In mid August Roy offered me his airline ticket to come visit him in Darwin. Since it was wicked hot in Houston, I did not hesitate. Just like last time, I was booked through the scenic route. Very long, but not boring.
First stop and several hour layover:
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| Yes, that pointy building through the haze, is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 828 m (2717ft) |
Next stop and much longer layover:
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| This was a fantastic optical display set to music. Small brass teardrops hung with transparent string. |
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| An orchid garden IN the airport! |
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| and koi pond! |
Finally reached Darwin. A soft bed never felt so good.
While I was there we enjoyed visiting the Mindil market and eating Laksa. Yum! I rode my bike out to East Point, and went swimming in my favorite outdoor pool on Parap Rd. Those 50 meter laps seem long but back stroke isn't quite so bad when you can gaze up at palm trees waving in the breeze.
One day we were surprised and pleased to see this ship docked in the nearby Darwin harbor:
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| USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), |
This is a twin to the ship Mary and Stuart served on.
Being far from home, I will admit I got a little choked up to see the Stars and Stripes on that big strong ship.
Thank you to Roy's boss, Servaes, for all your help, friendship and delicious dinner in Cullen Bay.
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| Servaes, Kelli and Mattie |
Finally made the time to go visit the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. The cyclone room with actual recorded noise from Cyclone Tracy that devastated Darwin on Christmas day in 1974, was downright scary. This is a well known local 5m crocodile that liked to tip over boats but didn't eat anyone. Sadly it drowned during capture.
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| Sweetheart |
We asked ourselves if we were to leave Australia, is there one more place we would regret not seeing? So we jumped on an airplane to Cairns to see the Great Barrier Reef.
We began with.....
The area around Cairns was much more hilly than I had imagined. A nice surprise. Interesting to see the rainforest from the top.
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| A Kauri tree! I thought they were only in New Zealand.... opps. |
We could not pass up the chance to ride a train through the rainforest. Memories of home.
What is the #1 cultivated plant in Cairns area? Sugar cane. Thousands and thousands of hectares.
We spent a fun half day in the small oceanside town of Port Douglas, just north of Cairns.
The other half of the day was here. You don't have to twist our arms to walk through beautiful forest. Me, because I love to walk and hike. Roy, well, you know why he wears those binoculars....
We stayed here and it's not hard to guess why.
Many thanks to wonderful lodge-keepers Lindsay and Keith Fisher.
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| long nosed bandicoot come to eat spilled birdseed |
Roy went birding one day and I tagged along to see more of this beautiful country.
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| our fantastic guide, Carol |
Now I can't tell you all the names of all the birds that we saw that day. Roy was able to see 35 new birds on the entire trip. He was very pleased. The prize of the day was seeing this shy beauty: a Golden Bower bird. thank you Wikipedia.
This is his "bower" he builds to impress the females. (the big pile of sticks.....)
As we are walking back to the car, enjoying the day, what did Carol see just off to the side of trail enjoying a sun bath? A Red Bellied Black Snake. Of the 10 most poisonous snakes in Australia, he is #10. Thankfully they are pretty docile.
He was not happy with us though; notice the flattened neck. But we gave him a wide berth and he stayed in his warm spot. Dang it!!! I would have been happy to make it out of Australia without seeing a poisonous snake in the wild. Very happy. Ecstatic.
It was a great day. Saw these wild brumbys later in the afternoon.
Now, you're probably thinking, wait a minute! I thought you went to see the Great Barrier Reef.
Yes, we did, last day.
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| our sweet ride |
The weather wasn't all that great. It's winter after all Down Under. I wore a short wet suit and the water still felt a little chilly. Thankfully I didn't get sea sick during the one hour somewhat bumpy ride out to this little island.
Yes, the Reef is beautiful. Wikipedia pics.
Our underwater camera didn't work all that great.
I followed a sea turtle like this for several meters. I didn't touch him. honest! A $5K fine if you do. yikes!
Also saw a huge giant clam. fantastic! I highly recommend it.
With all this work we needed a little adventure.... did I say the kids skipped school for a day? I had parental permission, I swear! So off we went to the Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore for a very fun day! I freely admit to being more than a little stressed driving and navigating by myself in the rain, but we made it through without getting lost, in good time even. (the power of prayer!) We had a great day there, as you can see. Coming home was a different matter: 3 hours. Gotta love Washington DC traffic.
