One Day More

Tomorrow will be our last offical day of the around the world journey. We have enjoyed Sydney and a slower pace. We did the major tourist things: The Botantical Gardens, Queen Victoria Building, Fish Market, Observatory, Harbor Bridge, Sydney Tower and tomorrow we will make it to Paddy's Market, a tour and show at the Opera House then early to bed for our practically 24 hours of travel from Sydney via Tahiti and LA to arrive in Phoenix on the same day we left Australia!

The weather here has been overcast and chilly (mid 60's)and YES we know when we return to the East Coast 60 degree weather would be a blessing.

Uluru Pics

Wild camels as we were driving to Uluru, Kristy hiking at Kata Tjuta and Uluru.

One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over ULURU!

I know you have all been on a plane and heard the announcement "Is there a doctor on board?" But have you ever responded? Now Nate has!! He helped the crew with an elderly man in distress and in return received a nice bottle of Syraz.

Upon arrival, we thought we had landed in Sedona! The heat and dry air was the first to hit us. Our first sighting of "The big red rock" otherwise known as Ayers Rock or Uluru was in the shuttle bus from the airport to our lodge. We choose to rent a car for the three days since transportation is limited and tours are expensive.

We first headed to the Cultural Center which allowed us to better understand the history and signifance of Uluru and Kata Tjuta (Las Olgas). One aspect we found interesting was a "Sorry Book" of letters written to apologize for taking either rocks or dirt from Uluru and are now returning it. Then we took a quick hike, drove around the "rock" and watched the sunset.



Our second day at "The Red Center" began with the sunrise at 5:30am followed by the 9.4km hike AROUND Uluru. I stress around because the Aboriginals feel very strongly that Uluru is sacred and should not be climbed by any tourists. You would not believe the size and number of flys around the rocks. They constantly fly in your face and cover your back. The walk was nice and although we were hungry and dirty we hadn't had enough, so we headed to Kata Tjuta for another hike. Although the second hike was only 7.4km, it was later in the day (high of 100 F) and more strenuous. It was a beautiful way to see the sacred land and we understand why they feel so strongly about it. Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta are stunning!

The rest of the second day was spent recovering including: drinking heaps of water, eating and sleeping. We went back to Uluru for the sunset, but it rained so we were not able to see much but we did have a little picnic in the car.

We flew to Sydney on 17th and have been enjoying city life again!

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea and joy to Nate and NOT Kristy

Words cannot justly describe our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Boarding a smallish boat in Cairns harbor to make the 2 1/2 hour journey to our bigger boat (where we spent the night) will some day be amusing but at this point is still alittle like living a nightmare.

Our first briefing on the boat included safety issues, a schedule and the "If you have to spew, spew in this" speech. Alarm bells are going off in Kristy's head as she is not known for having a strong stomach. At the urging of the guides, we took ginger tablets (to settle the stomach). They were successful since Kristy did not end up feeding the fish from her permanent perch at the back on the boat. She could be heard muttering "You can stay if you want to but I am going home!" and "This is what hell must feel like" while gripping the railing battling off breakfast and tears.

We decided to go aboard the larger boat, lay down and decide after lunch if we would return to Cairns or spend the night on the ship. The rest and food improved Kristy's spirit and we stayed.

We donned out wet suits, snorkels and fins, jumped off the back of the boat and headed to the reef. It was MASSIVE! The amount, variety, size and color of the reef is breathtaking. Swimming beside and on top of it was a delight. The fish were also beautiful! We saw heaps of different colors, sizes and shapes. Some of our favorites were the clown fish, a huge sea turtle, butterfly fish, a sting ray and a reef shark! The current was strong and it was difficult as far as snorkelling goes, but the pay off was BIG! In two days at sea, we snorkelled 4 times at three reefs.

Nate tried SCUBA diving. This was his second time since he also tried it in Mallorca. It gave him a very different view of the reef and fish. Nate also tried a new water sport called "BOOM Netting". Not just a clever name. He held on to a large net behind our boat until you can A) Not hold on b/c of the water in your face B) cannot breathe b/c of all the water in your face or C) Have to let go b/c your swimmies (bathing suit) are around your ankle. Unfortunately, Nate fell into catogory C!

All in all we had some laughs, got some sun and saw one of the natural wonders of the world.

Rain drops keep fallin' on my head Pics

A picture of an interesting license plate, the Great Barrier reef from the airplane, and us after our walk in Daintree.

Rain drops keep falling on my head

Our two night sailing excursion to the Great Barrier reef was cancelled due to the 2 to 3 meter (9 feet) waves and the 60 foot sailboat. It was rainy another day in Cairns so we rented a car and headed to the best place to be when it is bucketing...the rainforest.

With a quick stop to an Aboriginal Cultural center. We saw a few demostrations, movies about the history and culture. Our highlight was throwing a spear and boomerang (harder than it looks, folks). The Daintree rainforest was only 1.5 hours north. We had a great drive along the coast up into the rainforest. We took a 3K hike and got drenched (see picture). Then we stopped at a fruit stand, a MANGO Winery (Yummy) and through many small towns past some gorgous rolling green hills.

Today was spent driving the "waterfall circuit", through the only tropical dairy land, past crater lakes and back to Cairns. We ate lunch at a fabulous tea house on one of the lakes with scones to rival Aunt Mary's.

Tomorrow we have a 2 day/ 1 night reef trip planned on a bigger catamaran. We are hoping for some better weather!

A quick Happy Birthday to Grandma!

Crikey Pictures

Nate petting a kangaroo, Kristy enjoying time with a koala and feeding an elephant.

We came to the land Down Under

As previously meantioned, we left Noosa to drive to Brisbane stopping midway (1 hour) to visit the Australia Zoo, home of Steve Irwin (AKA Steve-O, the crocidile hunter). We arrived in the rain hoping the weather might keep some people away. It was hard to decide a plan for the day because of all the events, shows and feedings they offer. We made it to the elephant feeding (see picture), tortoise feeding, Snake, Bird and Croc shows (CRIKEY) in the Crocoseum (seating for 5,000). We also saw a large number of other animals, but the highlights had to be the Koala and Kangaroo areas where you can pet, feed and play with the animals (see pictures). What a unique zoo expereince. They stressed ways to save animals, asked for donations and safety in case of an animal encounter in the wild. It was a wonderful experience although sad given Steve's untimely death just months ago. His face and name are still on everything associated with the zoo. It will be interesting to see how/if the FACE of the zoo will become the children, Terri his widow or remain with Steve.

Driving into Brisbane was a bit unnerving. Kristy had to ask Nate to "PLEASE, get over to the right more" as old habits die hard. We were glad to return the rental car and settle in to our first Australian Pub experience. The XXXX brought back fond memories (Kristy visited her sister Katie here while she was studying abroad in the Gold Coast).

Our full day in Brisbane consisted of the Botanical Gardens, a tour of the parliment building, state building and clock tower and some shopping. We are enjoying the 80 degree weather and hoping the sunny weather sticks around as we leave for Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow.

Let's go Surfing now, Everybodys learnin' how

We arrived in Noosa on the Sunshine coast of Australia after an arduous 24 hours of travel from Phuket via Kuala Lumpur and Sydney to Sunshine Coast Airport. Much to our delight we have an apartment with a KITCHEN, living room, back patio & grill, bed and bath rooms! It is fabulous and the four days we have been here we have not eaten out at all!! Never thought homecoming could be so good!

The first full day here was overcast, but that didn't bother us too much since we slept in, fought with the payphones trying to call USA, then took two fabulous walks around Noosa. The first was through the national Park which curves along the coast. We saw tons of surfers, dolphins, a koala, bush turkeys (wild turkeys roaming around) and a koonburra (bird). The second walk was more difficult as we walked up to the lookout on top of one of the many hills in the area. We saw our first glimpse of sun as it set over the bay. Gorgeous!

The second day was beautiful and sunny. Perfect for our morning surfing lesson. Our instructor was hilarious and b/c he couldn't remember anyone's name we quickly became Ms & Mr. Pennsylvania. We both drank a lot of salt water, found muscles not used in a coon's age and WERE ABLE TO STAND. It was a wonderful way to spend a morning!

That afternoon we were back on the beach. This time our entertainment was provided for us. Three siblings used their boogy boards upright in the sand as shields and had a sand-ball fight (like we have snow-ball fights). We were laughing outloud as they were unaware we were watching. We would like to bring this activity to Provost/Byrnes vacations in the future.

The following day was also spent enjoying the beach! The water is very clear you can see fish swimming around your feet. It is also refreshingly cool after the hot, hot sun and sand. We had a BLAST body surfing for hours this morning. I know we must have looked "silly" laughing and pushing each other in the waves debating which ones to take and which one weren't worth it, but we loved it. Very reminiscent of long summer days at the Outer Banks!

On the way home from a run tonight we were looking for our favorite license plate (Victoria- The Smart State) when we were pointed to a Mother and Baby Koala in a nearby tree. It was marvelous scene to watch them eat and interact.

We rented a car (apparently Nate is blacked listed from ever renting a motorcycle) to drive down to Brisbane via the Australia Zoo (former home of Steve Irwin) tomorrow. With just over 2 weeks left of our world tour, we are trying to enjoy every moment and reminisce about our experiences.

Let's go Surfing now Pictures

A koala and her baby in a tree, Noosa Beach from the laguna beach, Kristy enjoying body surfing.

Paradise Pictures

Our "private beach"at Phi Phi Natural Resort.
Long-tail boats used as taxis on the island.
A beach on a nearby island.

Sunrise (Angkor Wat), Sunset (phnom Bakheng)

Angkor Wat at sunrise, The steps up to the 3rd level at Angkor Wat, Nate on our bike ride, Faces from Bayon Wat, Ta Som (Where Tomb Raider 2 was filmed), Typical scene outside Wats-little children selling postcards
and finally a picture of us in one of the many Tuk-Tuks we rode on in South East Asia.

Take me down to the Paradise City, where the sea is blue and the fish are pretty

Koh Phi Phi is truly paradise! The Phi Phi islands are a group of small islands off the western coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. The only way to get there is by ferry from Phuket or Krabi. We flew into Phuket then had an hour and half ferry to Phi Phi Don (big island) followed by a 50 minute ride in a long tail boat before arriving to our hotel. After a long, hot day of traveling, our first priority was changing into our bathing suits and jumping in the pool. It was evening at this point and we couldn't see that our pool overlooked a gorgeous bay of aquamarine water, white sand and two small islands in the distance.

We spent two days vacilating from a private beach (a stone's throw from our hotel) to the hotel pool (to "cool off"). We enjoyed the break from being "tourist" to being "vacationers". I must say we never knew the difference until this trip.

The other day was spent on a Long Tail boat which looks like a bigger gondola with a small engine and a long pipe with a blade at the end. We rented the boat for 6 hours of snorkeling, visiting another private beach and cruising around visiting both Phi Phi Ley (smaller island where "The Beach" was filmed) and Phi Phi Don islands. The snorkelling was amazing. The water is so clear you can see to the bottom at least 20 feet deep, the coral, while not very colorful was huge and housed billions of fish. There were so many beautiful, amazing fish!

We thought about the Tsunami a lot while there. We were surprised nothing related to the disaster was apparent. We didn't see any hotels still under repair or closed (like Cayman Islands), there did not appear to be a gap in generations and even boats and local houses did not give evidence of the hardship the people have faced since the tsunami just under two years ago. One other surprise was how calm the water was. There are hardly any waves except caused by the occassional passing boat.

We played lots of games, caught a sunset and ate really well. Our last day in Thailand was spent in Phuket and after seeing one beach there (Karon Beach) we were patting ourselves on the back that we choose to go out to a smaller island. The beach while it has clear blue water, the shore looks like any other in the US: umbrellas, people and stalls everywhere.

We are very excited to arrive in Australia tomorrow and spend the last 20 days touring a country that speaks English and is known for their relaxed attitude!