Did you know “How you going?” is an Aussie expression for “How are you?” I didn’t, so not being sure what to respond, I just said “hi” Who knows . . . . maybe that’s right! First few days in Oz have gone well. After flying for 14 hours we made it from LA to Brisbane. Checked in and there were seats available on our next flight to Cairns. Surprised that it would be a 2 hour flight, but like Canada, distances in Australia are deceiving. It is a big country! Once in Cairns, we rented a car and drove an hour north to Port Douglas. It was definitely an epic couple days of travel that seemed to work out in our favour at every stop! Port Douglas is where we will base ourselves for the next week. The plan, and why we chose this area, is to go diving on the Great Barrier Reef. That dream will be coming to life on Monday. In the meantime, we got settled, dealt with logistics like where to stay and money and just generally have been getting ourselves acquainted with the place.
It is a great area (though a bit more touristy than we normally like) with nice people, amazing weather and beaches anywhere and everywhere. I am a beach girl. My happiest place is by the ocean in the tropics. Unfortunately, swimming is strongly discouraged, and this breaks my heart!! B-rod and I had both heard before that there are many things in Australia that are out to kill you. In this area, a lot of them happen to be in and around the ocean. If the sap from trees doesn’t burn your skin, the multiple varieties of jellyfish may sting and cause you some damage, and if that doesn’t get you, then the salt water crocodiles could be lurking underneath ready to snap. I have been lucky enough to swim in a few different oceans. I can’t think of any occasion where I didn’t instantly jump into the water, and I can only think of a couple of times where for one reason or another I was a bit freaked out about being in the water. This is the first time, I’ve been freaked out before I got the chance to go in : (
Though that part is a bit unfortunate, we have been spending our time by the water, doing a lot of walking (because even when we say we are going to take it easy, we end up walking miles), swimming in the pool to cool off and just getting to know life in Australia.
B-Rod is in charge of the driving – standard transmission with right hand drive . . . I’m out! He’s been doing fairly well so far. The biggest problem seems to be the windshield wipers going off when he’s trying to signal! B-rod says: It’s like tying to ride an artisnal backwards steering bicycle. “Keep it on the Left” song has been working out pretty good, but there have a been a few moments of confusion. It’s only been a couple of days, but it’s hard to un-learn everything you knew about driving.
It’s almost mango season (but of course, they won’t be ready until we’re gone!)
An Aussie girl we met, told us to pick some mangos off the tree and let them sit on the counter to ripen up. We had our experiment samples ready, until cleaning staff confiscated them while we were out (that’s a pretty boring story for another time though)
Lots of time by the water and on the beaches – we had a picnic by the ocean and spent some time on a pier which seemed to be designated for fishing.
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| There are some areas that are cordoned off for swimming (You can see the white barriers off in the distance) |
Lots of warning signs around here.
It was recommended by locals that we go to Hartley’s Crocodile Farm. We spent the morning there learning about crocs and got our first glimpse of koalas (we’ll be back to learn more about them tomorrow)
Some Aussie eats – even B-Rod had seafood.
Haven’t decided about the kangaroo yet. Note to mat mates . . . . been on the lookout for vegemite. No go so far (and I’m not willing to buy some!)
