http://www.youtube.com/v/oxoVQ7BnoIc&hl
http://www.youtube.com/v/FLGPCqLOUSA&hl
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
epilogue
Well what can I say . It Was a experience of a lifetime . We went on our last snorkel trip Monday on the S.V. Malatia with Captain Ed . (Tommy Lee Jones look alike about 10 years ago ) Not necessarily a bad trip but the snorkeling could have been better . It wasn't really the captains fault as he sailed us to the low isles with what started as a calm day. It didn't last for long as the wind decided to blow like 25-30 knots and make the water visibility really poor . There was alot of debris floating in the water . We did get to see some different coral, a turtle, a small squid and alot of fish at this location . I did prefer the other trip location better though as when the tide went to low tide alot of the coral was protruding from the water and it did make it harder to snorkel around the rest of the coral without getting to close to it . They had a great lunch setup for us and and one person didn`t like there lunch on the way back from the boat . Ha Ha .
We also managed to rent bikes on Sunday after the open markets. We rode for about 4 hours . With the tide being at extremes we could ride all the way down 4 mile beach in the sand, and then back to town on the road bike path . Riding bikes on the wrong side of the road and turning into traffic is kind of crazy all by itself . We managed with out any incidents though .We stopped at Paddys for lunch and devoured the fish lunch special for 9.90 . You got salad 1 piece of fish and some beer battered chips (fries). It was actually quite good . It Sadly all had to come to the end though . We did really well considering we planned this trip on a whim and a little over 2 weeks before we left . Our Hosts Fred and Antonia at the Martinque are wonderful people I highly suggest to anyone traveling to Port Douglas stay in there Accomodations. They have a great pool, a superb location, and will help you with anything you need . Not to Mention that if I didn`t have a place with a kitchen I would have easily spent $2000 in food just trying to eat out everyday .
I learned alot on this trip and If I had it to do over I would do a few things differently . If you ever take a trip to port douglas this is how I would go about it the second time .
1. Arrive on a Saturday (why see tip #2)
2. Visit the Sunday markets and load up on fresh fruits and vegetables and potatoes for your stay .They are all very good and half the price of the grocery store.
3. Try and stay up all night the day you leave so you can sleep on the plane and get yourself acclimated to the time changes.We hardly slept any on the trip back and even though it is the next sunday we are still a little messed up .
4. Spend at least 2 weeks and explore another area in the second week
5. Eat at the Combined Club (Tin Shed) Local hangout at the harbor next to the boat ramp. hard to find unless you know its there .
6. Take another snorkel trip on the Wavelength instead of the Malaitia
7. Spend a little more time relaxing at the beach. It is never to crowded and always a nice breeze .
8. Not spend $3 on a coconut to drink the juice out of it . LOL
9. If it wasnt for the Barrons Falls I might pass on the Kuranda Railway . The Skyrail was worth it but I really didnt care for the train ride much. You can take the skyrail to the falls though and pass on the train ride .
10. Try some vegemite (I was scared )LOL
Here are a few useful links
http://www.martinique.com.au/
http://www.wavelength-reef.com.au/
http://www.deluxesafaris.com.au/
http://www.cairnstropicalzoo.com.au/
http://www.crocodileadventures.com/intro.htm
http://www.ajhackett.com.au/
http://www.kuranda.org/
http://www.tripadvisor.com
www.quantas.com
We also managed to rent bikes on Sunday after the open markets. We rode for about 4 hours . With the tide being at extremes we could ride all the way down 4 mile beach in the sand, and then back to town on the road bike path . Riding bikes on the wrong side of the road and turning into traffic is kind of crazy all by itself . We managed with out any incidents though .We stopped at Paddys for lunch and devoured the fish lunch special for 9.90 . You got salad 1 piece of fish and some beer battered chips (fries). It was actually quite good . It Sadly all had to come to the end though . We did really well considering we planned this trip on a whim and a little over 2 weeks before we left . Our Hosts Fred and Antonia at the Martinque are wonderful people I highly suggest to anyone traveling to Port Douglas stay in there Accomodations. They have a great pool, a superb location, and will help you with anything you need . Not to Mention that if I didn`t have a place with a kitchen I would have easily spent $2000 in food just trying to eat out everyday .
I learned alot on this trip and If I had it to do over I would do a few things differently . If you ever take a trip to port douglas this is how I would go about it the second time .
1. Arrive on a Saturday (why see tip #2)
2. Visit the Sunday markets and load up on fresh fruits and vegetables and potatoes for your stay .They are all very good and half the price of the grocery store.
3. Try and stay up all night the day you leave so you can sleep on the plane and get yourself acclimated to the time changes.We hardly slept any on the trip back and even though it is the next sunday we are still a little messed up .
4. Spend at least 2 weeks and explore another area in the second week
5. Eat at the Combined Club (Tin Shed) Local hangout at the harbor next to the boat ramp. hard to find unless you know its there .
6. Take another snorkel trip on the Wavelength instead of the Malaitia
7. Spend a little more time relaxing at the beach. It is never to crowded and always a nice breeze .
8. Not spend $3 on a coconut to drink the juice out of it . LOL
9. If it wasnt for the Barrons Falls I might pass on the Kuranda Railway . The Skyrail was worth it but I really didnt care for the train ride much. You can take the skyrail to the falls though and pass on the train ride .
10. Try some vegemite (I was scared )LOL
Here are a few useful links
http://www.martinique.com.au/
http://www.wavelength-reef.com.au/
http://www.deluxesafaris.com.au/
http://www.cairnstropicalzoo.com.au/
http://www.crocodileadventures.com/intro.htm
http://www.ajhackett.com.au/
http://www.kuranda.org/
http://www.tripadvisor.com
www.quantas.com
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Day 8
G`day Mates
Had a good day at the zoo yesterday . Seen and learned some interesting things . They have a great bird show here . We also learned the Sun is dam hot . I got burned some sitting 15 minutes for the bird show . You can feel it baking your skin . It has been a little overcast all week but yesterday was full on sun . Wow I cannot imagine what it would be like in the summer . Simply unbearable . We did a little exploring and seen some termite mounds and the fringe of the outback . get pretty barren out there . Haven`t seen a wild roo yet . Seen alot of dead ones beside the road . Hung out down the beach for awhile and messed around some . This will probably be my last post as we are snorkeling tomorrow and leaving early tuesday morning for the airport . Today we are going to visit the open markets at the end of town. G`day All
Had a good day at the zoo yesterday . Seen and learned some interesting things . They have a great bird show here . We also learned the Sun is dam hot . I got burned some sitting 15 minutes for the bird show . You can feel it baking your skin . It has been a little overcast all week but yesterday was full on sun . Wow I cannot imagine what it would be like in the summer . Simply unbearable . We did a little exploring and seen some termite mounds and the fringe of the outback . get pretty barren out there . Haven`t seen a wild roo yet . Seen alot of dead ones beside the road . Hung out down the beach for awhile and messed around some . This will probably be my last post as we are snorkeling tomorrow and leaving early tuesday morning for the airport . Today we are going to visit the open markets at the end of town. G`day All
Friday, August 15, 2008
Day 7 Daintree
G`day Mates, How ya going?
Knock knock your bus is here! Oh crap I thought it was coming at 7:55 not 7:30, No Worries!
thats how the morning started.We had to wake up matt though and he is always grumpy when you wake him up unexpectedly. It turned out ok though we were out the door in 5 and on the bus . We headed up to mossman gorge and seen alot of sugar cane fields on the way . there sugar cane fields are like corn fields in the states . every where you look there is one . they grow it on the same field for 5 years and then they switch crops for 1 year before replanting . It takes a year to produce and then they cut it and send it to the mill on light rail systems that is narrow guage . the cane then grows back without replanting . we seen them harvest some cane while driving to mossman . Mossman gorge is basically a riverbed coming though the rainforest down from the reservoir . It is pretty but not a gorge by usa standards. The water is crystal clear though and it feeds the town of port douglas and they use no chlorine in there water , It is only filtered to 2 microns . we then headed to the daintree reserve and crossed into the region on a car ferry across the daintree river . The scenery changes once you cross the river , The only power is by generator and the only water supply is rainwater . I am not sure how it works but it is designated some kind of world heritage site and if you owned property there before it was classified then you were grandfathered in and could stay . But the aussie government has been trying to by back the land and the program ran out of money. There are still alot of people and businesses in the area . I think most survive on tourists and some on farming like the daintree tea company. The guide said this was the oldest surviving rainforest at 120 million years old meaning it was never wiped out yet unlike many other rainforests or areas have been . They have a bird here called a cassowary that is in the emu and ostrich family. It is only native to this region and you are very lucky if you see one . They hadn't seen one in 3-4 weeks . we got a glimpse of one while driving to the daintree a very short glimpse though . We arrived at the park area and were on the hike into the forest and we seen a adult cassowary and her 2 chicks the chicks stayed well hidden so it was impossible to get a picture of them . if you move to fast or talk they run off very quickly . we then seen another juvenile cassowary cross the path in front of us and we got some great pictures of it . the guides said the record for 1 day was 6 cassowaries, and they have almost never seen any chicks. I guess we were really lucky .Also seen a golden orb spider on her web . We went for a boat ride with outback bob on his deluxe mota cruiser {insert deliverance scene here} up the cooper river and seen 3 crocs a bird and alot of mangrove trees and were bitten by some sand flies sorta like a blackfly . We had a good day and learned alot from the guides .We also picked up a coconut off 4 mile beach and smashed it open with sticks . You should have seen the people looking at us like were were idiots . That outer shell is hard as hell !!!! We are going to hang out until monday when we have our final snorkel trip planned and then head for home . Going to spend some time at the zoo tomorrow and back to the croc farm to see the rest of what we missed. G`day No worries !!!!
Knock knock your bus is here! Oh crap I thought it was coming at 7:55 not 7:30, No Worries!
thats how the morning started.We had to wake up matt though and he is always grumpy when you wake him up unexpectedly. It turned out ok though we were out the door in 5 and on the bus . We headed up to mossman gorge and seen alot of sugar cane fields on the way . there sugar cane fields are like corn fields in the states . every where you look there is one . they grow it on the same field for 5 years and then they switch crops for 1 year before replanting . It takes a year to produce and then they cut it and send it to the mill on light rail systems that is narrow guage . the cane then grows back without replanting . we seen them harvest some cane while driving to mossman . Mossman gorge is basically a riverbed coming though the rainforest down from the reservoir . It is pretty but not a gorge by usa standards. The water is crystal clear though and it feeds the town of port douglas and they use no chlorine in there water , It is only filtered to 2 microns . we then headed to the daintree reserve and crossed into the region on a car ferry across the daintree river . The scenery changes once you cross the river , The only power is by generator and the only water supply is rainwater . I am not sure how it works but it is designated some kind of world heritage site and if you owned property there before it was classified then you were grandfathered in and could stay . But the aussie government has been trying to by back the land and the program ran out of money. There are still alot of people and businesses in the area . I think most survive on tourists and some on farming like the daintree tea company. The guide said this was the oldest surviving rainforest at 120 million years old meaning it was never wiped out yet unlike many other rainforests or areas have been . They have a bird here called a cassowary that is in the emu and ostrich family. It is only native to this region and you are very lucky if you see one . They hadn't seen one in 3-4 weeks . we got a glimpse of one while driving to the daintree a very short glimpse though . We arrived at the park area and were on the hike into the forest and we seen a adult cassowary and her 2 chicks the chicks stayed well hidden so it was impossible to get a picture of them . if you move to fast or talk they run off very quickly . we then seen another juvenile cassowary cross the path in front of us and we got some great pictures of it . the guides said the record for 1 day was 6 cassowaries, and they have almost never seen any chicks. I guess we were really lucky .Also seen a golden orb spider on her web . We went for a boat ride with outback bob on his deluxe mota cruiser {insert deliverance scene here} up the cooper river and seen 3 crocs a bird and alot of mangrove trees and were bitten by some sand flies sorta like a blackfly . We had a good day and learned alot from the guides .We also picked up a coconut off 4 mile beach and smashed it open with sticks . You should have seen the people looking at us like were were idiots . That outer shell is hard as hell !!!! We are going to hang out until monday when we have our final snorkel trip planned and then head for home . Going to spend some time at the zoo tomorrow and back to the croc farm to see the rest of what we missed. G`day No worries !!!!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Day 6 At the reef
G-day Mates
Well the bus was spot on this morning . Arrived at our boat for the day called the wavelength. It had a crew of 3 mates onboard , 2 marine biologists and one helper. Boat ride was rough on the way out and had 3 people chumming the water. (thank you dramamine) none of us . Got a quick reef orientation, our gear , saftey rulz and snorkeling we went . I rented there digital camera for the day and put 218 pictures on the stick . I uploaded a few so you could see them . Seen alot of fish , coral 2 turtles, a stingray, giant clams , and alot of stunning coral the day was somewhat overcast so the colors were not as good as they might have been . We visited 3 reefs had a gourmet lunch with prawns and pineapple, ham, roast beef , a few other things . A great trip the marine biolgists taught us quite a few things about the reef and its ecology . this one is going to be short today the bus is picking us up for a trip to the daintree forest at 7.55 . one more thing before I go .
The fruit over here is very good . we picked up some kiwis at the store and they are sooooooo good. Probablybecause they are ripe when picked not green like the ones shipped to the usa . Pineapples are great too . just like fresh ones in hawaii. Well we are off the daintree rainforest .
No Worries
http://www.daintreerainforest.com/
Well the bus was spot on this morning . Arrived at our boat for the day called the wavelength. It had a crew of 3 mates onboard , 2 marine biologists and one helper. Boat ride was rough on the way out and had 3 people chumming the water. (thank you dramamine) none of us . Got a quick reef orientation, our gear , saftey rulz and snorkeling we went . I rented there digital camera for the day and put 218 pictures on the stick . I uploaded a few so you could see them . Seen alot of fish , coral 2 turtles, a stingray, giant clams , and alot of stunning coral the day was somewhat overcast so the colors were not as good as they might have been . We visited 3 reefs had a gourmet lunch with prawns and pineapple, ham, roast beef , a few other things . A great trip the marine biolgists taught us quite a few things about the reef and its ecology . this one is going to be short today the bus is picking us up for a trip to the daintree forest at 7.55 . one more thing before I go .
The fruit over here is very good . we picked up some kiwis at the store and they are sooooooo good. Probablybecause they are ripe when picked not green like the ones shipped to the usa . Pineapples are great too . just like fresh ones in hawaii. Well we are off the daintree rainforest .
No Worries
http://www.daintreerainforest.com/
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Day 5
G-day
No Worries, No worries ,No Worries , that seems to be the normal atitiude around here . We had a day trip planned on the kuranda railway and skyrail through a local tour guide . He was suppose to pick us up at 11am and our hotel owners told us he is always spot on . By 11:30 they were worried when he wasnt here and by 11:50 they told me he wasnt coming . They called and reserved the skyrail and the train rides for us and the last skyrail out was at 1 and the last train at 3.30 . needless to say we are 1 hour away from the station . Noooooooooooooo I hate those roundabouts . Not really they are starting to grow on me . http://www.kurandascenicrailway.com.au/ http://www.kuranda.org/?p=74
We made it there with time to spare and had a 10 minute ride to the first station , you can get off the gondola and take a guided boardwalk tour through the rainforest area about 10 minutes and then get back on another gondola for another 10 minute ride above the rainforest to the next station . Barrons falls is at this stop and although there is only a trickle leaving barrons falls because of the dam upstream they say it is a wonderous site during wet season when the water is roaring over the dropoff . Then you get into another gondola for about 5 more minutes and arrive at kuranda station and village. It is a nice little aboriginal village that has been turned into a touristy spot full of shops and the usual crap but it does have a very deep and rich history .
http://www.kuranda.org/
We bought a couple boomerangs and walked through the area . I wanted to visit the butterfly sanctuary but time didnt permit as we lost an hour due to our tour guide not arriving . Maybe if we have time we can revisit later in the week .
We took the historic train ride that last about 1 1/2 hours . I say historic they say scenic , I have only been on one scenic train ride ever and that was in switzerland on the glacier express . Unless you like looking at trees , rock mounds, dirt and a occasional scenic view, I would pass . Some of the historic information is interesting though . We hopped on a bus at the end of the train ride back to our car and More roundabouts only this time at rush hour traffic . No worries ,
LOL!!!! Sorry I haven`t posted many pictures but the internet speed is so slow (yes steve slower than mine )that I probably won`t bother much unless I have some great shots . Well ta ta for now . Its brekky time and our snorkel trip is picking us up in an hour . Hopefully !!! http://www.wavelength.com.au/
Time for a day on the reef !!!!!!!!!! No Worries
No Worries, No worries ,No Worries , that seems to be the normal atitiude around here . We had a day trip planned on the kuranda railway and skyrail through a local tour guide . He was suppose to pick us up at 11am and our hotel owners told us he is always spot on . By 11:30 they were worried when he wasnt here and by 11:50 they told me he wasnt coming . They called and reserved the skyrail and the train rides for us and the last skyrail out was at 1 and the last train at 3.30 . needless to say we are 1 hour away from the station . Noooooooooooooo I hate those roundabouts . Not really they are starting to grow on me . http://www.kurandascenicrailway.com.au/ http://www.kuranda.org/?p=74
We made it there with time to spare and had a 10 minute ride to the first station , you can get off the gondola and take a guided boardwalk tour through the rainforest area about 10 minutes and then get back on another gondola for another 10 minute ride above the rainforest to the next station . Barrons falls is at this stop and although there is only a trickle leaving barrons falls because of the dam upstream they say it is a wonderous site during wet season when the water is roaring over the dropoff . Then you get into another gondola for about 5 more minutes and arrive at kuranda station and village. It is a nice little aboriginal village that has been turned into a touristy spot full of shops and the usual crap but it does have a very deep and rich history .
http://www.kuranda.org/
We bought a couple boomerangs and walked through the area . I wanted to visit the butterfly sanctuary but time didnt permit as we lost an hour due to our tour guide not arriving . Maybe if we have time we can revisit later in the week .
We took the historic train ride that last about 1 1/2 hours . I say historic they say scenic , I have only been on one scenic train ride ever and that was in switzerland on the glacier express . Unless you like looking at trees , rock mounds, dirt and a occasional scenic view, I would pass . Some of the historic information is interesting though . We hopped on a bus at the end of the train ride back to our car and More roundabouts only this time at rush hour traffic . No worries ,
LOL!!!! Sorry I haven`t posted many pictures but the internet speed is so slow (yes steve slower than mine )that I probably won`t bother much unless I have some great shots . Well ta ta for now . Its brekky time and our snorkel trip is picking us up in an hour . Hopefully !!! http://www.wavelength.com.au/
Time for a day on the reef !!!!!!!!!! No Worries
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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