Melbourne

Today we are in the south of Australia in the town of Melbourne. It's cold and wet here with sprinlkles and occasional showers. Tomorrow a train and bustake us  to a rural area called Casterton (which is between Adelaide and Melbourne). We've met the 4 other folks from the Charlotte North Carolina Friendship Force and they are great folks!

Today we saw a parade before the big football final between Collingswood versus Goulang. They call football FOOTY. It was quite a parade with thousands of people complete with bands and the team players.  Standing right behind a ABC camera and a gorgeous TV reporter, Richard videoed her reporting with the parade in the background!  We had a nice spot to view the parade at St Paul's  Cathedral. A very nice lady gave us a tour of the church.  

We also went to a neat aboriginal art museum and Fitzroy Gardens that had Captain Cook's childhood cottage that was brought here from England. The cottage dates to the 1570's.

Melbourne Bound

At the Cairns airport waiting for our flight to Melbourne. 11 AM 29/09/11 our time;  9 PM 9/28/11 Florida time.

We are having some fun reading the newspaper and looking at the traffic signs.  A sign in the Circle Quay rail station reads "No Way Out."   The paper reported an Aborginal  representative from the Northern Territory calling MPs bludgers and lairs.  This all has to the Greens protesting drilling for gas that provides jobs for local people - Read Story here.    The Greens also want to extend  a mining tax for coal and iron to gold but the prime minster says the new tax is done and dusted. 

Melbourne  Melbourne Visitors     State of Victoria

After Melbourne - Casterton

Great Barrier Reef

Giant Clam on Normans Reef

More Later 

Reef Encounter  served as our floating hotel on the Great Barrier Reef for two nights.  Both Joanne & I tried introductory dives.  I had a lot of trouble with clearing my ears as expected but I did get close up encounters with a gaint clam and huge wrasse fish.   Check out this picture of the Giant Clam! I didn't bring my camera while diving so no photos from real deep down.  Joanne couldn't clear her ears so her dive lasted only a few minutes.

We snorkeled on three reefs, saw lots of topical fish and coral but no sharks!  Divers, especially at night encountered large fish and nondangerous sharks. On the first snorkel, the current carried Joanne away. After climbing aboard, she realized she was on the wrong boat!   She managed to swim back to our boat as the crew were anxiously looking for her.  No Worries (as they say in Australia!)

We met lots of interesting young people from many parts of the world.  Hendrick and his friend were two young guys from Denmark who were working as dive instructors on the boat.  I related that my Dad's ancestors had come to the U.S. from Denmark in the late 1800's to avoid forced conscription into the German Army.  They knew about this part of Denmark's history and filled me in about it.  They said that in the rural Danish farm area known as Jutland, that bordered Germany, many Danish people left to avoid this fate.

We also met a wonderful Japanese girl who was traveling around Australia.  She said that she loved the casual Western ways and wanted to see as much as the world as she could before she had to return to Japan and work in Tokyo.

Another interesting fellow was a passenger from Spain named Pablo.  He is a physicist who is working in Geneva, Switzerland.  He spoke flawless English and told us how his country has changed after Franco's rule (when Richard last visited in the 1970's) into a much freer society.

All of the young people commented upon the U.S.'s strict Immigration and Visa Laws.  They have a difficult time getting into the U.S. even for a visit after 9/11.  Hendrick is hoping to visit the US Virgin Islands and if he likes it, may try for a green card.

We had a wonderful time snorkeling and interacting with all the crew and passengers.  Today, we travel to the south of the country to Melbourne to meet up with our Friendship Force Charlotte North Carolina Group.  We'll be going to a rural place between Melbourne and Adelaide called Casterton.

Check these out  - -  Giant Clam     Giant Clam Video

Kuranda Koala

Skyrail "floated" us over Queensland rainforest 7.5 km to the tourist town of Kuranda with two stops  enroute, one for a ranger lead tour within the rainforest and another for a park interpretive center. No rain as this is the dry season.  Joanne held a Koala for a photo opporunity in Kuranda. We hand  fed wallabys and checked out the shops before taking the scenic railway back to the outskirts of Cairns.

We walked to Cock and Bull, a pub about a mile from our hotel for the first not so expensive good meal we have had in Australia. Generally one gets what one pays for but sometimes one gets a break. I had a whole pint of Guiness too.

Cairns is about 1500 miles north of Sydney. I could feel the tropics as the plane landed amonsgst densely wooded hills. Our room at the Holiday Inn looks out onto the Coral Sea. A rainforest fills the atrium in the center of the hotel.   More later.


Photos

This morning we head for the great barrier reef for three days. We will stay on Reef Encounter, a "floating hotel."

Concluding Our Sydney Visit - Onto the Great Barrier Reef!

Time flew by the last few days!  There was the hike over the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge.  Oprah and her entourage climbed to the top of it - but the Bridge Climbing Company has a lock on the experience at $200 each; so we took the cheap scenic route.  Then, we decided to have a drink at the famous Sydney Tower.  As I sipped my $18 Cosmo and Richard downed his $9 beer, we watched the gorgeous sunset over the city.  Just awesome! 

Now - not only can we say we've see an opera, but also we've seen one at Sydney's iconic opera house!  Our first opera!

Downtown is vibrant day and night with many shopping malls. At QVB, Queen Victoria Building, we purchased Aussie hats. 




Now we are  looking forward to snorkeling on the Reef.  Tomorrow we take a 3 hour flight north on their discount airline called JetStar.  It's easy to book from the U.S. - just like you are taking a Southwest flight!

Richard and I talked about our impressions of the last 10 days.  Here they are...

   - Wonderfully friendly laid-back people who LIKE Americans!  (We can't tell you how many people on the street started to talk to us and welcomed us here!)

    - Gorgeous city!  The harbor is awesome, the public transportation is great.  You can take a subway, a free bus, a ferry or a monorail to different parts of the city very easily.  You always feel safe.

   - Lots to do and see, as you can see by our write-ups of what we've visited here!

   - September is the beginning of spring time here and the weather has been so nice - in the 70's with low humidity and sunshine

   - There is much diversity in the city with lots of Asians, Indians, etc. which gives it a nice feel

   - Food is a bit pricey; however, there is NO TAX or TIPPING in restaurants so you have to figure that in.  To give you an example, in a nice restaurant the main entrees are $25 and up.  A cup of coffee is approx $3.50 and a glass of house wine is $8 or $9 a glass.  Everything in a nice restaurant is al la carte - salads are served after the entree and can be high - approx $10.  There are lots of cafes serving spectacular European desserts that are very hard to pass up. 

If for some strange reason we had to leave the U.S., this is the place we would live.  It's so nice here and it's a pleasure to spend money in a country that likes Americans!!

Guess What? The natives can understand us despite our North American accents! And on a final note, we haven't seen a single ambulance-chasing lawyer commercial on television, so unlike Florida!!! (not that we've been watching much tv)

Coastal Walk

A train from the Museum Station to Circular Quay linked a  ferry for a ride to Watsons Bay.  A cool and exceedingly useful Travel Planning Tool  on the Internet allows easy route finding using Sydney's buses, trains and ferrys. Even maps and walking directions to transport stops can be displayed.  We used this website to check out our route to a  Coastal Walk above Watsons Bay.  We walked along the coast enjoying the beautiful views of the Tasman Sea from the cliffs to South Head where we caught a bus to the golden sands of Bondi Beach. A bus ride brought us back to Watsons Bay for an expensive but excellent lunch at the very famous Doyles Restauarnt, a don't miss Sydney dining experience.

Bondi Beach

Check out our Pictures

Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo lies a pleasant ferry ride across Sydney Harbor from Circular Quay, the ferry depature point from downtown Sydney. Since Australia is home of many creatures not found in any other parts of the world, we decided it was time to see some of them at this zoo.


One of my favorites was the Koala bears.  Check out this little fella that Richard and I admired.  We were lucky to see him awake since Koalas sleep 20 hours a day!


We also were educated on the difference between kangaroos and wallabies. Kangaroos are larger and have pointy faces, while the wallabies are smaller with rounded profiles.  Another interesting fact - kangaroos and emus can only travel forward - never sideways or backwards.  That's why they are often pictured on the rugby team emblems - in other words, meaning the teams only move ahead.


Check out some of the other unusual animals that Richard photographed below.


Later in the evening we enjoyed a fabulous home-cooked salmon dinner with the Hunts and their friends who were visiting from New Zealand.  They told us that New Zealand is only a short 3-hour flight away from here; therefore, these friends visit frequently.  We've been so impressed by their friendliness and hospitality and hope that when they visit Florida, we will be able to return some of it to them!






Pictures

Born to Be Wild

Sunday - Walking through Hyde Park on our way to St Mary's Cathedral  on a warm &  beautiful morning , we crossed tracks with  Sydney Marathon  runners doing their part to reduce Australia's 70% obesity rate. Australia must use a different standard of measure than the US because folks look pretty good here -- especially the girls in their leggings and short skirts! 

After fish and chips at the Fish Market, we experienced Scott's South Pole expedition at the
Australian National Maritime Museum.  We were also surprised by the very large United States Exhibition there.  Apparently President George Bush Sr. donated quite a bit of his money to establish this to highlight the collaborations between our 2 countries throughout the years.  We read about the Japanese threats to their coastlines during WWII and viewed pictures of the U.S. Navy Ships coming into Sydney Harbor to defend them.  The Australians are still very grateful to our nation and have supported us in most of our conflicts - and very recently in Afganistan.  

Sydney boasts the largest IMAX screen in the world; upon it we watched Born to Be Wild in 3D.  It was an inspiring story about scientists who are saving baby elephants in Africa and orangatangs in Borneo. 

Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains are just a 2-hour drive away from Sidney so we decided to check them out.  We boarded an Ozzie tour bus full of European students and had a blast talking to them and the tour guide as we rode along.  So - why Blue Mtns?  Well, it's because there is a blue haze around them caused by light striking droplets of eucalyptus oil that evaporates from the leaves of the dense surrounding forest. 

We arrived at Katoomba where we visited dramatic overlooks of sandstone rock formations.  We hiked downthe Furber Steps into the Jameson Valley through waterfalls, fern valleys and unusual looking trees complete with white cockatoos with yellow plummage.  Since the walk was quite strenuous, we decided to take a funicular railway, the world's steepest at 52 degrees, back up to the top - and it was quite a thrill. 

On the way back, the driver took us by some protected Australian Government Land where we saw kangaroos moving around.  I was surprized how large they were.  The tour driver had visited the US and he gave us some of his random thoughts of Australia compared to the United States.  For the record, here is what we can remember...
    - We don't play cricket and much rugby (these are big sports here!)  However, rugby isn't followed much until there are international matches.
    - They are still a commonwealth of England and get a day off for the Queen's birthday - but Great Britain doesn't!   No days off for us for Obama's birthday!
    - The US has the fattest people in the world - and Australia the second fattest.  However, he thought our country has more morbidly obese folks than they do.

    - Their Prime Minister is very unpopular and they've heard our President is, too.   They don't seem to have any good candidates to challenge her...and well, probably, we don't either.
    - They don't tip for anything; consequently, their customer service is just not as good as the U.S., especially in restaurants.

    - The internet has changed everything in Australia.  They buy many things "on line" from the U.S. at much cheaper prices. There is no duty on obtaining our goods. This is having a bad effect on their retail industry.

    -  Their average worker makes more money than a U.S. worker.  However, they are taxed at much higher rates and think the U.S. has very low taxes compared to the rest of the world.  They have health care, but many people buy supplemental private policies to obtain better access and care.  Their homes are much more expensive and the younger folks cannot afford their own home.

All in all it was a great day!  Pictures

Sydney Opera House Tour

                          
Today, we had internet tickets for a tour of the iconic Sydney Opera House. Iconic -three of of four people in the world  recognize the building!   Our tour guide explained that a Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, won an international competition to design it.  When the project ran overbudget, the country raised the money to finish it in 1973 at a staggering price tag of $102 million.  It has a large concert hall, a smaller theater for the ballets and many other venues for smaller productions. We were very impressed by its beauty - enough so that we decided to purchase opera tickets to hear Lakme on September 21st.  Since we've never seen an opera before, we decided this was the opportunity to see one!  The rest of our day was spent enjoying the sunshine in the Royal Botanic Gardens and visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales.  Check out our pictures by double clicking the word "Pictures" below.



Waiting for the Tour to Begin



Pictures















Sydney Harbor Cruise



Southern Princess Approaching Harbor Bridge

Our second day in Sydney was just fantastic!  It began with John, our friend Dorrit's family friend (AKA big brother), who picked us up at our hotel and drove us to his gorgeous home across the Harbor Bridge.  We met Irene, John's wife, and surprised them with 5 boxes of Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake Mix that Dorrit asked us to bring from Punta Gorda as it is unavailable in Australia.  Irene was thrilled that the cake mixes made it here as previously, when they tried to obtain the treasured mixes, Customs had a problem with the egg whites contained in them!

In the 1960's when John was working at the United Nations, he met Dorrit's family and sailed many weekends with her father.  The families remained close friends through the years.  We are incredibly fortunate to have friends like Dorrit & Bruce who arranged a day for us on Sydney Harbor on with them on John's sailboat,  a 57 ft Beneteau called Southern Princess. 

We boarded Southern Princess, berthed at a small pictursque marina, a short car ride from John and Irene's home.  We were awed as we sailed up Middle Harbour, through Spit Bridge and down around to Sydney. After picking up a little diesel fuel, we sailed under the famous Harbor Bridge , passed the breathtaking Sydney Opera House, dipped into Darling Harbour, traveled under Madona's Bra Bridge (click on to discover why it is called this name) and anchored off the fish market in Blacksmith Bay.  A dinghy ride to the dock allowed us to purchase FRESH extra large prawns (shrimp) and oysters for lunch.   What a feast we had -  complete with Australian chardonnay, sourdough bread, fresh fruit and cheeses.  YUM !

After a fun-filled day of great conversation, sights and food,  in late afternoon, John and Irene dropped us off at the foot of the Harbor Bridge afterwhich we walked back through the city to our hotel.  WOW!  What a unforgettable day! And, an added bonus, Irene and John invited us over for dinner next Tuesday.  We will look forward to even more time with these wonderful hosts.


Photos

Skipping Tuesday



Platypus at Sydney Aquarium

 We arrived Sydney Airport Wednesday morning at 6 AM, skipping Tuesday altogether.  After clearing customs, collecting our bags and purchasing an Optus donngle for the Internet, we shuttled to the Vibe Hotel on Goulburn Street.  What luck, our room was available and we checked in.  After showers, we walked down to Darling Harbour on a wonderful sunny morning. Cockle Bay at harbour's head looks something like Baltimore's Inner Harbor - lots of  restaurants lining the walk around bay. 

Just to see the platypus, we made the Aquarium our first tour stop.  The platypus, much smaller than I had imagined, was extremely lively, zooming all over the place.  Also zooming around were lots of uniformed school children filling out multi page assignment sheets.  Among all the down under sea life, also on view: the Napoleon Wrasse,  fairy penguins  and dugongs (looks like manatees to me)

After a little lunch and a walk back to our hotel, I promptly fell asleep.
 
Pictures

September 12 - On Our Way to Sydney Australia



4:30 Am Departure from Punta Gorda

 Here we are all set for our Australian Odessey loading up the luggage into the car of our friends, Dorrit and Bruce.  Wow, what great friends to tote us up to Ft Myers Airport at that early hour!

Just double-click to see our Pictures

We flew via Houston and San Francisco.  We had quite a layover in the City By the Bay so we hopped a BART commuter train connecting to a trolley (SF Muni F Line) to
Fisherman's Wharf.  It was a beautiful day!  After a great seafood lunch, we toured a restored Liberty Ship, the SS Jeremiah O'Brien , and then took a harbor cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and checked out Alcatraz from the sea.  Richard snapped some great pictures.  Check them out above. 

At 11:00 PM we boarded our 13-hour flight for Sydney, just a mear 7,439 miles across the Pacific.  We lucked out and managed to get seats in the less crowded back of the plane and were able to take turns lying across 3 seats.  We actually were able to get a little sleep and arrived in Australia at 6:00 AM - losing an entire day!  No Tuesday!