Welcome to Sydney

Sydney actually got off to a bad start and had plenty of problems. Nonetheless, we had one of our nicest evenings there, and we would go back.

The real problem was logistics. When we were planning the trip, things looked very walkable, and for some people it might actually have been walkable, but we found that it really wore us out. Our travel plans may have been too ambitious, at least for the budget we wanted to keep. It was definitely the area where our plans least matched our reality.

The first bad start was that we encountered a really rude taxi driver who refused to take us from the airport. He was at the front of the taxi rank, so we were directed to him and then he started pitching a fit about how there were too many of us. I will admit, he did have a smaller car, with a smaller trunk, but I think the real issue was more one of style. It was more of a town car than a cab, and based on how he was dressed I think he has this image of himself as more of a chauffeur, picking up wealthy businessmen with one bag for the trunk, and one briefcase for the seat, and excellent tips. Anyway, he was arguing with the airport person in charge of the taxi rank, and we're thinking that we really don't want to ride with him at this point, and finally she directed us to another car. He'll be lucky if he doesn't get banned from the airport, because they will remember that attitude, and airport access is very important for cabbies.

The other driver was fine, but we did not give him a large tip because he took three wrong turns getting to our hotel, and we kept watching the fare get higher while this was happening, so we were just not off to a good start. In addition, we were finding that Sydney was huge and traffic was bad. We didn't think we would need a cab again until we left Monday morning, but we turned out to be wrong about that.

You see, not only is Sydney quite large, but it is built upon many hills, and unfortunately we started each day with pointless uphill walks. Friday night, when we arrived, we did not see any restaurants around and we were tired, so we ordered in and it was really expensive. We wanted to eat cheaply after that, so for breakfast we tried to find a McDonald's. The guy in the mini-mart with internet seemed to know where one was, so we started off in that direction, and climbed up and up and up without finding any food, but suddenly finding ourselves in an area of rainbow flags, manpris, and no other females. Nonetheless, we did find a Hungry Jack's here, and we just went for it. (Hungry Jack's is Burger King, but someone in Victoria owned the name, so they just call it Hungry Jack's, even in the other states.)

That out of the way, we started towards the waterfront. On the way down, we found another Hungry Jack's, so that whole uphill trek was completely useless, but we didn't know. So we kept on walking, made it to Darling Harbour (where we found a McDonald's, but too late), and started getting back to our original plans of going to Taronga Zoo. Our plan was to visit there, then explore the Botanical Gardens, including sitting in Mrs. MacQuarie's Chair, and then head over to the opera house, where we were attending the symphony. It was all on the waterfront, so seemed feasible. We were so very wrong.

We did make it to Taronga, and I highly recommend it. The reason it was on our list is that it has the widest selection of native animals that we found. Everyone has koalas and wallabies and kangaroos, but if you want to see platypus and echidna it gets a bit less likely, and it was one of only two places where we saw dingoes. The nocturnal exhibit has lots of smaller things too, like quoll, possum, bandicoot, and bilby of multiple types. You can't necessarily get the best looks at them because it is very dark in there, but still, we did see them.

In addition, the set-up itself is quite interesting. "Taronga" means good view, and the entire place is built on a hill. You can get there by bus or boat (or car, but boat is the way to go), and the Sky Safari carries you up to the top of the hill, where you then work your way down. On your way up, you have an amazing view of the harbor, including the opera house and the bridge. All in all the zoo visit was pretty good.

As we made our way back to Darling Harbour, we realized we were in no way up for walking to the gardens. The coastline is not smooth, so walking from Point A to Point B is not done in a straight line. If you followed the coast, you would be wasting a lot of steps. As it is, you can go to the main road, follow that to the finger you need, and then go out, but somehow it did not appeal.

We had not really looked at the Sydney Aquarium before, but it had gotten good reviews, and it was right next to Wildlife World, and if you bought a pass to both you could get discounted admission, and they were right there, so that's what we did. We went through the aquarium that day, and we were going to save Wildlife World for Sunday. This was good, because it was becoming clear that we were not going to do the bridge climb.

I had started worrying about it on Thursday, and was just getting a bad feeling of dread about trying it. I know a lot of people had recommended it and said they were fine doing it, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we shouldn't go. I hadn't really said anything to my sisters, but they ended up being on the same page. I don't really know what that was about, but I eventually started thinking that maybe my blood sugar would have plunged at some point while I was up there, because that happened a few times on the trip, but never anywhere that would have been as bad as halfway up the bridge. They probably could have gotten me down safely, but possibly have ruined the climb for others. Also, I might not have caught on right away, because generally my low blood sugar symptoms are that I feel weak and break into a sweat, and I might have thought that was just the climb. Anyway, we didn't go.

I'll do a separate posting about the symphony, but basically after the aquarium we hiked up to the street and found Golden Arches, ate there, then just grabbed a cab to the opera house, and took one back.

Our useless hike the next day was to try and find church, at which we failed, but there is a whole saga with church going there that should be treated separately. We headed down to the harbor again, did Wildlife World, and we should totally have forced ourselves to go to the gardens then, but we were tired and there was an IMAX theater right there, so we decided to try that instead. That's where I lost my wallet.

So, for recommendations, I think the first thing would be to stay on the waterfront if you can. Most of the attractions are there, and so logistically you save a lot by being there. It's probably more expensive, but I'd at least check that out.

Taronga Zoo is definitely must see if you want to spot the different types of animals. It is the best place for it, and the sky safari may only be a short ride but it is awesome. The Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World are okay, but not spectacular. If I were to choose only one of the two, I would go for the Aquarium.

For transportation I would seriously recommend looking into the train system, which probably would have helped us a lot. Or just bring plenty of money for taxis.

We probably could have asked our concierge to point us towards transportation and restaurants, but when they welcomed us they were very helpful in directing us to shopping that was very expensive, and I guess we just didn't want to see the horror in their eyes as we asked where to find Mickey D's. I know it's not exactly good food, but sometimes cheap can really be valuable, and it is tasty.

When we were hanging out before the show, my sisters were saying they would want to come to Sydney again, and I was surprised because we'd had the most trouble there so far. However, I think their point (which I don't necessarily agree with) was that we gotten a pretty good view of Port Douglas, Cairns and the Reef, and Ayers Rock, and so they didn't feel a need to revisit there. I think they felt like Sydney was unfinished, or at least that it could have been done better.

One thing we discussed was coming back and trying the bridge climb again, but I realized that I don't really want to. I can see where it is cool, but it seems more like something that is cool to have done than would be cool while you were doing it. Of course, I am horrible going uphill or upstairs, and even getting much fitter I think I will still kind of be that way. I'm not ruling it out, but it is not a priority.

I would want to try for the gardens and the chair again, and also we found out about a tower that would give you a good view and also has this attraction that I think would be something like Soaring Over California, only it would be over Australia, and I would like to try that. However, it is not a city that I fell in love with, and I don't think that will change.

http://www.darlingharbour.com/
http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/
http://www.taronga.org.au/taronga-zoo.aspx
http://www.sydneytower.com.au/

Mt. Conner Safari

This was really one of our nicest tours in Australia. Your tour guide can make a huge difference, and if you go you might not be lucky enough to get Leroy, who only does this part time (we actually got him on his last day before heading back to his other gig, radio host and proprietor of the Greenhills Hotel and Condah Pub in Condah, Victoria). However, it is a good company, so probably their other guides are good too, and the scenery was amazing. With this post more than any of the others, I hope that you will check out the other photos on our Shutterfly site, because a lot of them came out really beautifully and I can only choose five for the blog postings. They are mixed in with the Ayers Rock Resort photos under "The Red Centre".

Leroy picked us up at the resort at 2:00 PM. Mt. Conner is about 88 km southeast of Uluru, and is not part of the national park. Instead, it is on private property, part of the Curtin Spring cattle station. Perhaps because of this, there is less of an effort to change habits of referring to it by the English name and going back to the aboriginal name. However, we did ask and you can also call it Attila. Leroy said the natives called it the land of the ice men, and as it was once part of Antarctica, they seem to know what they were talking about.

Since you are on private property, we had to stop off at the station to pick up the keys, and there is a gated entrance that you need to go through. At the station there is a roadhouse, restrooms, and camping, and they have some cages with various native birds. I said "hello" to one white cockatoo several times, having been told he would greet me, and he just kept looking at me and said nothing. Then, as I started to walk away he began saying, "Hello! Hello!" I guess he takes a little while to warm up to you.

Just to be clear, the cattle station itself is very large, but most of it is just land for the cattle to roam over, along with assorted wildlife, and occasional corals and watering holes. You can buy land for a dollar an acre if you will buy a million acres at a time, but in country this dry, I suppose you need a larger spread to support enough food. Where we stopped is right near the road, and I imagine may be the only buildings on the entire spread, though you could probably roam around for days without being sure. Anyway, if you are into camping, that could be one way of seeing the area without staying at the resort, and it looks like they have rooms too.

Anyway, we picked up the key and got in through the gate. All this time Leroy was talking via radio with the other driver, Brady. He mentioned something about spending an hour at the lake, so I had in mind that we would be going to a lake, only I was surprised that there might be a lake in such a dry area.

As we got closer, I noticed a low, flat area that I thought was it, only it seemed awfully white, and bright. The temperature surely wouldn't have allowed for freezing, so what was going on? As we got there, it was just a sheet of salt.

There was water there once upon a time, but below the surface there were salt deposits and a layer of porous black mineral. When rains come now, that combination causes the water to leach more salt up to the surface. I imagine it's a lot like the Bonneville Salt Flats, but I have never been there.

Leroy told us that it's official name was Lake Swanson, but there are also references to the Amadeus Salt Lake Chain, so that may indicate that there are more of these lakes around. It was pretty impressive, and makes a great backdrop for pictures. Maybe it's gross, but I did feel compelled to break off some salt crystals and taste them. It was salt all right.

We headed out for some kangaroo spotting, and saw two. Granted, we had already seen kangaroos at the Rainforest Habitat, and we were going to see more in every zoo and park on the trip, but there is still something cool about seeing them in the wild. One of the pictures up there has one of the kangaroos, but it is pretty tiny. I still had not discovered the zoom feature yet.

I had mentioned earlier how the crocodile spotting was a bit reminiscent of the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, only real. This was a bit like the Indiana Jones ride, only real. There are parts where the road is quite smooth (and notice how red it is), but as we started heading up to the lookout it kept getting rockier, and rougher. We kind of like it that way, and were laughing a lot. The really rocky pictures are from up at the lookout. It's good that there are all of those rocks around, because Mt. Conner is just slightly shorter than Uluru, and Mr. Severin's wish is that by the time he dies it will be taller. They are working on a cairn at the top, so every time they go up, they grab some rocks on the way to add to the top. I bet with Hugh Grant they could finish in a day.

There was still a lot of plant life everywhere. The most populous was probably the mulga, but we also saw a 400 year old desert oak (which is a type of acacia, nothing like an oak as we know it, except that it is tall and strong).

Our next stop was an old homestead from the original settler. The current family, the Severins, have been there since the fifties, but there were two families before that. The first guy started out in a hole in the ground that is still there, and I suppose we could have poked around, but I just know it was full of snakes-probably extremely poisonous ones.

We drove to the top of the hill where the house once stood, then wandered at our leisure down to the old windmill, corral, and water tank. The other vehicle joined us, so we got to talk to the other passengers a bit. They were a couple from the Isle of Wight, and a family of three (two parents and a young daughter) from Melbourne. Our guides set up tables where there were drinks and snacks while we watched the sun set. Brady also did some demonstration with a whip, and if I had known we were going to get a chance to try it I would have paid more attention. I did not do well.

There was wine, of course, but also some juice. The food was bread that you could dip in olive oil and then these crushed seeds. I think they were wattle seeds, and the name for them as a dish was something like woogamooga, but I am just going to call it bush tucker.

After sun set we drove back to the station for dinner. They started us off with pumpkin honey soup, which was excellent. We were served pumpkin soup in many places afterwards, but this was the first time we had it, and I thought it was the best we had (that was the honey element). Then we had steak, and finished off with a choice between bread pudding or I think lemon something. Almost everyone had the bread pudding so I can't really picture the other one.

We finished off by looking at the stars for a bit, then headed back to the resort. You can't really stop and look at things at night, but the animals are a lot more active. I think I saw five kangaroos and a dingo, but everything was just whizzing by. I could see where camping out there at night would be great, though I'm not sure how safe it would be.

Throughout the trip my sisters and I would discuss where we would go again, and a lot of the best experiences would be ones you wouldn't repeat, because they were great and they were done. It would not make sense for us to take this specific tour again. However, there is a lot more that we could do in the area, with more hiking and camping.

I definitely recommend seeing it at least once. There is a wild beauty with lots of variety, and so far I would have to say it is like nowhere else on earth.

http://harristravel.shutterfly.com/161
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Connor
http://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/mount-connor-safari/
http://www.curtinsprings.com/

Greenhills Hotel and Condah Pub
5205 Kenly Highway
Condah, Victoria (between the Grampians and the Great Ocean Road

Ayers Rock Resort

Just so you know, you may need to click on the sunrise pictures to see any detail of the actual rocks.

I hope you can see that it is an extremely beautiful place. There is a high iron content in the soil and it is just red sand, everywhere. Since it is dry and sandy, I guess it is desert, but there is nothing deserted about it. There are trees and shrubs everywhere. The whole place is teeming with life, though it does become more obvious after the sun goes down.

People come primarily to see Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock. The rock is important in the dreamtime folklore for the local aboriginal people. There is another large rock formation nearby, Kata Tjuta, also know as the Olgas, but really, people come for Uluru. Because of this, there is an airport and a resort and tour companies and buses, all of the local industry focused on that tourism.

The two formations are part of a national park, but everything tends to revolve around the resort. Even the locals who work in the area frequent the restaurants and bars of the resort. There are a few things that the resort does well. For one thing, there is a free transfer between the airport and the resort, and there is also a complimentary shuttle between the various areas of the resort (there are five different accommodation options, plus a shopping area), the camel farm, and the park. Different tour groups pick up at the resort, so while you are there transportation is not an issue.

The downside is that everything is very expensive. Of course, everything has to be brought in from miles away, so that accounts for some of it, but the lodging prices are pretty bad, maybe running about triple the price of what you would pay for equivalent lodgings elsewhere. Oddly, the food prices are where I would have expected to be gouged more, and they weren't as much higher, proportionally. We tended to find food and beverage prices pretty expensive anyway throughout the entire trip.

So, if you can pack some non-perishable sealed foods when you go, it can be a good thing. Fortunately, you can see everything in a relatively short period of time. And you definitely should go. It is beautiful. You probably just don't need to spend very long there.

We stayed at the Outback Pioneer Lodge (the only one cheaper than camping). You can reserve individual bunks in rooms of twenty or four, with restrooms similar to what you would have at a campground. If you don't mind hostel living, that should work for you. We ended up with a private room, which was four bunks and our own bathroom. It was better than the bunks, but still not great. However, Outback Pioneer is entertainment central if you want live music or something, and they do have one of the most interesting restaurants.

At the Pioneer BBQ and Bar, you can purchase meat and grill it yourself. That is somewhat innovative, but it is really the meat selection where they stand out. In addition to your normal beef and chicken, you can also purchase kangaroo, crocodile, emu, or barramundi.

We never ate there. Julie was always worried that various things were going to make her sick, with Maria not being much better. I am a bit more adventurous, but I have my limits. If there had been a buffet where you could try the different items cooked by someone who knew what they were doing, I would have tried them all. As it was, food was too expensive to risk blowing your budget one something you wouldn't be able to finish. Also, everyone warns you that if you overcook kangaroo it gets really tough, and as a first-timer I would be almost guaranteed to overcook it.

I will say, we found mixed views on eating the native wildlife. Some people would point out that kangaroo meat is much healthier, with no cholesterol, and it controls the population, all of which is true. At the same time, others who admitted the point about cholesterol would admit that they still couldn't bring themselves to eat "Skippy". Oddly, I think all the ones for eating kangaroo were men, and against were women, but we didn't poll everyone.

For tours, you can book through the Voyages site, but you may find some crucial information missing. We had an issue with this where we had planned on going on a camel tour and it did not work out. You may wish to look up the actual tour provider and try and get more information through them.

You will see a broad selection of sunrise and sunset tours, because that is how people really like to see the rock. We did not book one of these, and I was glad later upon talking to some people on our Mt. Conner tour (next entry), because they said it was pretty but you were with 2000 other people jostling for position. However, this is one thing that was great about the Outback Pioneer Lodge. There was a lookout in the middle of that area of the resort, so I decided to try it.

The day were were leaving (we only stayed two nights), I got up in the dark, pulled on some clothes, and grabbed my camera. Julie and Maria each took turns waking up, telling me not to do anything stupid, and then falling back asleep. (It's not exactly synchronized nagging because they were at different times and neither heard the other one.)

I headed up the path, and with a very short climb I had an excellent view of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The only sound was birdsong. Eventually another couple joined me, followed by one lone man, but we didn't disturb each other so we were able to watch the sunrise in peace. Sure, if everyone starts doing it that won't be any good either, and I don't know if the other areas have similar views, but it's worth a shot.

http://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/
http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru/index.html

Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

I mentioned that we had a beautiful drive into Cairns, but there were a few difficulties, mainly caused by our being on the extreme outskirts of town. Our driver told us on pickup that we would have to pay another $16 each (which took every last bit of our cash), and although we passed all sorts of businesses and restaurants in Cairns, by the time we got to our location there was nothing nearby, and the office was closed.

After ringing the phone outside the gate several times, we were able to get a voice over the intercom directing us to a lockbox where we could get the keys. With the keys was a note asking us to come in during office hours the next day to officially check in. Unfortunately, our next day's excursion meant leaving before the office opened and getting back after it closed. Then, the following day we would have to leave for the airport before office hours.

We were worried about this, but the immediate concern was getting some food. There were two menus in the room, but one restaurant was closed Mondays and the other did not actually deliver to our location. We finally called Domino's, and that would be the first of many times we had to rely on them. (I got really sick of pizza. Domino's isn't that great anyway, and the cheese and toppings tasted funny there.)

Actually, most of the Worldmark locations were kind of out of the way. We have a friend who has a membership, so we got a good deal, the rooms were nice, and having laundry in the room was wonderful, but they are definitely better for people with cars.

I made one more foolish mistake, which was that I had not brought my e-mail confirmation with me. So far no one else had asked for one, and there did not seem to be any crucial information on it, but it would have been helpful. The bus that picks you up is taking people to multiple different tours, so that can help keep you straight. The rule ended up being that if I had it I did not need it, but if I did not have it someone would ask, so just always have it with you. Fortunately, we were on the manifest and it did not end up being a big problem.

So, yes, we had lodging and transportation and organization issues, but the boat ride was great. It was a nice little sixty-foot sailboat, and I have to say that our crew really knew what they were doing. They were fun and funny (Louise's orientation talk was a lot of fun, but still told you everything that you needed to know) and they really took good care of us. Moreover, it was just beautiful.

I have three different pictures posted that show water, and I'm still not sure that I have done it justice. It was this incredible blue green that just kept getting bluer. Our skipper Gordon saw me looking at the water about midway and told me that it gets progressively bluer as you get out. At first I thought he said aggressively bluer, and I like that-this is a really in your face blue!

I think I've stated before that I love being on boats, and it's still not getting old for me. I don't know a lot about them really, but he seemed to me that he handled the boat very well. This was especially evident on the way back. We were able to go almost the entire distance without using the motor, only trimming the sails as we got into the harbor. For most of that, we were riding at a 45 degree angle, and it was perfectly comfortable and fun. As cheesy as it sounds, my cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much.

The reef is about three miles out from Cairns. This particular cruise goes out to Pinnacle Reef, and you can either snorkel or scuba in the morning. They feed you lunch and then start taking people over to Green Island in the tender. How long you can spend on the Island depends on whether you want to go back in the water in the afternoon, but that is an option. Lunch is included, along with mornings snacks, afternoon fruit and cheese, and then they brought around a tray of cakes. This is good, as being in the water takes a lot out of you.

(One thing that was frustrating, but it was everywhere, is that pop and water are never included. Almost everyone gives you free tea and coffee, and a lot of tours, including this wine, also serve free wine, but never anything that we drink.)

In terms of our experience level, I had sort of snorkeled before in Hanuama Bay, but Julie and Maria never had. To further complicate things, Maria could not go in the water that day. This is where their exceptional service really came through. Louise towed Julie and another first-timer, Marie, around the water for pretty much the entire session. They held on to a life preserver and Louise dragged it around while pointing out fish. In addition, Gordon gave Maria her own private ride in the tender to use this periscope-type thing and view some of the fish for herself. He forever won her heart by calling her "sea kitten".

(Actually, he had already won both her and Julie's hearts by playing some Duran Duran and, when they mentioned their appreciation, letting us know that he has sailed on Simon's boat, Drum.)

I actually got towed a little myself. I jumped in the water and started waiting for Julie, and she just never came and never came, so I went to her. I had promised to stay by her, but since Louise had it covered, she didn't need me, and I could swim a bit on my own.

I thought the snorkeling would be one of the highlights of the trip, but that part was not great. My mask did not fit well so I kept getting water in it, and then when I would try and get it out a wave would usually wash over me in the process, and the first time that happened I had my mouth open, resulting in a salty coughing fit.

At the Bay you just waded into the water, and it was pretty sheltered, so I find that works better for me. Here it was deeper, and there was more current, and I think that is probably better for scuba than snorkeling. Also, before I go again I should probably just by my own mask and get it fitted so I know it will be right. That being said, there is still just something magical about seeing those brightly-colored fish flitting about. Flitting out of camera-view, actually. I have no talent for underwater photography, and you will notice there are no fish photos here. You can wade into the water from Green Island, but that would mean you are staying at a very pricey resort.

One reason that we chose this particular cruise was because of the stop at Green Island. The book A Town Like Alice is a family favorite, and Joe and Jean visit the island in the book. At the time, it was just grass huts and beach, and a chance to go out in a glass-bottomed boat. I'm afraid that time is long past.

Now there is the expensive resort, with expensive restaurants and shops, and Marineland Melanesia, kind of a theme park (no rides, just crocodiles). It's pretty small, but the island itself is small. You can walk around the entire thing, and if you go, that would probably be the best use of time.

We had several errands that we were trying to accomplish. First off, we wanted to find a place to change clothes so that Julie and I would not be in our swimsuits for the rest of the day. We did find a changing room, so that part worked out.

We also needed to try and contact the office of our resort to work out checking in and checking out. We found a pay phone, and were able to work things out there too. We were going to need to leave a little bit of cash for phone calls (there was a charge for local calls pretty much everywhere), but we could put that and the key on the counter, and it would be fine.

That meant that the last errand was that we needed cash. I had $200 US that I was hoping to exchange, but the hotel exchange rate was highway robbery. Okay, we were at sea so I guess it was piracy. Regardless, I think that day it was $1.20 AUD to $1.00 USD, and they were offering something like $0.87 on the dollar. No way. However, there were also no ATMs. We ended up having to charge our drinks on the boat and wait for cash until we got back into Cairns, making small purchases to get change. Really, there just is not much in the way of amenities on Green Island, at least not cheap ones.

Anyway, at least we were dressed again, we had all seen the reef regardless of individual difficulties, and we could just enjoy the trip back. I already mentioned that it was a nice cruise, with good wind and water, but there was more unexpected fun with our crew. Gordon got a phone call, and his brother John (visiting from Glasgow) told me that it was the captain of the company's other ship (Ocean Freedom). He seemed more interested than would be expected, but he knew what was coming.

Louise started passing around the leftover cheese for ammunition, and we were warned to be ready to fling as the other ship came along side. I remember wondering if this was really going to happen, but in fact it was. Ocean Freedom met up with Ocean Free, and we threw cheese at each other.

Ocean Freedom had several advantages over us. They were bigger so they had a better trajectory, motorized so they could go faster and, with more passengers, they had more cheese and more cheese flingers. I regret to say this still did not prevent them from using the serving tray to launch the cheese rather than flinging by hand. I consider this to be cheating.

They took another pass before heading back to port. We came through okay. John took some cheese to the head, but was not badly hurt.

One other caveat about Cairns-the sun is ferocious. We applied and reapplied sunscreen and we all still got burned. For Julie and I it was definitely in the water. Maria had part of her face in the sun. It was funny because Peter told her she was halfway to lobster, and normally that would be that you are pink on your way to red, but for her, it was really that half her face was burned. Basically, you will burn in eight minutes, and they are not kidding. When we arrived at Ayers Rock the next day people asked if we had just come from Cairns.

In summary, loved our boat, loved our crew, the cruise company was good, but don't really know anything about Cairns, found Green Island disappointing, and still working out snorkeling. I will probably never try scuba, but you just never know.

http://www.oceanfree.com.au/index.html
http://www.worldmarktheclub.com/

The rest of Port Douglas

I do recommend Port Douglas as a place to go. Looking around it reminded me of Hawaii, with lush tropical rainforests going up to sandy beaches. It is also a key location for many attractions, like the Daintree and the Barrier Reef. Some things that we were near but did not get to see were the Daintree Discovery Center (with an aerial walkway), the Bat House (where they nurse injured fruit bats), and of course we did not try the jungle surfing. We thought it sounded expensive and a bit too wild, but the seventy-year old couple in our car did it, and they were fine. We would have missed the nature walk and beach, but it's something to think about.

We also missed Kuranda Village and Sky rail. We heard great things about it after we had set our itinerary, and there was just no room to add it in, so that would definitely be something to consider. You have access to Kuranda from Cairns as well, but I will not be writing much about Cairns because we were only there the one day, which was spent entirely on the reef.

For things we already did, I don't know that it would make sense to repeat the Rainforest Habitat, because we explored it pretty thoroughly, but there is defintely more to see in Daintree, and on another cruise you might see more crocodiles, and if you go at a different time of year to the fruit farm, there might be different fruits in season. We don't need to do those things again, but we could. (Also, despite being just blocks away from Four Mile Beach, we never actually went out there.)

Port Douglas is basically a holiday town. It was initially a fishing village, but now there are a lot of holiday homes and resorts where even native Australians come. There is one main street which is pretty much all restaurants, souvenir shops, and tour booking centers.

This street was the home of Wicked Internet, where we ended up almost every day. It makes perfect sense to combine an internet cafe, video rental, and an ice cream shop in a vacation town, but I just think the buying and selling of used books is a stroke of genius. We were able to sell all of the books we had read on the plane and get some internet time, and then if we had needed new books we could have bought them there. Perfect.

We stayed in the Port Douglas Motel, which had a stop for the Rainforest Habitat bus right across the street, and then the main street with all of the shops and restaurants was right around the corner. That was an excellent location.

The Motel was not great, but it is more that it is not really a motel. There is no daily service, you have to pay for extra towels, or for using more beds than you said you would, and there are no outbound phone calls for ordering food or confirming tours. You can call room to room, and the rooms are relatively cheap and comfortable. I think it would work really well for Australian families who are driving there and have cell phones, but it was not ideal for us.

Away from the main town there are several large resorts that seem very nice, though transportation could be an issue. We stayed at the Rendezvous Hotel in Auckland, and while there saw that they had one in Port Douglas that sounds great, but it would probably cost more. If you are looking at any of the resorts, check transportation options. For tours you can generally get picked up, but you will need to get into town. Actually, the motel right next to ours looked nicer, but I never caught the name.

For transportation between the Cairns Airport and Port Douglas, we used Sun Palm transport. I did not like the online booking process, because I was not sure what stops to select, but setting it up at the airport was fine. On the way there we were with several people, and so we did notice the scenery but were not really focused on it. On the way back we were the only three, so we were more focused, and also it was sunset and it was amazingly beautiful. The road goes along the ocean the entire way, and as we watched the sky turn red, and the sunset and the moonrise, it was just gorgeous. It was the first time that I really noticed that the horizon looks bigger there. Somehow it seems wider. I asked our captain about that later, if it was just me or it really did look bigger. He said he didn't know, but to him the sky seems higher there. We were about thirty degrees closer to the equator there than I usually am, so maybe that's what does it.

Downsides to Port Douglas are just part of being tropical. There are bugs everywhere. You have to empty your trash daily, and not allow standing water to collect. There will still be bugs if you do this, but less chance of being overrun with them or catching a horrible disease from them. Also, people are kind of on island time. You will go to a restaurant, and they just didn't open that day, or they are coming in late. It's okay though, because there are lots of other restaurants, and it's unlikely that everyone will take the same day off. You just need to be relaxed, because North Queensland also stands for Nothing Quickly.

http://www.kuranda.org/
http://www.portdouglasmotel.com.au/
http://www.rendezvoushotels.com/port_douglas/
http://www.sunpalmtransport.com/