Atherton Tablelands

The Atherton Tablelands were another unexpected twist from what I went to Australia expecting. I had no idea what to look for on my own in the expansive and wild outback, so I decided that we would be better off booking a tour rather than renting a car and using a map to get around.


This turned out to be a great idea because I came across the #1 recommended tour in Cairns on TripAdvisor and got to meet Barefoot Tours' Captain Matty and his awesome wife! Captain Matty has a great sense of humor, is full of information about every site and vista along the way, and takes care of all the driving throughout the day; meaning, I got to nap along the road. :)


Here are some of our favorite sites from our day out with Barefoot Tours:

First, the 500-year-old Cathedral Fig Tree:

Joe and the stranger fig

Joe's photography skills are so good! <3

Strangler fig et moi

Next up was the crater close to the Cathedral Fig. Nobody knows how deep it is, but the information kiosk said it is a "diatreme" that was caused by a "violent gas explosion." lolz.

Our tour guide telling us about this "big hole" in his New Zealand accent had me concealing giggles.

Next stop, Lake Eacham. Apparently it's an extinct volcanic crater formed about 12,000 years ago.

Joe dropped in the water for a bit, but I was content to watch. It was about 65 degrees outside, brrr.

Had to go swimming around like he's never been in a lake before. We're from Michigan, people.

Highlight of Lake Eacham for me. Turtles who breathe out of their butts!? Hi, I'm 12 years old.

 The moment had come! We were going to see some gorgeous waterfalls at Dinner Falls.

I'm on the left, plugging my nose as I come up for air. The water was ICE COLD.

Your heroes, in the ice cold water. Honestly, people would jump in and come up for air shrieking/in shock.

The next stop was for "pie" at an Aussie pub. Pie is sold all over the place, but they aren't talking about tasty desserts, they're talking about a pot pie. Still good! [No pics!]


Then, the famous Millaa Millaa Falls. We were told that Herbal Essences shot a commercial there, and I definitely believe it, but I can't find a video!

Beautiful waterfalls!

I say fool me once, shame on me. I got pictures of Joe in the water though. Again, brrr.

 We got back on the bus and popped out again at Ellinjaa Falls.

Unbeknownst to me, I had a fever. I'm wearing three layers and people are swimming.

And finally, Josephine Falls! 

There was a natural waterslide on these smooth rocks. How amazing. Here's Joe doing a standard waterslide maneuver (he's on the left, turn off your sound):

And then, mixing it up with some x-treme watersliding (turn off your sound, watch the far left, wait until after the girls go):

I'm so glad we had time during Joe's leave to see these natural wonders! We're going back on our 50th anniversary world tour (this is when we've decided we'll be rich) when it's warm so we can actually play in the water. It was too cold and I was sick! Still, epic.

Bucket List: Scuba Diving the Great Barrier Reef!

This is the story of a trip that was close to not happening. I'm not being dramatic. I would have cancelled the trip had we been able to get a refund. I was sick for two days before our departure date and not in the mood to move or eat, not to mention be stranded on a small boat in choppy waters, squeeze into a wetsuit, and descend 60 feet.

Being the cheapskate/spiteful/stubborn lady I am, I grumpily boarded the boat going to the Great Barrier Reef with two boxes of Kleenex (Eucalyptus-scented, ooh la la), an assorted arsenal of medication Joe sweetly procured from the Chemist (drug store), and the willingness to spend the next three days and two nights miserable in the ship's cabin. 


I was feeling especially miserable at the end of the first day and Joe asked the ship's director for a thermometer. He was a very nice Australian guy and had been in the Australian Army as a trauma medic for a few years. He told me I had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius without much fanfare. I asked him what it was in Fahrenheit and he punched it into his iPhone. Apparently I was dealing with a 104 degree temperature! Whoa. He got me some ice to cool my forehead/neck, a few aspirin, and a few bottles of cold water to get myself hydrated. 


The next day, I was feeling about 70% better at breakfast. I decided to go diving because I would regret it FOR LIFE if I didn't. Plus, I thought about how the ice had lowered my temperature and decided dipping my whole body into cold water would probably help too. 


So, we rented an underwater camera from the ship, popped our memory card into it, and got in the water for some incredible views of the largest and most well known reef system in the world.

Words won't do it justice! The color made me all googley-eyed!

S'all good! No thumbs-up while diving: it means you need to make an emergency ascent.

I was taking my own sweet time equalizing on the way down and Joe snapped pics.

One of the joys of being underwater: everyone is a gymnast! This is me doing a somersault.

I love this shot. It's amazing being in this other world!

Here I am chasing after a fish near the anchor.

Joe was there too. :P

Swimming away from a giant clam.

The fish swim right in front of your face. It's surreal.

Joe and some fishies in the background.

My new hobby: underwater break dancing.

Coral from one of Joe's night dives.

More night photography fish.

Night dive fish

This fish was like half the size of my body! TERROR!

Joe and coral.

Caught Joe at a safety stop under the boat.

Look away, kids! I got an underwater kiss!

Phew! And to think that is my edited collection for le blog! We took about three zillion pics on the trip.


I even saw A SHARK on my last dive during (what else) my safety stop. It must have recognized me as a weak and vulnerable snack. By the time I got to the surface to tell Joe to get a picture, it had already swam away. In retrospect, maybe I should've just gotten out of the water. Ha!


If you're wondering if I eventually died after my boat fever...NOPE. I'm feeling lots better now that I've been back in Iwakuni for a week. 

Thanks for taking a peek into our trip to the GBR!

The Wild and Wonderful Magnetic Island

The last time Joe was in Australia, he took a side trip to Magnetic Island and saw real koalas in the wild, eating their eucalyptus leaves. I remember squealing and exploding with jealousy when I saw his pictures, even though I was on the trip of a lifetime in the Philippines with Shea!

On this trip, I wanted to go to Magnetic Island with Joe and we decided to make an overnighter of it. We hunted around for a good place to stay that was cheap, had an en-suite (attached, private) bathroom that would be a quick jaunt to the water. Keeping in mind that our standards have been set pretty low for hostels, we were impressed by the spacious room we got for about $50 a night at Magnum's Backpackers. We had a kitchenette, huge bathroom, balcony overlooking the ocean, and were only steps away from the center of this "backpacker's resort." There were a few cafes, a cheap $6 backpacker's dinner we enjoyed, live music at night, great drink specials, HDTVs in the bar, a game room, friendly drunk Australians, and a few pools. 

The resort is just across the road from the ocean, so we took an evening walk on the beach (romance!) and examined all the strange things that low tide exposes. When we got to the other side of the beach, there were some huge boulders making up a retaining wall and it looked really fun to climb, so we clambered up to the road at the top. We saw some little furry things hopping around and then remembered that the lady who checked us in told us about the rock wallabies around the corner! 

Rock wallabies and a joey!

We were so shocked to meet these fun dudes! There was a really nice couple already there and they had special rock wallaby food that they shared with us so we could get a little closer.

What is this creature!? Am I gonna die!? Can I hug it?!

After we randomly stumbled on these animals, we started getting greedy. How close can we get? What will they do for us?

Not cute enough! Show me athleticism and agility!

 

Okay, you got that. Hmm, how about babies?!

 

SUPER BONUS BABY VIDEO:

Okay, so your babies are among the cutest in the animal kingdom. How are you gonna protect that thing?

That is one fearsome and crazy ho! Keep your baby! Geez. We'll walk on some rocks and see the beautiful view from your house.

I'm pretending to be a nimble rock wallaby here. Check out that stance - one foot on each boulder!

This is how my picture would look if I were trying to show you how introspective I was being while on the island. 

When we went back to the hostel, we realized we were starving and that we should take advantage of the cheap wine and meals for a relaxing dinner. As soon as we sat down, a kookaburra came flapping into town, scared the crap out of the harmless curlews, and watched us eat like a straight-up creeper for our entire dinner. We really didn't mind because when else would we get a kookaburra as a dinner guest? 

 

I would 100% recommend a stop at Magnetic Island for anyone visiting Australia. It was breathtakingly beautiful at every turn, it was less expensive than mainland, and they have a variety of resorts for every taste and budget. 

Thanks to anyone who checked out our vacation pictures! We loved taking them and hope you loved seeing them!

xoxo

Heather

Tuesday

Tuesday night in Townsville is known for cheap drinks and a crazy nightlife. It's a college town, so I saw hoards of loud Caucasians that I forgot existed! I felt a wave of nostalgia pass. 

We started off pre-drinking at the mess hall on the Royal Australian Air Force base with some of the other officers Joe is working with. Unfortunately, no one else was nice enough to bring their wife along, so I hung out with the guys for the whole night. They were great guys though! 

There was a rugby game on TV and we asked a random Australian in uniform a question about it. Side note: everything I've experienced here has led me to believe Australians are the friendliest people on earth. I try not to take superlatives lightly, so believe it! The guy came right over to our table and explained the answer to our question, then we asked him to sit down and he brought over his "mates" for a lively conversation. 

I learned about some of the other officers' experiences in Djibouti, Afghanistan, Iraq, and a few other places described as complete hell holes. I guess combat zones don't exactly develop a strong sense of appreciation for culture? The Australian flight officer was telling us crazy stories about a bisexual, transvestite Japanese pilot named Crazy Rose who was very interested in him. Brilliant. We stayed at the mess hall drinking for a lot longer than we'd planned, but as we were winding things down there, the flight officer asked if I'd been "patched" yet in Australia. I had no idea what he was talking about, and he ripped the velcroed Australian flag patch off his shoulder and gave it to me! 

Patched in Australia!

We went out on the town with maybe six of the officers and hit up Mad Cow, Molly Malone's, and a few other great scenes. At one of the first places, the guys decided to sing karaoke and decided on Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. They did a great job and all the Australian girls were crazy about their accents! I stayed back and took pictures. Joe is always ready to pump a jam, so he continued pleasing the ladies with MGMT's "Kids" while the undergrads went nuts dancing.  

All these handsome Marines missed their wives in lonely ol' Townsville, except for mine!

Serious style points

I had a great night out with these guys and I hope we entertained the Aussies. This group of officers came out first to plan exercises, but the Australians didn't know that a few weeks later, there would be thousands more Marines and Sailors invading their town and drinking their beer. I'm so happy I got to spend time in beautiful Townsville!

Billabong Sanctuary!

I had no idea what to expect at Billabong Sanctuary! I'm not normally too interested in zoos because they're usually so hot, crowded, and full of Screamin' Brats © My Dad blocking my view, but this was totally different. 



Unfortunately, about half of the exhibits were wiped out by Hurricane Yozzie a few weeks before we arrived, but the staff are apparently miracle workers and got the whole place up and running again already. They were so impressive! I'm not sure what we missed, but I do know that during our visit, we got to see kangaroos, koalas, cassowaries, crocodiles, turtles, and a host of other creatures.

When we walked in, we were looking at the park map to figure out which exhibits to find first, and then a kangaroo hopped over to us. We fed it some kibble and it even let us pet it! Apparently a kangaroo in the wild can grow to be taller than a human. Scary!

We eventually warmed up to these friendly 'roos and they loved the pellets we gave them. I couldn't believe they would actually eat out of my hand!

We saw some other amazing creatures around the zoo as well. I can't remember what kind of bird this was, but I remember that his name was Ash:

 

Next, you can enjoy my husband, Fun Facts Joe, tell you about the cassowary. FUN FACT: I taught him this.

We came across some dingoes! They didn't seem to be especially frisky or hungry for babies, but looked like my Aunt Nancy's dog, Juneau! Maybe he's part dingo :)

We ran into some lazy crocs while we wandered around. Apparently they don't eat much and have very little energy because it's winter here in Australia, and they are cold-blooded animals. Here's one creepy croc we tried to avoid:

While all these animals are awesome in their own ways, I fell in love with the next little furry creatures: the koalas!

Yup, then I narrowly escaped my demise as these adorable turtles came to get me at lunchtime:

These dudes were feeling athletic after lunch, so the staff held a race for the turtles. The idea that videos can't be rotated seemed to have escaped me, so check out the races if you dare to turn your head to the side.

I'm at an internet cafe here in Townsville and don't have all my pictures, but I'll upload some wombat pics later! 

Thanks for joining me for a tour of Billabong Sanctuary! :D

Getting to Townsville + Day One

I'm sitting here in Townsville, Australia in my hostel room trying to wrap my head around all the amazing stuff we've done so far in Australia!

On Thursday morning, I tied up some loose ends at home, packed, and started walking with my luggage to the local Iwakuni train station at 1pm. Arrived in Hiroshima about a half hour later. Bought my ticket for Osaka on the shinkansen, the high-speed train that goes about 400 km/hr. The tickets are really expensive, but worth it to not be switching trains for half a day. I made a few mistakes with payment and seating on my trip, and was overwhelmed as usual by the lack of English spoken. I certainly don't expect them to know English, it's just another reminder why I need to start taking Japanese classes soon!

I finally arrived at the Kansai International Airport (KIX) at 6pm, so luckily I made it with over two hours to check in for my flight. I wandered around the airport, dealt with difficult JetStar employees who had apparently never seen an American passport (by the way, don't mind me when I come back to the states pronouncing it "pasaportu") and thought I was a military member trying to flee without orders. Look at my ID, y'all! Ugh.

So I felt like I needed to sit down and relax for a bit. I hadn't eaten since about 10am, so it was definitely time for a meal. The only thing that looked appealing at the airport was Starbucks, so I ended up spending about $12 for a hilarious sandwich and sample-size cup of coffee. Check out the packaging on the right here. The text reads, : 

"On a faraway hillside, Manolo rakes his coffee beans in the sun. He is preparing them for their pilgramage north, a journey where they will be refined by fire."  

The rest of the package is even better. It's weird because I don't think this packaging would be considered politically correct in America, but maybe Japanese people like imagining Manolo roasting beans for them in a faraway hillside.

This next part of the wrapper might have something to do with the fact that Japanese traditionally say a few words of thanks to the food giving them nourishment and the people who harvested the food before they eat. The packaging reads,  

"Each morning I am greeted by coffee from a land I have never seen, but I have tasted its beauty, thanks to Manolo." Is that only soap opera-esque to me?

I think I'm becoming a little less shocked by the differences between traveling in western countries, where things are basically all the same but have a different name, and getting around in Japan, where nothing is anything like how you expect it to be. I'd been trying to find a good way to wrap my head around the differences and found the book American Fuji by Sara Backer on Amazon. I find that reading fiction about another culture is an easy way to discover cultural subtleties without having to endure every embarrassing misstep on my own. 

So, with that in mind, I dove into the book on this trip and tried to process some new vocabulary and the ways this American author saw Japan in the 1990s. It was a little outdated and featured both an irritable bowel disorder and a middle-aged romance that were grossly unappealing to me, but it was definitely worth the time investment. It was a fast-paced mystery and a good vacation read, along with being educational. Win, win, win!

I finally landed in Cairns at 4:30am after the 7 or 8 hour flight. It was dark and rather chilly at the airport, but I found a bus that would take me downtown to the Greyhound station. The plan was for me to take a bus to Townsville (where Joe is working) and for both of us to stay in his hotel and use his government rental car. Oops! We changed plans when I called Joe using Skype with the wi-fi in a McDonald's at 5am. He didn't have a car, so I decided to rent a car and take a drive up the coast to Townsville. I negotiated a special long-term rate at East Coast Car Rentals in the city (not the airport - it's always more expensive there!) and was on my way within a half hour of their opening time.

The drive along the coast was magnificent! I was really tired from my long day the day before and extremely limited sleep on the plane, so I stocked up on road trip fuel (soy chicken potato chips, cherry and dark chocolate granola, and Diet Pepsi) and got rolling. I saw so many signs for attractions that I would've loved to check out, like historical museums, animal sanctuaries, waterfalls, beaches and all the other Australian curiosities along the way. I tried to keep my blinders on so I could make it to Townsville in a decent time period, but was waylaid by a trip to tourist information center, taking pictures of the gorgeous landscapes, a walk on the beach to stretch my unfortunate muscles, and a stop at another McDonald's to steal wi-fi and let Joe know I was okay. I've been really surprised at how infrequently I find wi-fi provided by cafes here in Australia. I guess it hasn't caught on as much as it has in the U.S. and Japan. 

Pics from the drive:

Sometimes you need to pull off the road and take in the magic.

View from - seriously - a gas station.

I pulled off the main highway to see waterfalls and realized they were a lot farther than I thought. So, you get a majestic pic of a brush pile and a mountain from when I turned around. Fair deal?

This was a gorgeous sight to behold after hours of driving. The land mass on the right is Hitchinbrook Island and I'm hoping to go hiking there before I leave. It's so serious that you need to obtain a permit before going over.

So finally I arrived in Townsville. Joe had a room at the Holiday Inn on the 16th floor with a view of both Magnetic Island and Castle Rock from the balcony! We stayed there for a few nights until there was room in the barracks and the powers that be decided that putting Marines in the barracks was a little more fiscally responsible than luxury suites downtown. So, there went my ticket to paradise! Luckily, I knew there was a pretty big chance that would happen, and I'd been researching good places to stay. 

Pro tip (ha): when searching for a accommodations in Australia, beware of hotels. A hotel is also another word for casino and won't necessarily have rooms. 

We ended up here at the Civic Guest House downtown because it's in a great location at a great price, and those were really the only things I needed for week one of three in Australia. They also offer free wi-fi, parking, bikes, aircon and a fan in the room, a personal fridge, coffee and tea, and a full kitchen so you don't have to waste all your money on meals in town.

Anyway, back to our adventures! On my first full day in Australia, we decided to walk around, check out the beaches, and have a milkshake with a view of Magnetic Island. Romantique! 

Being turtle-y enough.

Awesome day in Townsville! You can see Magnetic Island in the distance!

How does the ocean make everything look so perfect?

We had dinner at Cactus Jacks where I had an Australian steak, a baked potato, and a salad. Nothing too outrageous. Joe, much to my dismay, had an appetizer of crocodile and kangaroo skewers and a barrimundi (fish) burger. Ugh! This was totally inappropriate because we were going to an animal sanctuary the next day where there would be actual crocodiles and 'roos! Joe claims it's unfair to make a difference between eating one kind of animal and another. He has a point: I saw my fair share of dead 'roos on the side of the road, just like you see deer in Michigan. My problem with them was that they are adorable and seem endangered and exotic, but they are basically just another wild beast here in Australia. Le sigh.

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Next post: Billabong Sanctuary! We had a chance to hang out with cassowaries, turtles, a wombat, and koalas galore! Bonus: We have pics to prove it.