Great Barrier Reef

The weather this day was a bit dodgy with clouds, high winds, and even a spattering of rain. Though of no concern to the marine life living amongst the coral, this was of great concern to the human life operating the tour; an hour and a half boat ride is required to get out to the reef, a ride which would be rather rough and rocky this day due to the winds. But, we are thankful for this weather because through it we discovered something Australians are not laid back about - besides chip portions, footy, and cricket, that is - seasick tourists stuck on a boat for an hour and a half! Once on board, we found the staff liberally handing out free ginger tablets to calm tourist tummies. Medicated anti-nausea pills could also be bought for a minimal charge. Of course, the expectation of seasickness made some of us feel more queasy than the rocking motion of a high-speed catamaran ever could. To be on the safe side, though, we all took medicated pills, an effort which rather promoted nausea for Elise who has trouble swallowing pills. Happily, there was no hint of tummy problems once the boat started moving, and most of us skipped medication on the ride back and were absolutely fine.

Our destination was a very large pontoon moored next to a portion of the Outer Reef. Once there, we all donned spiderman suits, aka very becoming (ha ha!) bright blue skin tight lycra suits, to protect us against jellyfish stings. This was the tail end of jellyfish season; their stings are potentially fatal. We just didn't want to mess with that risk.

The snorkelling was great fun. The water was warmer than the air. We paired up adults and kids so we could keep track of each other, though we still managed to lose Elise at one point when she decided to strike out on her own. We went out for 30 - 40 minutes at a time and then came in for a break. Though the coral was not as colorful as I had expected, the fish certainly were. Some of their vivid hues even rivaled our lycra suits! The photos really don't do justice - to the fish or the suits. Unfortunately, I don't know most of the species we saw. Kids inform me that we did see some trumpet fish, angel fish, clown fish, and parrot fish. We found a giant clam. David saw an interesting fish interaction that started as a large fish was being dogged by a very small fish. Eventually, the large fish slowly opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth. To David's surprise, the small fish then eagerly swam into this toothy cavern and started picking its way around those sharp teeth. It was eating bits of debris found there. David tried but couldn't get a photo of this underwater dental hygiene moment. Most of the kids enjoyed a semi-submersible boat ride as well. This was a smaller boat docked at the pontoon with glass walls so that marine life could be seen without snorkelling.

Cairns and Daintree area

Continuing. . . The sky rail was a nice experience. The views were really spectacular, I must say. At the top, we raced through the village of Kuranda to see the butterfly sanctuary for about 20 minutes before heading off on our Rainforestation tour. The Rainforestation was fairly tourist-y but still interesting, particularly the army duck (amphibious vehicle from WWII) ride. We had an excellent tour guide which made our day. Not only was he very funny, but he was extremely knowledgeable. We learned that Daintree is a tropical rainforest, getting around 3 metres of rain per year. That's close to 10 feet! Also, many medical drugs we use are derived in part from rainforest plants. We learned about epiphytes and termites and saw some pretty nasty rainforest plants with barbs and hooks - useful for a vine trying to climb up a tree but not so pleasant for someone walking through the brush. We also learned about how the aboriginals ate plants that we would consider poisonous, even containing cyanide. Our guide seemed to think they ate what they could and developed immunity over time. I also saw the largest spider I've ever seen in the wild right there on the army duck dock. It was a golden orb weaver with a body and head about 6 inches long. I don't even want to venture a guess as to dimensions including leg span. . . She was enormous!!!! I took a photo but kept a healthy distance, even though I know these spiders are not aggressive or deadly. Still. . . .

That was Wednesday. Thursday, we went on a snorkelling tour of the Great Barrier Reef, but I'll wait until we get the photos back for that entry. I'm not even sure how the photos came out; we used throw away underwater cameras. An experiment.

Friday, we drove up to the Daintree Rainforest Discovery Centre. It was a really beautiful drive and we got to take a small ferry across the Daintree River. I guess they haven't gotten around to building a bridge yet? I think we heard that this road to Cape Tribulation was only 50 years old. The Centre itself was very informative and interesting. They have boardwalks and stairways set up to allow you to see all levels of the rainforest. We learned about the diversity of plant and animal species in this rainforest, cassowaries, and more.

On the way back to Cairns, we stopped at Mossman Gorge, which is also in the Daintree National Park. It was pretty crowded and for good reason - it has a great swimming hole and a beautiful hiking circuit. Four members of our family braved the icy cold waters while the one sensible member stood on the bank and took photos. We could only hike a short way on the circuit since it was starting to get dark by the time everybody was out of the water and dried off. The only disappointment of the day was that we didn't get to see a real-life cassowary in the wild. However, we did get to see brush turkeys at the gorge. That was a consolation. (Uh, yeah.)

I just have to add that sugarcane seems to be the main crop in the area. We also saw a field of banana trees and a pasture of brahman-looking cows.

We're in Cairns!

Yesterday, we flew from Adelaide to Cairns, Australia. Our flight took us over The Outback, of which I'm very glad as that is as close as we're going to get to that part of the country. It was interesting to watch the landscape under us empty out and turn brown - and then red. A large white smooth feature was puzzling until I asked the woman next to me what it was. She said it was Lake Eyre, a very large salt lake, one of the largest in the world, she thought. She flies this route regularly and hasn't seen water in it for 8 years. Thus, Lake Eyre is now a large salt flat.

Cairns is definitely of a different climate than Adelaide. The mountains/hills around us really remind us of the karsts in Thailand, though perhaps with less rock and more vegetation. Vegetation. . . it is green and lush here! Obviously, Cairns gets more rain than Adelaide. It is about 10 degrees warmer here than in Adelaide, highs in the low 80s this week, and we can feel that the air is also more humid.

Today, we're planning on taking the sky rail up to Kuranda and then jumping on a tour of the Rainforestation, a tourist attraction that seems to have displays on Aboriginal culture as well as native wildlife - flora and fauna. We should be back at the hotel around 5 pm. The friends we visited in Sydney happen to be vacationing in the area as well, so we may meet up with them this evening!!

We definitely want to see the Great Barrier Reef while we're here, but there is an interesting problem with that undertaking this week. The winds are quite high, 25-30 knots, making for swells in the ocean of up to 2 metres. This is not an issue for the snorkelling part of such a venture; rather, the issue is the boat ride out to the reef, which can take a good hour/hour and a half. There is concern over the possibility of seasickness on the boats. If winds have not died down by Friday, we may just go anyway. I don't know when we'll get another opportunity to see the Great Barrier Reef.

Hopefully, I'll be putting up photos soon. .

A "No Worries" Day

"No worries," is the Australian national motto. No, not officially; it's just a phrase we hear a lot, often used in the same way Americans might say, "No problem." There is a sort of laid back, don't sweat the details, things will work out attitude here that seems to be embodied in, "No worries." As part of our cultural education, we unintentionally lived out this phrase last Wednesday. It was actually quite a helpful experience; we may have gained a deeper understanding of the Australian mindset.

Last Wednesday, David and I had a "teacher interview" with Elise's teacher at 3:30 pm. Hannah's interview was the next day at 3:45 pm. These appointments were clearly marked on my wall calendar. I even remember rolling my eyes when the girls brought home the slips of paper detailing the time slots we'd received from the school. In light of the note that had said the school would do its best to schedule sibling interviews back-to-back, the sequential times on different days seemed a bit ironic - but oh, so Australian.

About 3:15, I decided to double check details before heading out the door. All I could find in the Hannah/Elise slot on my desk was a reminder from Hannah's teacher that said that her interview was at 3:45 pm. . . Wednesday. I had written myself a note on the bottom that Elise's interview was at 3:30 pm. . . Tuesday. I had made a mistake. I had written down the wrong days on my calendar! Worse, this mistake, unnoticed until now, had caused us to be a no-show for Elise's teacher yesterday. Now, I have NEVER missed a parent/teacher conference in the 9 years I've had kids in school; in fact, I take pride in my ability to handle the schedules of our 5 member household. Pride duly subdued at this point, however, I pondered how to apologize to Elise's teacher and whether we should show up at the school at 3:30 per the girls' expectations or just arrive at 3:45 for Hannah's interview.

Then, the phone rang. It was Hannah; did I realize her interview was this afternoon at 3:45? Yes, I did. I asked her to check with Elise to see if by some miraculous chance her teacher could still squeeze in an interview with us at 3:30. A few seconds later, Elise was on the phone telling me that yes, our interview with her teacher was at 3:30. After a few more questions, I realized that Elise's interview had been scheduled for Wednesday, not Tuesday, after all; the interviews HAD been scheduled back to back all along! I'm still quite sure our original notes from the school had them on different days, but my mistake worked out beautifully in the end, even adding efficiency to our schedule. What can I say but. . . no worries!

To end this day, David went to the video store to return a DVD. It was 2 days late. Last time we returned a video, we got slapped with an unexpected huge late fee weeks after the fact. We're still not sure if that video was late or not. So, with all this in mind, we wanted to square away our account immediately with the clear understanding that this particular DVD was only 2 days late. When he returned home, I asked David about the late fee. "Oh, there was no fee. They said it wasn't late." I don't get it. It was rented on a Monday and due the next Monday. This was definitely the next Wednesday. But hey - no worries! Everything worked out just fine this day. We're living in Australia!

Young Music Tastes

Elise is buying herself an ipod. She found one on the web and has ordered it, with the help of her father. It should arrive before the school term break next week. Very curious as to what a 9 year old would want to listen to, I asked her as much. Her cheerful answer, "Oh, Weird Al, The Barenaked Ladies (they're not what they sound like. . . ), The Beatles, The Soweto Gospel Choir, The Nutcracker." I guess her taste in music at this tender age is just a tad eclectic. I can't imagine why.

Oh, and by the way, she chose the green border for this blog's template.

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climbers

David just couldn't pass up an opportunity to climb something as interesting as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Neither could his offspring. Unfortunately, Elise was too young for this activity and had to content herself with walking across the bridge and back (.5 km. 1 way). I think the partaking of a chocolate pastry at a quaint French cafe in The Rocks afterward did much to further her contentment.

David, Ian, and Hannah had a great time on the bridgeclimb! They enjoyed some great views from the top and learning a little about its construction; "rivet" is now in Hannah's vocabulary. Too bad Grandpa wasn't there to give bridge design insights. Their climbing route took them up an inner arch, across to the other side on the very tippy top, and down an inner arch on the opposite side. It sounds challenging and scary, but really, it was just going up and down a lot of stairs, all with railings. Everybody was clipped to the railings for extra safety.

Climbers are not allowed to bring anything with them. Pockets must be completely empty; glasses can't be worn loose but must have a band that goes around the head. If anything would drop from the bridge and hit a car below, causing an accident or even a death, the bridgeclimb company would be in some very hot water or even closed down.

We've heard that the Sydney bridgeclimb is not unique; apparently, there are bridgeclimbs in other Australian cities, like Brisbane.

Sydney, here we come!

Last week, we took a long weekend away to Sydney.

First impressions: Sydney is green, literally green, compared to Adelaide. It also seems to be clean and modern, though it does have some historical neighborhoods too, such as The Rocks.

Highlights:
(1) The Aquarium was a lot of fun! We got to walk under a tank filled with giant marine life, such as sharks, rays, and sea turtles. The effect was like being in the midst of the water with the sea animals swimming above and beside us. We also got to see a couple duck-billed platypus. They were active little critters.

(2) Seeing Bob, Gretchen, Maddie, and Sophie from Ann Arbor was definitely a highlight, especially for Elise who stayed in their place the whole time we were there. David and I didn't know Bob and Gretchen that well and were pleased to discover them to be really comfortable people to hang out with. Maybe they were just on their best behavior for us. (We were trying to behave ourselves as well. . . .) We really appreciated their putting up Elise for 3 nights and feeding us all at least once. Their apartment is lovely, situated close to the beach and very nicely furnished. By the way, we have nothing on them in terms of spider guests. They have at least 3 huge spiders in webs living in the foliage by their front walkway. Two look like female golden orb weavers, even though one is named Herman; the 3rd is just plain scary looking.

(3)Exploring the Sydney Harbour Bridge was fun, but that is my next entry.

(4)We took a tour of the Opera House which was also fascinating. There is a long story behind its construction, involving Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect who won the design competition, and gross underestimations of time and money. Originally expected to take 6 years and $7 million, construction ended up taking 16 years and $102 million. It was completely paid off 18 months after opening, thanks to lottery tickets.

(5)An afternoon at Manly Beach was relaxing and fun. We took the ferry over and back, taking in beautiful views of the harbor both ways. Yet another Ann Arbor family on sabbatical in Australia showed up. It was really nice to have a small A2 neighborhood reunion! We went for a little hike along the beach, and the adults eventually headed up into the cliffs overlooking the ocean while the kids continued to hang out on the beach, swimming and playing.