April 11, 2006

Hello!

Well it has been a long and exciting week. I spent Monday and Tuesday doing as much work as possible before my family arrived early Wednesday morning. My father, mother and brother arrived early morning on Wednesday. I took a taxi at 6:45am from St. John’s to Sydney Airport. My brother, Ben, landed around 6:30am and I arrived just as he was coming out of the terminal. Ben and I were able to sit and catch up in the airport before my parents arrived at 7:40am. It was very nice to see my parents and brother in Australia and we wasted no time starting out travels. I got them into a taxi and we all went to their hotel, in Circular Quay, to get them settled. Their room had a beautiful view of the harbor and the Opera House (if I may say myself I did a great job with the hotel). I had the morning off and so I walked them around Sydney until noon, when I had to get back to campus for an exam and my classes. We all walked through The Rocks, Darling Harbor and the Central Business District. After I left them they were able to walk through Hyde Park, the Botanical Gardens and Circular Quay. At 5:15pm we all met at St. John’s College, as my family was guests at the High Table for Formal Dinner. I gave them a quick tour of St. Johns and the surrounding grounds before we met the Rector and others that would be sitting at the High Table for drinks. After drinks we all proceeded to the Dinning Hall. Once all of the students had filed into the Dinning Hall, in full academic dress and were standing at their tables, we all filed by twos into the Hall and took our seats at the High Table. It was definitely interesting and a good experience. Dinner was very good and it was a good time talking with the Rector, the Father, Vice-Rector and some Fellows. The Rector gave a pretty harsh talk about behavior and the rest of typical speeches occurred. I believe that my family had a great time at Formal Dinner, and even though they were exhausted they enjoyed going to Formal Dinner at St. John’s. After dinner they were pretty exhausted to say the least. After walking around all day in 90 degree weather and the long flight, they went back to their hotel and slept.

On Thursday I had class and my family went on a day trip to the Blue Mountains with a family acquaintance that lives in Sydney. They saw all the places that I saw when I went to the Blue Mountains on my adventure weekend, and more. They seemed to have a good time and were exhausted when the returned. So they went to sleep and I did not see them Thursday (if you see my family I am sure they will fill you in on their trip).

Then on Friday we all left early in the morning and flew to Cairns (pronounced Cans), Queensland. Cairns is just North of where Cyclone Larry hit a few weeks ago and is on the Southeast side of the tip that sticks out of the North of Australia. It is a resort area and very tropical. After an hour delay with the flight we all landed at the Cairns Airport (Sarah would arrive the next day). They change in temperature and humidity was extreme. From the air conditioned airplane at about 65 degrees to the 90 degree weather in Cairns, with almost 100 percent humidity, it was quite a change. Needless to say the entire weekend was very hot, very humid and very uncomfortable; weather wise that is. Once we were able to get our rental car and our bags we all piled in (and turn on the A/C full blast) and drove towards Port Douglas. Port Douglas is another vacation town that is located North of Cairns and is not only more on the water, but slightly less touristy. On the way to Port Douglas we stopped at Palm Cove, a small resort area on the water, for lunch. After continuing on we drove past Port Douglas and onto the Daintree Rainforest. The Daintree is an enormous area, and we were on the coastal area, north of the Daintree River. The drive up to our accommodations was breathtaking, and though the view and the coast is unbelievably beautiful, it is mostly not swimable; as things such as riptides, sharks, crocodiles, jellyfish and other deadly things prohibit swimming. Our accommodation for the night was the Daintree Heritage Lodge; which advertised itself as ‘basically wild.’ This lodge consisted of a reception/restaurant area and maybe a dozen or so small cabins. It was a very nice place, well kept and new. However, it was located in the middle of old growth rain forest and therefore was, in fact, basically wild. Not only were the temperature and humidity extreme, but the bugs and other wild animals also made it interesting. While my father and mother rested, my brother and I tasted the local cuisine by sampling a platter of crocodile, emu and kangaroo (those who are animal lovers, I am sorry. But if it makes it any better, all three of them are overly abundant in Australia and consumed and used quite often. In fact it is a joke in Australia that they might be the only country that eats both its National animals; the Emu and the Kangaroo). I had already had Kangaroo, a bit tougher than steak with an interesting after taste, but the Emu was too rare and soft for me, and the Crocodile tasted like teriyaki beef jerky. All in all it was a good experience and put some much need food in my stomach for the night hike we were about to go on. The night deserves some explanation. It is a guided walk, at night (8pm to 10:30pm), through World Heritage Protected old growth rainforest. This is the real thing, not what has only been growing for twenty years on the side of the road that most tourist see. Usually in World Heritage Protected areas, such tours are not allowed, but after years of talks this tour was finally able to go through. Our guide was a very funny Australian. A Vietnam veteran, he knew a thing or two about the rainforest and was the type of person that would live in such an area and climate. The walk took a little over two hours and consisted of a group of ten of us, and our guide, walking through the rainforest (on a very unclear path) with flashlights, searching for insects and animals. We saw several interesting plants, animals and insects and learned a lot. Though it was still hot and very humid, even though it was raining most of the time, it was a great experience. It was one that not many people get to do and actually turned out to be a great way to see the real rainforest; despite some pessimism within the family. Needless to say though, after the night walk and the long day of traveling, we all headed immediately back to our cabin and feel straight to sleep.

Thankfully we took a slow start on Saturday. Catching some breakfast in the rainforest, seeing a family of turtles in the ‘swimming hole,’ nothing more than a small river, and a magnificent bright blue butterfly, we left the lodge and headed north. The road that goes parallel to the ocean and the Daintree forest only goes approximately 20kms further past where we stayed and then turns into an unpaved road. We drove as far as the pavement went and then turned around, retracing our path and stopping at all the small beach inlets. All the places we stopped had walkways that you could walk on to lookouts or through some rainforest, as well as having a small beach. On the first beach we saw a monitor lizard, a large one at that, and then walked on the walkway to an outlook that provided a beautiful view of the beach and the bay. Next, we stopped at another beach, though we never got to see the beach. We opted to first walk on the boardwalk they had, which was a 45 minute walk through the rainforest that was next to the beach. It was interesting and thanks to my animal spotting training the night before, I was able to find several interesting animals as we walked through. However, a problem occurred when we arrived at the end of the boardwalk and had a decision to make. We could either have taken a right and walked to the beach or taken a left and gone back to the car. My father and I finished first and decided to just take a peak and see how long it would be to the beach. It turned out not to be a long walk, however there was something in our way that stopped us from going to the beach. A large monitor lizard, a mom or dad, was in the middle of the walkway in defense position, along with its baby. It was not happy and did not want to move. Unfortunately an Italian family was on the beach and could not get back to their car because the lizards were in the way. We could do nothing to help them, they just had to wait, and so we wisely chose to go back to the car.

We drove for a while and crossed the Daintree River via a ferry. Once over we decided to take a crocodile boat tour. The tour lasted an hour and was interesting. There are only 70 crocodiles left in the 50 km around where we were. We got to see a 12 year old female crocodile fairly closely and we spotted one of her new babies too. Next we saw two small crocodiles that were about a year to two years old. The guide claims we saw the head of the biggest crocodile they have, Scarface. However my mother and I were not convinced. Looked more like a log or something else, because the way the ‘head’ was pointed it was impossible that the body was not out of the water. Either way it was a nice tour and interesting. We were all glad to get back in the cool car and we drove about forty minutes to our hotel in Port Douglas. By the time we arrived at the hotel Sarah had already check-in and was relaxing. It was good to see here after so long and finally the whole family was together. That night we all went shopping for some good Australian snacks and beer, then after a long ordeal had dinner in Port Douglas at a nice seafood restaurant called 2Fish. As usual, after dinner we all came home and went straight to sleep after a long day.

Sunday was another long day and it started at 9am when we were picked up from our hotel by Quicksilver tours and brought to their boat at the Port Douglas marina. Quicksilver took us on a large boat, approximately 250 people, for a little more than an hour ride to their floating platform that is located in the middle of the outer reef of the Great Barrier Reef. The day was not completely sunny; however the clouds did not turn into rain until after we were back on land in the evening. We arrived on the platform around 11:30am and had some options on what we could do. The platform was two stories and the boat was always docked to it, offering considerable space to walk around. From the platform you were able to snorkel through a reasonably large area as part of the trip. The extra activities included short and long helicopter rides, introduction scuba diving, certified scuba diving, and a marine biology snorkel trip away from the platform. My father and brother both did the introduction scuba diving and had a great time. They were given a crash course on scuba diving and slowly lowered down to the bottom, approximately 20 or so feet, and allowed to explore for twenty or thirty minutes and then brought up. My mother, sister and I all decided to go on the marine biology snorkel trip and choose the second of two trips. So when we spent the first half of the time on the platform exploring the immediate coral reef. Unfortunately, when we went to go on our trip, the hydraulics on the boat we were supposed to take out broke and were unfixable. Therefore we could not go on the trip and had to settle for more time snorkeling around the immediate reef area. It was all very fun and a great experience, though I did not get to see any sharks, turtles or clown fish; very disappointed at that, but I did get to see some amazing fish and coral life (some pictures should be at the bottom of the post). We left the platform at approximately 3pm and almost exactly when we docked a torrential down pour started, socking us as we got off the boat. Better then than earlier though. We were brought back to our hotel and we cleaned up and had some snacks and beers before heading out for dinner. For dinner we ended up back at the marina at a very nice Italian restaurant (though I should add Australians in general butcher Italian food, as well as many other cuisines). Following the apparent pattern, we all returned to the hotel exhausted and proceeded to sleep.

Monday was mostly a day of traveling. We left our hotel at 8:45am and drove to Cairns Airport. My mother, father, brother and sister all had to catch (and barely did) a 10:40am flight to Melbourne, where they will be touring until mid-day Wednesday. I, on the other hand, had a 1:50pm flight and thus relaxed in the departure lounge, a small one, for about three hours, doing some reading for my courses. I returned to Sydney at 4:30pm, in one piece, and took a taxi home to St. John’s in just enough time to get dressed for Formal Dinner. I do know that the rest of my family arrived safely in Melbourne and enjoyed their first night there. I went to class on Tuesday, and will do so on Wednesday and Thursday. And of course I will also be entertaining my family on those days, as they will be back in Sydney.

Just a little bit extra that is not really connected to traveling, but is worth mentioning now as I might reference it later and forget to explain it from the beginning. All the Colleges at the University of Sydney compete in a very competitive inter-College sporting tournament that lasts all year. Unfortunately, the sports at which I am accustomed to playing are not being played until next semester and therefore I thought I would not be able to compete and help the College in some way. This semester the sports that are being played are Footy/Rugby [various reasons, mostly that I don’t want to get injured and not be able to travel], Rowing [bad back and shoulders never make for a good rower], and then Netball, Field Hockey and Basketball [all female only, male basketball is next semester]. However, there is also co-ed swimming. Originally I passed this over as I have never swum competitively and am in no shape too, especially seeing as Australians are naturally fast swimmers. But not many people showed up for the team at first and they were begging for people to try out. So I figured why not give it a try, I might have a chance if no one else is there and if I do make it then I get to help and get heaps [big Australian word] of good clothing. So I tried out last Thursday and officially decided I am not in good swimming shape at all. I nearly drowned during my second trial, so my 3^rd lap on a 50 meter pool. My time for freestyle, 50 meters was 37 seconds; a good college level time is around 27 seconds. Well, they had a practice/try out again today and I decided even if I don’t make it, it is a great form of exercise and I will be doing it anyways, so I went. Well this time I got 34 seconds, a good improvement, and I think that once I am swimming for a few weeks I will shave off some seconds and once I get a Speedo and learn how to properly dive to start and clean up my stroke, I will take a second or so off too. So I don’t know if I have made it yet, as many more fit people have tried out, but I think it will be a good experience and I have a more decent chance than I first thought.

Well that is about all of it for now. As I said my family is back in Sydney on Wednesday and then we all leave for New Zealand on Friday evening. Thursday is the last day of classes for me before my Easter Break and so everything is looking good. I am doing my best to keep up with work and my classes, but all this traveling and exercise is wearing me out. Still having a great time and enjoying it all.

As always I would still like to hear from anyone. I will warn you that since I will be in New Zealand starting Friday (your Thursday) until the 21^st of April (your 20^th) I obviously will not be able to respond to you promptly. However, I do love to get e-mails, no matter how short or no matter how insignificant you may think the content is.

Below should be a large selection of pictures from the weekend trip and I will be adding more in the next few days as I get the pictures my brother took and develop the underwater pictures from the Great Barrier Reef.

Hope all is well and good with you all. I hope that you all are staying healthy and safe.

And a Happy Passover to my Jewish readers. And a Happy Easter to my Christian readers. I hope that you all have a happy holiday and are able to spend it with your friends and family; I am very fortunate to be able to do that.

Love,

Jon

Janet, Ben and David at their first Australian beach, Palm Cove

Ben on the beach at Palm Cove after feeling the water for the first time.

Ben, Janet and David reading the Crocodile warning sign while we waited for the ferry to cross the Daintree River.

The view from the ferry across the Daintree River

A view from the first lookout on the first day in the Daintree. This is a view of Cape Tribulation.



This is the selection platter that Ben and I ate. Crocodile is the white meat towards the bottom center, Kangaroo is to the right of that and Emu is at the top left.


This was our first spotting on the night walk


This is our guide, Allen, next to a termite mound.



The roof of the old growth rain forest. These umbrella palms are my mother's favorite.



The cabin at the Daintree Heritage Lodge, the haze in the picture is the humidity.



Ben in front of a lookout at the end of one of the beach boardwalks.


Some rainforest as it meets the beach.


The monitor lizard on the boardwalk, protecting its child. (Note: the Italians stuck in the background)



The product of a bored local. Get it? They added a head and legs to the speedbump and made it into a dead Emu.

A nice flower shot.


And another one (my brother's favorite)


And an Elephant Ear Fern


The Daintree River from the Crocodile Boat Tour.


Our first Crocodile sighting; a female, 12 years old, just in the middle of its first breeding season.


One of the female's few surviving babies. (if you can find it) Out of 100 eggs, only one reaches 20 years of age. Crocodiles live to around 70 years old.


Ben and David on the lookout for Crocodiles.


You decide, to the direct left of the dead (yellow) fern leaf is supposedly the head of the large Crocodile, Scarface. I was not convinced.


Ben, David and Sarah waiting for Janet to return so we could eat dinner, after a long day of traveling.


Sarah and Ben on the Quicksilver boat to the Outer Reef


Me, Ben, Sarah and Janet after arriving on the Quicksilver floating platform. (I was a lot happier than I look)


David, Ben, Sarah and Janet after arriving on the floating platform.



The Great Barrier Reef from the floating platform. This is the area we were able to snorkel in.


A view of the floating platform on our departure.


David about to try his first Tim Tam! Tim Tams are the single greatest chocolate experience in the world. A Tim Tam is a chocolate wafer, and the best way to eat it (for the above mentioned experience) is to bite a little bit off of opposite corners, then stick on biten corner into a hot beverage (tea, coffee or hot chocolate) and suck the liquid up through the Tim Tam until you feel it hit your mouth. At that moment, in one quick motion (something my father never mastered) stick the Tim Tam in your mouth and it dissolves into an amazing chocolate experience!