I recently returned from the best vacation ever in my life. It's true, in the past ten years I have traveled to many exciting places, but it is hard to believe that Australia is the place I want to return to again and again. It has something to offer everyone. The smallest continent, Australia proves to be more diverse and friendly than any other continent/country, I have visited to date. The flights are timely and the variety of tours available cannot be matched anywhere else in the world!
I had the privilege to escort a trip of 20 travelers to this land referred to as "down under" this past summer for seventeen adventure filled days. Australia, rests below the equator between the Pacific and Indian oceans. Their seasons run the opposite of ours with June, July & August being winter months and September, October, & November being spring. December, January, & February is summertime and March, April & May is their autumn.
The
terrain of Australia varies, with the northeast part of the continent
known as North Queens land, contains miles and miles of rain forests with
tropical weather to match. The western part of the continent is desert
with dry, arid weather. To the south are cooler temperatures and the island
of Tasmania. Central Australia is termed the outback, where the vastness
of this continent appears to never end. The trip to Australia causes one
to lose a day of time by crossing the international dateline. Don't worry
about the loss however, because on return you get it back! The time difference
between Australia and the west coast of America is fourteen hours. Calling
home was a challenge, considering the time changes. It was at least inexpensive
to call the states. Internet was accessible everywhere.
It is always an extra pleasure when traveling to a faraway place to have everything go smoothly. Our Australian Adventure was just that. Continental Airlines impressed us with their decent meals and short layovers. All connections were on time and the personal televisions, which were built into our seats helped to pass the long flight times. Our Adventure began in late June when we headed off for the trip of a lifetime Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. We booked several days with the Mike Ball Super sport, which is rated the number one dive company in Australia. We lived aboard the Super sport for 4 days and 3 nights. The service was exceptional, the food incredible and the scuba diving among the best I have encountered.
We
dove among Minke whales, giant gentle creatures whose curiosity kept them
returning to our area for a couple of days. They range in size from 15
to 30 feet in length. They were quiet and non- aggressive bringing their
young calves close to have a look at our divers. The crew orientated us
to our required behavior, which was conditional for us to remain in the
ocean, when the whales were around. We used no flash on our cameras, never
pursued them and actually completed our dives only stopping to look and
marvel at their beauty as they glided by us from time to time. We did
a series of shallow dives in the Coral Sea, which is the northern part
of the Great Barrier Reef. We dived mostly pinnacles, which dropped to
a mere 50 feet in depth and we would circle the pinnacle slowly working
our way upward. Green turtles, white tip sharks, cuttlefish, nudibrachs
and thousands of assorted fish were everywhere. The diving was so easy,
with great visibility and comfortable temperatures. We were the only boat
visible in this section of the reef. The stars at night filled the sky
with a view of the Milky Way that I have never seen and was unable to
capture on film. But the memory of it is still clear and crisp in my mind
and it literally took my breath away. The dark of night by was lit only
by starlight and we heard only the sound of the whales surfacing for air.
We were surprised to discover that one of the other passengers was the well-known Roberto Rinaldi, the Italian videographer and author of several books on the Coral seas. He was friendly, informative and at times very comical. He and his companion, Helena was there to film the whales. The season for Minke whales is only 6 weeks each year before they move south towards Antarctica. This was just the start of our adventure and I knew it could be hard to surpass this part of the trip. We said goodbye to the great crew of the Supersport to return to the mainland.
We
returned to the Tradewinds Hotel in Cairns, which was directly on the
esplanade and within walking distance to many great restaurants and shops.
The surrounding streets were clean, uncrowded and safe. The hotel was
beautiful and with an ocean view, swimming pool and convenient location.
We had the afternoon free and rested up for our tour to Kuranda the following
day.
Kuranda was our busiest day of the trip. We rode the Kuranda Scenic Railway passing through 15 tunnels, 40 bridges, Stoney Creek and Barron Falls. We walked the nature park and took an amphibious Army duck tour of the rain forest with a very knowledgeable guide. A tropical BBQ lunch and a performance by Pamagirri Aboriginal dancers rounded out the afternoon. The Aborigines were friendly and very eager to share their culture with us. They even gave us a lesson in throwing the boomerang. The Koala and Wildlife Park was a great place to get a closer look at the inhabitants of the rain forests and desert plains. We departed by skyrail over the rain forest canopy and watched large white cockatiels soar over the trees just under our cable cars.
The
next day we departed for the outback, Gulf Savannah. The four-hour drive
across the plains put us near a small ranger station and we found ourselves
in a place called the Undara Experience. There were miles of hiking trails;
chance encounters with wild kangaroo and kookaburra birds. Our hotel was
actually a series of 15 train cars linked and surrounded by decking. These
old train cars had been converted into comfortable hotel rooms. They were
rustic but cozy. The shared baths/showers were immaculate and there was
plenty of hot water. A small general store, a small stone lined swimming
pool and a first aid station was nearby. Upon our arrival, we were taken
to lunch at an outdoor patio with surrounding train cars for those who
prefer indoor dining. The buffet lunch was plentiful and afterwards, we
were shown to our rooms or train car I should say.
We spent the afternoon hiking and exploring the area. There were kangaroos in the wild everywhere. I was glad to have a camera handy and complete with a zoom lens. Not just one or two kangaroo, but a group of four feeding and looking about. We boarded a shuttle after dinner and our guides took us to a lookout point called "The Bluff." It was there the sun began to set and the true beauty of the outback was known. Our knowledgeable guides opened picnic baskets and brought out cheese, crackers and wine for us to enjoy while we watched an intensely colorful sunset. One of our guides was of Aborigine descent and shared some very wonderful stories about his family's heritage and the history of the local area. The next morning "Breakie"(breakfast) was served around a campfire with an array of food choices. Logs served as chairs and stumps were at the perfect height for holding one's plate. After Breakie, we explored more of the surrounding area and another guide took us on a tour of the lava tubes and gave us a historical account of the area. This was an extraordinary place for discovering the beauty of the Outback and for observing the local wildlife.
We arrived back to Cairns in the early evening to prepare for the next days' rafting adventure. We would be rafting near the town of Tully about 90 minutes southwest of Cairns. It rains in Tully every day of the year, since the area is rain forest. It did rain off and on throughout the day but it was a welcome relief from the hot sun. The rafting was fun and allowed us to view the world's oldest rain forest from a different vantage point, the Tully River itself. I was glad to be in Australia during their winter because the temperatures in the north were in the 80's. If it were their summer, the heat climbs closer to the upper 90's. Our rafting guide was experienced and from New Zealand or a Kiwi as they are called. The river was shallow in some areas, but the current took us quickly down river. We returned to Cairns at the end of the day to prepare for our trip to Sydney the next morning.
Sydney
is a very international city. There are so many diverse cultures living
here. There were also visitors from around the world: Japan, USA, Philippines,
Europe and so on. We flew on Qantas to Sydney, which was a 2-½
-3 hour flight. The weather had changed from low 80's in Cairns to the
mid 60's in the day and mid 50's at night. Traveling away from the equator
cooled the temperatures considerably. I like this type of winter. Australia
has so much to do. We had a wonderful tour of the opera house. We saw
the royal botanical gardens, which were just beautiful, with many flowers
in bloom. We enjoyed a cruise around Darling Harbor. The most fun however,
was the Harbor Bridge Climb. We donned gray jumpsuits, wore a climbing
harness, and hooked into a safety line to climb the ladders and stairs,
which slowly took us up to the crest of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The
climb lasted two hours as we scaled up one end, crossed the catwalk 500
feet over seven lanes of traffic and a train track to the opposite side
and made our safe return. It was breathtaking and the views were fantastic!
Our twilight climb starting out in the late afternoon with our guide and
ended early evening. At this time the city of Sydney was in lights outlining
the skyline. To one side the Sydney Opera House, was also in full illumination.
As I enjoyed the view, I realized an ocean liner was below us pulling
out of the harbor all lit up! During our visit, we made use of the bus
system called the Explorer, which allows you to get on and off all day
long anywhere for one price. We spent some time in the historic district
of Sydney, Chinatown, the business district and the waterfront where we
enjoyed the Aquarium. We also went to a movie at the Imax Theater. A very
busy three days and two nights, with endless international cuisine to
suit anyone's palate.
We were sad, to be on our way home, but I had pre-arranged for us to spend some time in Honolulu for two days and two nights. The problem again, was so much offered and limited time. I chose to visit Pearl Harbor the morning after our arrival. Everyone should experience such a special memorial and visit a part of history of World War II. Later in the day, I made my way up the coast to a beautiful snorkeling sight called Hanama Bay. It was a great way to relax and spend some time in the surrounding area. Oahu, which is the island we stayed on, has picture perfect beaches and offers the visitor a chance to explore such places as Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach and the Hawaiian Cultural center. I found Hawaii affordable and the cuisine to everyone's liking. Our last day we traveled back the mainland of the United States wondering how our vacation could have gone by so quickly. Our last Australian Adventure was June 24th -July 10th, 2005. Everything was fantastic! For more information please feel free to contact Laura Cook at 413 568-8764 evenings.
