The Great Barrier Reef

We woke up at 5:45 to get ready for an incredible adventure (not a small feat for those of you who know how we like to sleep). We drove about an hour along the coast (really beautiful) to Port Douglas. There we got on a fast boat (sort of yacht-looking)where they had breakfast for us and made us sign papers saying we knew that snorkeling and scuba diving were dangerous, yadda, yadda... We rode out to the reef, which was about an hour ride where they gave us, who hadn't scuba dove/dived before a lesson on how to scuba. Actually, it was also a video on all the bad things that could happen like lungs popping, running out of air etc. They told us that the most important thing was not to hold your breath underwater, just to kep breathing slowly. Since when does breathing become so complicated?? (Oh, right when you're underwater for 40 minutes) So the ride itself was pretty bumpy and Derek (for those of you that have heard about our not-so-fun cruise experience) wasn't feeling top notch anymore, but we had taken some anti-nausea pills, so it wasn't too bad. We got suited up and weighed around 150lbs more with the tank and the weights around our waist. They put weights around your waist so you don't float to the surface, which I kept doing anyway. We went under and practiced switching to our secondary air supply and clearing our masks. We went under the water and looked at all the coral. The coolest part was seeing an anenome and seeing the little clown fish (like Nemo) less than 12 inches in front of us. Ok, so I have to be honest with you, I really hated the diving part. My mask kept filling up with water because I didn't have it positioned right and there were several times where all I could think about was "breathe, breathe". My eyes were stinging with saltwater and the instructor kept having to come and get me as I tried to clear my mask and was floating to the surface. My air regulator came out of my mouth (which then you have to blow small bubbles out of your mouth so there isn't as much pressure on your lungs). Anyway, I was super glad when it was all done. I would try it again, but only after lesssons and becoming certified. **Aside: I wasn't sure how much detail to put here, but basically the rest of the day for Derek went like this: Derek was sick, threw up over the side of the boat, went snorkeling for 15 minutes at my request, and slept for most of the rest of the day inside the boat. (this is a sea cucumber, they breathe out of their butts) I went snorkeling at the next 2 locations, which were absolutely beautiful. I resolved my facemask issues and took pics and videos with an underwater camera we rented, and enjoyed the rest of the day, and was thrilled that I didn't get stung by a jellyfish (this is the beginning of the jellyfish season). We had been snorkeling in the Bahahas, and I thought it was cool, but not amazing. It was so amazing at the Great Barrier Reef. I am so glad we went to the reef (and Derek is almost glad we did too)

The Rainforest and The Ocean

We took a drive up the mountains near Cairns, to the Rainforest Village of Karumba. Karumba Village is located in the Rainforest. This rainforest is considered the oldest Rainforest in the world. We walked a 3km pathway through the rainforest. It's crazy how the canopy really does block out the light (and the rain, as it was sprinkling in the morning).



We then drove to Barron Falls, also located near Karumba. The road back down the mountain, was the narrowest 2 lane road we have been on. Derek didn't have to touch the gas once the whole way down the mountain. He only had to use the break as he navigated around hairpin turns. Once we reached the bottom, we went to check out a golfcourse nearby. It was also so incredibly beautiful (wee may reutrn to try it out).



On the way back to Cairns, I suggested that we go down the road to Trinity Beach. The area down to the Beach was full of Beach homes and apartments. When we made it down to the ocean, it was absolutely beautiful. I suggested parking down near the beach and that we walk along the water. That progressed to taking off our sandals, and finally to my suggesting that we take a swim. We went back to the car, changed into our swimsuits and went back to the water. There are red and yellow flags set up on the beach, indicating where swimming is recommended. We may have wandered outside the flags, but had a great time jumping into the waves. It was pretty windy here today, so we had lots of great waves to enjoy. There were a few saves that were so strong they knocked us down and pulled us along the bottom of the ocean. The sand was soft where it was still dry but in the actual ocean, the grain were far more coarse. Coarse sand plus being dragged along the bottom by waves equals a bathing suit, hair, ears, and every other orifice full of sand. I had 2 large handfulls of gravel-like sand fall out of my bathing suit afterwards, but boy was that spontaneous swim ever worth it. It was amazingly beautiful. The beach curved around to where a small mountain rose next to the ocean.



After showering and removing all the sand, we went for supper on the Esplanade. We parked and started to walk to the restaurant when Derek looked up and saw something flying overhead. It wasn't a bird, it was a bat!!! We looked in the trees and saw them hanging upside down in the tree. When we returned to the car later in the evening the were screaming and swooping overhead, with their nasty, glowing eyes.

As a nice finish to the evening, I had the most wonderful Rhubarb Ice Cream. For those of you who don't know, my favorite types of desserts are Rhubarb dessert, so this little flavor discovery was quite a treat.

Couples Retreat

We are totally living the life here. We had a nap this afternoon and then went and booked our SCUBA adventure and walked along the boardwalk. After that we went for oven fired pizza on the Esplanade...had the Don (kalmatas, roasted red pepper, basil, ham) and spiced chicken (chicken, garlic) and they were so yummy. We just saw the new movie Couples Retreat, which was pretty funny and less inappropriate than I was expecting. It's 9:00am in Manitoba and midnight here, which is still kind of strange. I'm sleepy and off to bed...

Adventures in Cairns

Today we ventured out to see what Cairns had to offer. We spent some of the afternoon shopping at the factory outlet mall here. I drove there on the wrong side (to our standards) of the road. It was so cool! Unfortunately I didn't realize how cool it would be and didn't take my camera.

We went down to the pool just outside our hotel room, and hung out, enjoying the beautiful weather. Then, we went down to the Esplanade, which is the street and boardwalk area by the ocean. It is full of great shops and restaurants. We went to a seafood restaurant and tried Barramundi (a local australian fish) which is a white fish and absolutely delicious! Derek also had kangaroo (which tastes like a very tender beef) and crocodile, which had a chewy texture and tasted like a combination between scallops and chicken. We then walked down the esplanade where we saw boomerangs, UGGS, lots of honey and macadamia nuts (grown locally), and digeridoos. Digeridoos are a weakness of mine. every time Derek and I go to a msic store in Winnipeg, I always go and look at them. They are even cooler here, they are works of art. It's also neat because in each store where they are sold is usually someone who is demonstrating how to play them. The aboriginal art here is also really awesome.

While walking we tried dessert crepes (fresh fruit with custard and whipped cream) which were amazing and gelato. The gelati here is the best I have ever had, and I love gelati in Winnipeg. The fruit flavors are even more intense and include flavors such as passionfruit. There was also a cute shop offering samples of soft salt water taffy-like candy. The flavor they were offering as a sample was some sort of blue plum, and it was so soft and delicious, we went back and bought a bagful of mixed flavors. I can't remember all of them but they included a variety of fruit flavors I hadn't heard of before. We also saw a guy performing with flaming sticks (I don't know what they are actually called), but it was neat. The weather here is still gorgeous at almost 9:00 pm, it's actually too warm for me to wear a cardigan with my tank top and shorts! It's going to make it hard to go back to the unseasonably cold weather in Sydney and even harder to come home to snow.

Something is different...

We are having a great time here, and noticing some of the differences between home and here. First, and most obvious is the driving on the wrong side of the road. This means the rivers is on the opposite side of the vehicle, you have to look in the opposite direction when crossing the street, yield to the opposite direction, and make sure you're not driving on the wrong side of the road after turning.

There is not a "no shirt, no shoes, no service" policy here. People walk around in Cairns without shoes. Last night, half of the people who walked into Subway as we were eating were barefoot. Children walk around on the streets, sidewalks and in restaurants without shoes.

Business hours are "Trading Hours"

The electrical outlets are a different shape (we need converters) and they all have switches on them to turn them on and off.



Yogurt is spelled Yoghurt, but is yummier than the stuff we buy at home.

Phone numbers are eight digits, rather than 7 (eg ####-####)

The tax is included in all the prices

Green Peppers are called Capiscum, Cream Soda is called "Creaming Soda" and "lemonade" is the same as Sprite.

The trunk is called the "boot"

There aren't Starbucks that we've seen so far but some McDonalds have a McCafe area, which is beside the regular counter area where they have espresso machines and you can order gourmet coffee and fancy desserts. I haven't tried a coffee there yet but I am planning on checking it out.

Grocery Shopping in Cairns

We have arrived in Cairns, Australia (which the locals pronounce as "Cans" and I'm still deciding which way I'll pronounce it). So we rented a car...oh my goodness!!! Derek and I laughed so hard! This whole driving on the wrong side of the road thing is hilarious. (More on all of the differences we are noticing in a later post). Anyway, we made it to our hotel and even ventured out to the grocery store. The first thing we picked up was Milo (not our cat). It a malted chocolate drink (I think it's sort of like chocolate milk), which Heather had requested (this can is coming home for you, Heather). Grocery shopping was bizaare, as they don't have any of the same brands here, so you have to read each label carefully. We found chicken chips (which we tried about 5 minutes ago and decided NOT to finish), and Tim Tams (malted chocolate wafer cookies..mmmm).

Buying cheese was even strange. Cheese was labelled as Tasty or Super Tasty. Not knowing what this meant, we erred on the side of caution and went with 'Mild'. Milk was also strange as regular milk was labelled as not less than 4% milk fat (uh, no thanks) so we went with 'Light White' which we think is close to 1% milk.

Another strange thing was that Papayas were less expensive than apples here in the grocery store. Finally, when we were in the checkout, the cashier asked if we were from Canada or America. When we told him Canada, Derek asked "How can you tell?" and then said, "You aren't going to tell me I have an accent are you?" To which the guy simply shrugged and smiled. We are loving it here so far as the weather is 25 to 30 degrees celcius (unlike the unseasonably cold Syndey at around 15 degrees). We're off to the beach tomorrow!!!