Rafting the Tully River

As usual, we got our stuff ready the night before for our 730AM pickup. I made sure that all we had to do was get up, brush our teeth and go since we are not morning people. Surprisingly, I was the one in charge of setting the alarm on my side of the bed and getting Rich up. Usually it’s the other way around.

The next morning, I hear this weird beeping noise and I look at the clock and it’s only 620. Why is the alarm going off when I set it for 7? Why is it coming from Rich’s side of the bed? I realized it wasn’t the alarm but the phone and I make Rich answer it. It’s the concierge saying that our pickup was waiting for us at the lobby? WHAT?!?! We jump out of bed and I check the coupon and it’s true….pickup was scheduled for 615! I just assumed it was 730 like all the other trips.

After brushing my teeth, I run downstairs. Rich can’t function without coffee and with his sprained ankle, was even slower. The driver was pretty ticked off and told me how lucky we are that he’s waiting and most drivers would have left already. Rich finally got down there around 630. To my relief, there was no one else on the bus. But we did have to pick up more people before being dropped off at Cairns.

We headed to the next stop and first of all, we couldn’t find them. The property was huge and they were on the opposite side of where we were waiting. Then when we do find them, there are only 2 out of 6 people waiting. They were Japanese tourists. One of them had to run back and get the other girls. Even though we were late, they were even later which put us in an even worse mood. We still had to make the bus at Cairns.

Luckily they waited for us and we were the very last ones on board. The Guides blamed the delay on the tourists saying they were still adjusting to the time difference. We’re just glad we made it because this is something we really wanted to do and saved it for last. The Tully River is one of the top 5 Rivers in the World to Raft.

The ride to the river was 2.5 hours away. While we were on the bus, one of the rafting guides asked us if we wanted to do the Extreme version of rafting. Usually it costs A$20 extra dollars but they had 2 extra spaces and thought we would be perfect for it. We didn’t even know it existed and definitely didn’t want to turn down the opportunity.

On the bus, they announced that we were not allowed to wear wet clothing on the bus since the seats were cloth. In the US, I never bring an extra pair of shorts since the bus seats are vinyl. I was bummed! I didn’t bring an extra pair of shorts. That meant I had to go rafting in my bikini! Not fun! At one point, when they pulled me back in the raft, I almost left my bottoms in the river and had to make a quick grab for it!

The catch with being part of the Extreme team is we had to be on the river before everyone else, otherwise we’d be stuck in a “traffic jam.” They rushed us through their base site and we were able to grab a quick bite to eat. We literally had less than 5 minutes to get our life jacket, helmet, and oar.

I made sure I brought my dive camera since it was waterproof. Once we got on the river, I turned it on. But when I looked at the case, the light didn’t come on. I opened it up and in my horror realized I left the actual camera on the bus. I took it out of the case on the bus ride to make sure I had enough batteries and in my rush forgot to put it back in. I was so bummed because there were so many great picture opportunities.

Our first Extreme experience was noticing how the guide would ram our raft onto the rocks on purpose. And when he trained us how to all go to one side of the raft, he tipped it over on purpose. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like this. But they said that we got to stay on the river longer and instead of wasting a lot of time trying to figure out what path to take, they just took us right in!

All the guides on the Extreme were the most senior guides of the company. Our guide’s name was Ricky. He ended up being such a cool and funny guy (not as funny as the bachelorette party guide) that he made the trip really memorable.

Before lunch, they took our raft underneath a waterfall. (This picture isn’t us. I had to download it). Surprisingly the pelting water was really strong.

Then we went down this little waterfall and our raft was supposed to go to the right. Instead it went to the left and we got backed into a corner. I was on the front right corner of the raft and it probably wasn’t the best place for me to be sitting at this time. Ricky maneuvered the raft so we can “surf” the wave before we made it out. But, I really felt like we were in trouble. He had a hard time doing it by himself and kept on calling orders. At this point, the water from the falls started coming into the raft. I knew we weren’t going to sink because they were self baling rafts but the water was literally rushing over my head. The raft was tilted to the side and at first Rich was laughing. Then he saw me panicking and blowing the water out and trying to get air. That’s when he started to worry. I literally had to stand up (not all the way) but enough to get my head above the water, take some air in and sit back down. I must have done that about 5 times. Then Ricky took us back into the corner. (Again this isn't us but the falls looked like this)



The whole time I was watching another guide that was standing on a rock across from us. I wasn’t worried (as much) because he wasn’t worried. But I did have to shake it off for a minute. And then we tried to get out of there again.

We repeated the whole thing all over. This time, people were concerned and kept on asking if I was ok….they were actually yelling because the rush of the water was so loud. I couldn’t speak and just nodded yes. Finally, we made it out!

We went down the river a little more and then he asked if we wanted to go surfing again. I guess there was panic in my face because Emily, a girl from Oregon, offered to trade with me. I didn’t pass that up.

After that episode, I started to relax again and started to enjoy the day. The Tully is a Class 4 river and honestly, if we didn’t do the Extreme, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much since we’ve been on some crazy rivers in California.

Our next adventure was swimming an actual rapid. I opted out and Rich took off. But when I saw everyone diving in, I wanted to face my fears and dove in as well. It was so cool to do. Although at one point, a couple small waves take you under and you have to be prepared by taking in some deep breaths as you see them coming. I was able to make it with a couple of bruises from some rocks in the river.

Then after lunch, they took us to a huge rock, about a 25 feet drop, where we could jump off. I’ve done this before in Hawaii when I was in my early 20s but I guess I've become a little more fearful in my older age. I climbed up there but I hesitated. I was wearing my dive boots and had this small fear that when I pushed off to jump, I would slip and hit my head on the rock or something…..very dramatic, I must say. The only reason why I actually jumped is because I saw all these people behind me waiting for me. I think I freaked Rich out because he hesitated because of me, when it was his turn.

Our next crazy thing was going down a small waterfall….maybe about 4 feet. He gave us 2 options. We could either go down tipping over….We said no way and asked what the other option was……It was to go down tipping over. He pulled off to the side so we could watch 2 rafts go down before us. Either way we chose, the people in the raft all went to the front half and sat on the edges hugging each other. The choices were to go facing the waterfall or our backs to the waterfall. The raft facing the front didn’t tip over so we chose that way. Well, as we were going down, Ricky turned the raft around on purpose. We were doomed! We went backwards and all spilled out of the raft. This girl Miranda, Emily’s cousin who lives in Oakland, landed on top of me and I had to swim to get out from under her. Sounds pretty scary, huh? But the thrill was so amazing.

The rest of the day was pretty mellow. We took our rafts through this gorgeous rock maze.



And later we jumped out for more swimming on the river.

Rich gave me a souvenir to remember the trip by. He was using his oar to slap the water to splash another raft and somehow, he rammed the handle of the oar on my arm. My arm was bruised for 2 weeks after getting back from Australia.

By far, this was the best thing we did in Australia! Because we had to work hard as a team. We befriended the rest of the people on our raft. Other than Miranda & Emily, there was Julia from England and Corey from British Columbia (for you Canadians out there). Julia ended up being a strong swimmer and we called her the lifeguard of the raft since she had to swim out to rescue a couple of us when the current seemed to be taking us the other way. Corey’s brother is actually Tyler Christopher, the Canadian champion 400m runner, 2nd worldwide. He’ll be representing you Canucks in the next Olympics. Corey was actually offered a contract with Nike (he’s faster than his brother) but gave it up for a life of drawing cartoons. He wants to be a comic book artist one day.

Everyone wanted to meet up for dinner since they were all staying in Cairns. We, on the other hand, had to go back to Palm Cove (a 25 minute drive), shower, then come back. We missed the bus back to Cairns and had to wait a while to catch a cab.

After dinner, we did our final souvenir shopping and bussed it back to Palm Cove and back into our hotel around 1 am. Talk about an exhausting day. But it was the perfect way to end our adventurous honeymoon! It’s exactly what we wanted and so much more.

Now all we needed to do was pack for a 330am pickup to go to the airport. G'day Mates. We hope to one day see the Land Down Under once again!

PICS: Palm Cove Day 4

Disposable Camera

Here are some pictures from our disposable cameras that our travel agent gave us.

PICS: Disposable Cameras

Bandicoot Bike Tours

Another start bright and early...730AM has been the magic time on this leg of the adventure. We were picked up in the lobby by Dave, the owner of Bandicoot Bicycle Adventures. There were only going to be 3 of us today and we had to pick the other person up on our way. When we got him, I was surprised and intimidated at the same time. Alan was a 65 year old man but he was dressed in cycling gear. I, on the other hand, have not been on a bike for almost 10 years and was a little nervous about getting back on one.

We took an 1.5 hour drive up the mountains to the Tablelands. It’s called that because even though you are at the top of the mountains, it’s very flat and you could see miles ahead of you. Earlier this year, a cyclone came through that area and downed some older trees. They said the rainforests used to be full canopies so the sun could barely come through, but now it looked more like sparse forest. This is a problem because weeds can now grow from the sun.

Our first ride was to Lake Eachem. I was in major trouble. We barely went up a hill and my thighs were giving out in the first 5 minutes. This was going to be an all day activity! The last dive on the Reef killed me when I tried to swim against the current and I was paying for it today. I was really beginning to regret it since we didn’t really have a day of rest since Green Island. Dave gave us some pineapple and water and I grubbed because we didn’t wake up early enough to get breakfast.

Then he put us in the van to drive us to our next starting point. From there we rode to a Giant Fig Tree that they estimate to be around 500 years old. It’s interesting because it’s actually considered a parasite. A tree may fall, then its roots start growing above ground, attaches to the trunk of another tree, then it forms into a Fig Tree.

Then it was time for lunch. We realized that whenever you go on organized activities where lunch is provided, it’s usually a cheeseburger. But we didn’t mind because the cheeseburgers in Australia were delicious.

After lunch we did 3 separate rides to some waterfalls. This was my favorite part of the trip. The first was to Millaa Millaa Falls, where people can actually swim towards the Falls and sit right under it. The water was FREEZING!!! I could barely get half my body in the water. And since you all know how great a swimmer I am, I decided not to swim towards the Falls.

Then we went to Ellinjaa Falls. People used to be able to swim here as well but the cyclone downed some trees in the water. Zillie Falls, was beautiful. He took us to the top of the Falls versus the bottom. It was such a gorgeous perspective.

The whole time we were on our rides, the only time I saw Alan was at the beginning of the ride when we’re taking off and at the end, when he’s waiting for me. He even sped off ahead of Rich! He was amazing! I hope I’m that healthy when I get to be his age.

The last couple of rides I could have done without. He saved the hardest rides for last. They were really hilly. It didn’t help that the weather was sweltering hot. It felt like the Philippines with the humidity. After trying really hard, I just couldn’t do it and he had to pick me up in the van. Rich, on the other hand, kept on going, even with his injured ankle. At the very end of the ride, it became way too hard for both Alan and Rich since it was too hot!

We stopped off in a little town called Malanda, where Dave picked up some cake for afternoon tea. He gave us a choice on whether we wanted to do one more ride or not. The very last ride was another hilly ride back to Lake Eacham where we had the pineapple at the beginning of the day. Rich and I passed but Alan did it.

We ended up hanging out there for a while and took a dip in the Lake. It’s actually a volcano crater. After that hot ride, it was so refreshing. In total, we did about 14 miles. Not bad for novice bike riders. My regrets from the beginning of the day went away. It was great riding at fast speeds and having some time to just think.

We decided to treat ourselves to a feast that night for dinner. We ended up going to a Greek restaurant and ordered their feast for 2. We thought for sure that we wouldn’t be able to eat it all but we did!!!! It was delicious!

Before we went back to hit the sack, we visited an Aboriginal Gallery. I wanted to take back some canvas paintings and even a didgeridoo but didn’t have the funds.

We had such a great time. This was an amazing day!

BTW, you'll see Rich and me making the peace sign a lot in our pictures. It kinda became a running joke because all the Japanese tourists were doing that so we started to also.

PICS: Palm Cove Day 3

Finding Nemo

As I mentioned yesterday, lobby call was bright and early…730am to be exact. We booked our dive/snorkel tour with Calypso. There are so many dive companies out here, it was overwhelming to say the least. I had heard that Quicksilver was the way to go but the concierge recommended Calypso since it only takes 60 people max vs 100.

We got lucky. On our day, there were only 30. Matt was our driver and he actually ended up being my dive master. There were only 3 people diving today….me and another couple. I picked them out right away since the divers had a different color clipboard to fill out dive information. To my surprise, they were from Fresno. And even more surprising, they used to own property in El Sobrante….the next city over from Pinole.

After getting picked up, we drove about 45 minutes north to Port Douglas. Some interesting facts about Port Douglas: this is one of Clinton’s favorite vacationing spots every year; this is where Steve Irwin was notoriously struck by the poisonous stingray barb. Was I concerned? Very. But Matt assured me that it really was a fluke. Another interesting fact is that Australia lost another icon in the same week. I don’t recall the name but he was a famous race car driver. I guess it would be the equivalent to Dale Earnheardt’s loss. Ironically, he died in a car accident.

As we pulled out of the port, we passed by this yacht with a bunch of paparazzi boats around it. Turns out they were filming “Fool’s Gold” with Matthew McConaughey, Donald Sutherland and Kate Hudson. Supposedly, Goldie Hawn and Kirk Douglas were in town as well. Matt, our driver, said he saw Matthew McConaughey in a bar at Cairns and said he was a really cool guy. I heard he was celebrating his birthday out there.

I signed up for 3 dives. I was so excited! I couldn’t believe that I was actually going to dive the Great Barrier Reef. My one goal in diving has always been to spot a turtle and I was determined to do so today.

The divers took off first. I was a little worried because at one point, I didn’t see the wife anywhere. Apparently, she couldn’t equalize and had to come back up right away. Equalizing is when your ears get clogged and you pinch your nose and blow to clear your ears.

While I was diving, Rich snorkeled. He still got to see the beauty of the Reef because coral needs light in order to see the different colors. You can only have sunlight if you don’t go too deep. The Reef isn't that deep so I didn’t go that far down. I think I went about 45 feet. Interestingly enough, Rich saw large schools of fish and get this….a TURTLE! I didn’t even get to see a turtle!

As much as I loved it, I was a little disappointed. I thought this would be the BEST diving experience I would have but it wasn’t. The coral was beautiful but I didn’t see the sea life that I was hoping to see. To date, my best dive was in Cebu. It could be because it was my first one but I really think it was because it was amazingly indescribable down there. There were hundreds of fish swimming with us and the coral was just as amazing. It was also raining so when you look up, you could see the surface of the water being pelted.

The 3rd dive was really scary for me. By that time it was after lunch and the waters got a little choppy. They actually had to take us in a dingy away from our boat so that the current will lead us back to our boat. I’m not a very good swimmer. In fact, when I was training for my dive certificate, I was absent the day they made them swim laps and tread water….much to my relief.

Well, that last dive was horrible. For some reason, my mask didn’t suction well on my face and water kept on getting in. I kept having to blow the water out. Then at one point, the dive master and other diver started swimming against the current to check out a reef wall. I couldn’t catch up to them. They started swimming off and I went the opposite way. I panicked and swam as hard as I could but didn’t go anywhere. I think I used up half my air in that 5 minutes. But he came back around eventually and got me. At that point, I didn’t care about what I saw and wanted to just get back on the boat. I guess 2 dives in one day is my max!

On Rich’s 2nd snorkel site, he actually got a really bad leg cramp in the water and started screaming. A lady on the boat saw him and started calling to others that he might need help. I guess the other snorkelers heard him scream too, and all their heads started coming up and looking around. The cramp was so bad that he decided not to go on the 3rd site. Probably a really good idea.

Regardless, we still had a great time and I can say I dove the Great Barrier Reef!

On the way to dinner, I spotted a couple fruit bats flying in the sky. As soon as I pointed them out to Rich, they just kept on coming. It was dusk and they were just waking up to start their day. There were hundreds of them. I was so amazed I was looking up in the sky with my mouth open. I realized the danger of it, and decided to close my mouth. We tried to take pictures but because it was already dark, they didn't come out. It’s cool to be around nature like that!

PICS: Palm Cove Day 3

Trains, Skyrails & Aborigines

The first thing I did after taking a swim yesterday was book all our tours with the concierge. Unfortunately, all our tours started bright and early. I guess that’s what we get for trying to recreate The Amazing Race on our honeymoon. Yes, we are obsessed with that show.

But today, we actually decided against going with a tour company and recreated it on our own. We took a cab at 730am to Freshwater station where the scenic railway originates. On a side note, Rich was really happy to meet a guy from Chile working at the bar this morning. (BTW, he was getting us coffees and not beer). Ok, I digress. The Scenic Railway is 1 of 2 ways to get to the tourist town of Kuranda, in the mountains. The other way is the Skyrail, which we decided to take on the way down.

I’ve never been on a train (other than BART, subways, and the Underground) before. It truly was scenic as we passed by waterfalls as it climbed up the mountains for a 1.5 hour ride. Kuranda really thrives specifically on tourism so there are animal parks and markets there. We were able to buy some souvenirs while we were there.

We also couldn’t resist the Koala Park. We already took our picture with the koalas at Featherdale but they wouldn’t allow us to hold them. This time, we got to….for an additional price, of course. Her name was Sienna. She was actually quite heavy. Do you know that koalas sleep for 20 hours of the day? Even when they are asleep, they are pretty amazing to watch since they can balance on those tree branches.

Since we were on our own, we took our time wandering through the streets of Kuranda. We had lunch at a German sausage place, which reminded me of Top Dog in Berkeley, except they had crocodile and emu sausages. We passed on those. We booked the last ride down on the Skyrail, which was 330pm.

The Skyrail was unlike the skyrail we took during the Blue Mountains. Blue Mountains lasted about 5 minutes long. This one was about an hour AND the highest point was 1300 feet above sea level. It was quite scary to say the least, especially since I’m afraid of heights. I would get mad at Rich every time he moved. After a while, I could sit back and just enjoy the tops of the rainforest. We would sit there in silence and just listen to all the different sounds…sounds that we’ve never heard before….almost like dinosaurs.

We got off at the Barron Falls lookout to enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately, the Falls aren’t as majestic as they were before. Now, the government has them under dam control and only trickles of water come down the face of the mountain. I’ve seen pictures of what it’s supposed to look like and I feel sad that they don’t let it run it’s natural course.

During our stopover, we met Milton, a full blooded aborigine, a clan member of a Tjapukai tribe. He reminded us of a big Koala Bear. He changed my attitude about rainforests. I don’t know who was more excited…us or him. He was excited to educate us about his land and we were excited to soak up the information. He took us around and explained all the different things about the plants: which ones were used for medicine, harmless looking vines that can actually trap you, leaves that he played tunes on, etc. He even showed us a huge pile of leaves that actually was the nest of wild turkeys. He was definitely the highlight of the day.

After spending a good half hour with him, we hopped back on the Skyrail and got off at the next stop: Red Peak. We got out for a quick second, but Rich didn’t want to spend too much time there if it was just rainforests since we got the tour from Milton. I asked the girl in charge of the Skyrail and in the bitchiest attitude told me how “that’s all we have since we specialize in rainforests.” Oops! I didn’t mean to insult her, geez! I was surprised, though, that she was the only person I met with an attitude the whole time we were in Australia.

Well, we got to the bottom of Caravonica around 5 and headed over to Tjapukai Aboriginal Park to buy tickets for their evening Dinner/Show. The only problem was doors didn’t open until 7. From the recommendation of a café owner in Kuranda, we took the bus to Smithfield Village…a mall not too far away. We figured we can pass time shopping or hanging out at a coffee shop. Just one problem….the shops started closing at 530pm.

The only stores open were Woolworth (remember that store?), Kmart and Coles (a grocery store). So, we pulled up a couple of chairs next to Coles, found an outlet, and charged up the video camera. I basically read whatever reading material I could find. After an hour, we took the bus back to Tjapukai. Unfortunately, they couldn’t drop us off at the park and he dropped us off on the highway across the way. That was pretty scary….crossing a highway, with my gimp husband “running” alongside me to get safely across the road. Well, we made it.

Before the show, we hung out in the gift shop and watched someone play the digiridoo and we got a couple lessons. I was actually able to play it. It’s like making your lips do raspberries and using your tongue to make the different sounds. The best part of the show took place outdoors where they did some aboriginal chants and created a fire around a pit.

Then they brought us into a restaurant where we had a buffet dinner. Oh….for the price we paid, the food was HORRIBLE! At the tail end of dinner, they did a 30 minute performance. I really liked the aboriginal things they did but then they broke out in some cheesy broadway type songs and dance. I was pretty disappointed when they started doing that.

It was really interesting talking to the dancers. They were actually brought to LA this year for Aussie Day 2006. There were a few dancers that they uprooted directly from their small villages, put them on a plane for the first time in their life, and brought them to good old Los Angeles. Can you imagine what culture shock that was for them? These people are used to catching their own food and eating it on the same day. They said they were so ready to come home. They were some pretty cool people.

We didn’t get back to the hotel until almost 11pm. We were beat! And tomorrow, would be another busy day.

PICS: Palm Cove Day 2

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

My new mom just scanned these pictures for us.

Green for One More Day

We loved Green Island so much that we decided to postpone our trip back to Cairns by a couple of hours. Our ferry back was supposed to leave at noon but we decided to leave at 230pm instead.

Since we weren’t able to make the crocodile feedings yesterday, we decided to check it out today. The first thing they let us do was hold a baby crocodile. His name was "Stubby" because he didn’t have a right foot. Apparently crocs have the ability to regenerate skin over any leg injuries. This prevents the need to have to amputate the leg. Another interesting fact is that some crocs pop their own eyes out. Their claws can accidentally get in their eye and they go into defense mode and start fighting themselves, thus causing them to lose an eye.

After that, we got to watch the turtles eat. These were the same guys we got to pet the day before. They fed them lettuce. Did you know that the turtles’ insides are all green because of all the lettuce they eat?

After they fed the turtles, we went to the real show. Dustin, the zookeeper, brought us over to 2 crocs, a male and female. The female came out of the water but wasn’t very hungry even though her last meal was a few months ago and all she ate was a small heron. When he fed her a chicken (fresh with blood and feathers), she just kept her mouth open and just had it in her mouth without chewing it our swallowing.

The male, on the other hand, was crazy looking. He was about 16 feet long. When Dustin dangled the chicken in the air, he shot straight up to get it. It was amazing because most of the time, they just look like statues. They don’t move. Basically, what you see in the pictures is how they look in real life. In fact, a tourist was attacked while we were at Palm Cove because he tried to get a crocodile to come closer for a picture op. All I can say is stupid!

Anyway, at one point, Dustin hung the chicken right where I was standing, behind the fence. The croc crept out of the pool of water and seeing his huge body immerse from the water was an incredible sight. He came straight toward me and even though there was a gate separating us, I freaked out! And within seconds, he grabbed his meal and sank back into the pool into his frozen position.

There’s also another croc there that has to be isolated. They put 3 female crocs in with him to mate but he kept killing them. They are definitely amazing but frightening creatures. (DISCLAIMER: Once you get to the newspaper clippings in the pictures, some may be a bit too gruesome).

Afterwards, we headed over to the underwater observatory at the end of the dock. It’s cool how the fish just hang out. Good views for the snorkelers. There was one fish that just kept on staring at us and I was wondering if the fish gathered in that spot to check out the “people observatory.”

For the rest of the afternoon, we decided to get a little more sun before we left paradise and laid out on the beach. I didn’t want to get too dark so I put on some sunscreen. Someone, who shall remain nameless, wanted to get tan so refused my offer to put some on him.

Afterward, we headed back to our ferry and we were off to Cairns. Someone still did not want to put on a shirt since we rode on the top deck of the ferry and he still wanted to get some color. I warned him but he wouldn’t listen.

We originally thought we were staying in the Outrigger in Cairns, but we were staying in Palm Cove instead. Palm Cove is 25 minutes north of Cairns. I was really happy when we got there. Cairns is a beach city and very touristy catering to backpackers, while Palm Cove felt more like a getaway. The atmosphere was somewhere in between Sydney and Green Island but leaning more towards Green Island.

Our hotel was beautiful. We ended up on the 3rd floor of the hotel with no elevators. Rich didn’t want to switch out rooms for his foot and after I saw the room, I didn’t want to either. We had a Jacuzzi tub on the balcony…saweet! I never actually used it but Rich did and he really liked it

The hotel had a man-made beach for the pool area with a swim up bar. We basically dumped our stuff in the room and headed for the swim up bar. We actually preferred swimming in our pool to the beach, even though the hotel was a beachfront property. It was stinger season and they had to put a net out in the swim area. Basically, if you got stung, you can die in 30 minutes. I didn’t want to take any chances of any holes in the net. Apparently, the stingers only like to be close to shore versus out on the reefs, which was a relief to me since I was looking forward to diving.

After showering, we got ready and had dinner at the Village, a row of shops and restaurants. After sampling Australian pizza, we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s rest. Well, at least I did. Someone I know got majorly sunburned and didn't sleep very well.

BTW, Happy 41st Anniversary Parents!

PICS: Green Island Day 3

PICS: Palm Cove Day 1

Diving & Turtles

This morning, I woke up to get a massage. It was the first massage I got since the wedding was over. My muscles were sore from all the walking we did in Sydney. When she showed up, I thought for sure it was going to suck. She was a tiny Japanese girl. But she was one of the best massage therapists I’ve ever had! She honed in on all my knots on my back and asked why it was so tense. I told her I planned a wedding in 6 months, that’s why!

Afterwards, we ate breakfast and headed over to the Crocodile Park. We were going to try and make the 1030am crocodile feeding but missed it to eat breakfast instead. We headed over anyway since we had time before my dive. I’m glad we did. I saw a sign for Turtle Petting but it was at 1145am. We had 5 minutes but the max was 4 people and they already had people doing it. They looked at Rich in the wheelchair and was hesitant to do it. But we told them that he could walk and it was just faster to get him around in a wheelchair. Dustin, the zookeeper, made an exception and let us pet the turtles at noon. They’re huge! One of them kept on following Rich trying to taste him. He was 60 years old. The softest part was the back of his neck. Surprisingly enough, they could feel it when you rub their shell, so we petted it like we would pet Yogi.

Afterwards, I headed off to my dive. Rich tagged along on the boat to the reef. My last dive was Costa Rica so I was a little nervous, as usual. After my first few minutes down there, I felt at ease again. It wasn’t part of the outer reef so there weren’t a lot of varieties. It was pretty much the same fish we saw during the fish feeding. There was plenty of coral though. I was down there for about 40 minutes and took a few pictures with my dive camera.

Then we headed back to shore and it was Rich’s turn to get his massage. I just hung out at the pool, writing the honeymoon blogs.

The island is a popular day trip location for Cairns tourists. They arrive with the first ferry at 9. At that point, it’s like Disneyland. Then at 430pm, the island is like a Ghost Town. Right now, there are about 80 people in the whole island. Everything shuts down!

We went back to the room to grab the video camera and headed back out to the dock for the fish feeding and again off to the champagne sunset drinks. The workers said that today was the best day they’ve had all year long. We were really lucky to be here!

Dinner was again amazing. It was buffet night and we were brave enough to try smoked Kangaroo, but not brave enough to have Kangaroo steaks. We felt a little guilty about it but had to try it. Rich even ate crocodile…and guess what? It tastes like chicken. The last couple of pictures are of Rich eating the kangaroo and crocodile.

Tonight is our last night in Paradise. We’re pretty sad to leave tomorrow.

PICTURES: Green Island Day 2

Green Island & Wheelchairs

We got picked up at 730am to head to the airport for a 945am flight. I was hoping that when we woke up, Richard’s ankle would have been healed. No such luck. When we got to the airport, I had to wheel him through the security to our gate. After I parked him there, I was in search of an ace bandage. Luckily, they have a pharmacy and I bought the ace bandage, ankle support and an anti-inflammatory cream. If you think food is expensive at the airport, try buying medical supplies. It cost me a whopping 70 AUD or $56!

We are now headed to Cairns (pronounced Cans) in the state of Queensland, home to one of the Wonders of the World, the Great Barrier Reef. The reef is the size of Texas and is the only living thing that can be seen by astronauts from space. Our flight was 3 hours and once we arrived we were scheduled to catch the 1pm ferry to Green Island.

In traditional Mur travels, our flight was delayed. We sat in the runway waiting for our turn to take off. Looking out the window, we were glad to be leaving Sydney because it was pouring outside.

We were supposed to arrive at 1145 am, which would have given us plenty of time to catch the ferry. We got there at 1210 pm and according to our itinerary, we had to check in a half hour before the ferry took off. We found our airport transfer driver and I waited for the luggage to come out. And again in typical fashion, our luggage was the last to come out. I told our driver we were trying to catch the ferry. It was a quarter to 1 so he made some calls to ask them to wait for us. He told us it wasn’t a problem.

So, he decided to drop off a few other people along the way. We got to the ferry terminal right at 1. I ran to the check-in desk and she told me it was too late. I begged saying our driver called ahead…..I think they talked to the wrong ferry! She radioed down to the dock and they said they would wait but I had 4 suitcases and an injured husband to run down there with and without a wheelchair or baggage cart! We got there in the nick of time! Otherwise we would have had to catch a 330 ferry and sit at the dock for 2.5 hours!

Green Island Resort is a National Wildpark within 1 hour of Cairns. The island is filled with lush rainforests and pristine white sand beaches. Pulling up to Green Island was such a different sight, compared to the bustling city of Sydney. Once we arrived, the luggage porters had to give us a ride up the dock to the Reception area. We originally had the cheapest room, or Island Suite. But the room they booked us in was upstairs and Rich couldn’t really handle it. So, they gave us a free upgrade to the Reef Suite, the most expensive room, since it was on the first level and close to all the activities. I started calling him Sarah. Sarah is on this season of the Amazing Race and has a bionic leg. She uses her injured card a lot to get upgrades.

After checking in, we hung out at the beach for a while. The water is like bath water and it’s so clear. At 5pm, they feed the fish off the dock. It’s so cool, since they came in schools! And of course the seagulls were trying to get a piece of it too….mine…mine….mine. After the feeding, we headed over to the beach for champagne to watch the sunset. Off the dock, we saw a stingray swimming….it was so incredible.

Dinner was amazing. Rich had Australian Crayfish and I ordered the shellfish medley. It was the best seafood we ever had! We ate so much that we went straight to bed after. All the weight I lost for the wedding was gained in just 2 weeks after. But it’s been fun gaining it back!

PICTURES: Green Island Day 1