everything into Japanese and it took a few days and the brilliance of travelling Librarian (Jenny) to figure out how to change it back into English.
Fortunately for you a few of our attempted posts in Japanese disappeared into cyberspace, who knows what sort of things we might have said!!!
Soooooooo, some of our posts are going to be a bit back dated as we attempt to catch you up on our adventures!!
We apologize for the spotty blogging over the last few days. We have had a variety of blogging issues to contend with from really expensive internet access to well our most interesting challenge--Blogspot in Japanese! The computers at our hostel in Port Douglas translated everything into Japanese and it took a few days and the brilliance of travelling Librarian (Jenny) to figure out how to change it back into English.
Fortunately for you a few of our attempted posts in Japanese disappeared into cyberspace, who knows what sort of things we might have said!!!
Soooooooo, some of our posts are going to be a bit back dated as we attempt to catch you up on our adventures!!
Two Strange Mornings...
Ok, so when we left the hotel in Parramatta, we took a back road tour on the shuttle, since our driver had already been stopped 2 times by the police because his tail-light on the luggage tralior was burned out... So he picked us up 15 minutes late, then spent another 15 minutes trying to see if he could fix the tail-light. Then we were off with tail-light not functioning.
He took us through all these neighborhoods with circles and spped bumps... Then Sissy laughed and we were told it wasn't a laughing matter... All this before 5 AM...
Finally at the airport.. but it's the wrong one, we were in the international terminal.. hummm..Finally over to the domestic terminal and phew we made the plane.
Second strange morning in Uluru... Jenny mentioned earlier that we were sharing the room with an Asian couple. We asked the night before if they were leaving early also, since we were going on a sunrise tour. They said, yes, so I, being the light sleeper that I am, heard them get up at 2:40 am... and they came back about an hour later.. Hummm.. late night snuggle i n the desert??
Then our alarm went off at 4:20 am, and the couple were still sleeping, luckily the rest of the group had a room to theirselves, and all my stuff was packed, Jenny and I by the light of an indiglo clock evacuted the room quickly and as quietly as possible.. I kind of felt like I was doing a covert operation.
Then we were off to the Kata Tjuta for sunrise. Which was Awesome, then out 2 plus hour hike through the Valley of the Winds!!
He took us through all these neighborhoods with circles and spped bumps... Then Sissy laughed and we were told it wasn't a laughing matter... All this before 5 AM...
Finally at the airport.. but it's the wrong one, we were in the international terminal.. hummm..Finally over to the domestic terminal and phew we made the plane.
Second strange morning in Uluru... Jenny mentioned earlier that we were sharing the room with an Asian couple. We asked the night before if they were leaving early also, since we were going on a sunrise tour. They said, yes, so I, being the light sleeper that I am, heard them get up at 2:40 am... and they came back about an hour later.. Hummm.. late night snuggle i n the desert??
Then our alarm went off at 4:20 am, and the couple were still sleeping, luckily the rest of the group had a room to theirselves, and all my stuff was packed, Jenny and I by the light of an indiglo clock evacuted the room quickly and as quietly as possible.. I kind of felt like I was doing a covert operation.
Then we were off to the Kata Tjuta for sunrise. Which was Awesome, then out 2 plus hour hike through the Valley of the Winds!!
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