Australia Zoo...

...the home of the Crocodile Hunter! That's where I went today, to Steve Irwin's zoo. I was actually a little surprised at how small it was. I think the Woodland Park Zoo has a great variety of animals in it. But, the Australia Zoo does have one thing, and that's a lot of crocodiles and a lot of images of Steve Irwin and his family. They also have a lot of other native Australian animals, like koalas, kangaroos, and cassowaries (birds similar to emus). The zoo is all about the Irwins, and I think for that fact alone it's worth it to go, but only if you like Steve Irwin. His image is everywhere!!! His daughter, Bindi, is also everywhere, and even has her own clothing line and everything. They also had a lot of animal talks about the different types of animals. I went to the one on koalas, and it was very good. The rest are probably just as good, and I think this is what the zoo is good at. Another great thing that I went to was the Wildlife Warriors show, which is in the Crocoseum, which is a stadium they have there. They brought out several types of animals. The best was the birds, they had parrots, makaws, and a bunch of other really colorful ones, that are all trained to fly around the arena and get really close to you. The end of the show, and the main attraction, was a croc that they bring out and give him food to move fast and show his strength and speed. Very much like the shows where Steve Irwin would lure them out of the water and they would charge at him. It was really cool to see it in person.

You can definitely tell it's getting to be winter here. Today was overcast and quite a bit cooler than past days. It also rained a bit throughout the day.

More Beaches!!

We took the bus from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay on Thursday night. It was a 13 hour bus ride, and we arrived in Hervey Bay at 9 in the morning on Friday. We were expecting another little coastal tourist town like the towns we had been in, but were greatly surprised to discover that Hervey Bay is a large town. We stayed at Next Backpackers, which was a really nice hostel. It was very clean and had all hardwood floors. The hostel was very close to the beach, so we spent the afternoon at the beach. We wanted to go to Fraser Island, but couldn't book anything, as we only had one night there.

This morning, we left Hervey Bay for a 5 hour bus ride to Noosa. Noosa is another place that we were expecting to find a small tourist town, but instead found a city. Today we walked along one of the main streets that was filled with small boutiques and expensive restaurants. I really like the feel of the town so far. We are staying at a hostel called Halse Lodge, and I think it's one of my favorites so far. It's a very old building (I think I read somewhere that it was built in the late 1800s), and you can tell it's old because the stairs leading to the second floor are very worn in from years of people walking up and down them. To get to our room, we walk along a wide verandah, and the doors to the room are like the ones you find in old houses, the half doors that swing out. All the windows in the whole building have colored glass too. The beach is only a few minutes walk from where we are staying, and there is a national park not far away as well.

Airlie Beach!

We've had a couple of very relaxing days. On Tuesday, we went to the Aboriginal Cultural Center in Townsville and walked around the city some more before taking the greyhound bus to Airlie Beach, where we are now. Airlie Beach is a very small coastal tourist town, with one main street where everything is. We are staying at a hostel called Magnums, and it's a lot bigger than their website let on, but still pretty nice. This town has a great feel to it, being just a little tourist town, with a nice beach and quite a few shops. It's right near the Whitsundays, which are a series of over 70 islands. This morning, we tried to take a ferry to Hamilton Island, but after taking a 20 minute bus ride, we were a few minutes too late to take the ferry. We also found out we were quoted the wrong price, and it's super expensive to take the ferry. Instead, we had lunch at a cafe called The Chocolate Fish, and then took the bus back to Airlie Beach. We are staying here tonight, and then tomorrow night we are taking a bus overnight from Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay.

I finally posted the pictures from Cairns and Cape Trib: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2199423&id=27216207&l=a11b7b340c Enjoy!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

We are still in Townsville, and it's raining today. I shouldn't complain about the rain, as this is the first day of rain we've had since starting to backpack, despite everyone telling us it rains 300 days out of the year up North, especially where the rainforest is.

Saturday night we went to the rodeo, which was so much fun! There were several Americans competing, and the announcer was American. Since it was a PBR event, it was the same as events in the US.

On Sunday we explored Townsville, and hiked to the top of Castle Hill, which is a really really high hill with great views of the city and the ocean. It was quite a hike! I don't think I've been that worn out in a long time, it's probably the toughest hike I've ever done, it was so steep! It was worth it though, as the views were amazing. Sunday night we went to church at Sun City Christian Church. They had a great worship band.

Today we were going to go to Magnetic Island on the ferry, but due to the rain, we decided to wait until tomorrow. Today we've just been exploring the city some more, and getting some stuff done, like go to the post office to buy stamps.

In Townsville!

Last night Amy and I spent the night in Cairns again, at The Northern Greenhouse, the same hostel we stayed at before. This morning, we took the Greyhound bus from Cairns to Townsville. It was about a 6 hour bus ride. The bus was only half full, so we were able to stretch out and enjoy it, although Amy slept for much of it, as she gets a little car sick. She didn't really miss much though, just a lot of country side filled with sugar cane fields. And trust me, there was A LOT of sugar cane. There were some pastures filled with cows thrown in the mix too, but mainly just sugar cane. I tried to figure out what type of cows they were, but didn't have much luck. Since it's so warm here, they have to have cattle that do well in tropical areas, and they all looked like Brahman or a cross of some sort with Zebu cattle. Some looked like possibly Charlaois, but I'm not sure.

We are now in Townsville, and staying at a really cool hostel called the Reef Lodge. We have our own room here, instead of a dorm, which is a nice change of pace. They also have washers and dryers (most places only have washers, so all our jeans needed to be dried and shrunk) so we already have started laundry. When we first came to Townsville, I'm not sure I was going to like it. It's a lot drier here than in Cairns and up North, so it's more desert-like. On the bus ride in, we also passed a lot of industrial buildings, most of which looked a little run down. The hostel is downtown, near the beach, and is in a really pretty area of town. There are a lot of older buildings, with lots of architecture that kind or reminds me of New Orleans, with all the wrought iron work on the brick buildings.

Tonight, we are going to a rodeo! There is a PBR event here called the Troy Dunn International, and we have tickets, so that's the plan for tonight!

Good times!

Amy and I are just relaxing, and checking email and stuff, so I decided to add a few things that I forgot from yesterday's blog. The hostel we stayed at in Cape Trib was called PK's and it felt like camp. We stayed in a cabin, and the bathrooms were on the other side, and they were totally campground bathrooms. Also, when we were on the night walk in the Daintree, Amy got pooped on. We think by a bat, or something similar, but we never found out what it was. It smelled so bad though! The majority of it hit her arm and hand, but some got in her hair. It was really funny, but really gross!

Last night, we spent the night at Parrotfish Lodge, and it's a fun hostel! This morning we rented bikes and checked out the town. The main attraction here is the 4 Mile Beach, and we hung out there for a bit (although I'm trying to stay out of the sun until my sunburn goes away). We also rode around town. There are a lot of expensive clothing stores and a lot of resorts. Since we rode horses yesterday, we were a little sore, which added an extra degree of difficulty to bike riding.

This afternoon we take the bus back to Cairns, where we will spend one night before heading on to Townsville.

Sand and Sunburn!

This past week has been filled with beaches, sand and sun! On Monday, Amy and I went to Cairn's Northern Beaches, and went to Trinity Beach. We were told it was one of the best in Cairns, and were expecting pretty white beaches. The beach ended up being very tan colored, and the sand was not very fine, lots of pebbles, and wasn't very wide. We did spend the afternoon there, as it was sunny and gorgeous out. We even went swimming for a bit in the ocean....until we got kicked out by the lifeguard. Unknown to us, it's stinger season, meaning the Box Jellyfish are near the shore. The lifeguard told us if we got stung by one of them, we would have 90 seconds to live...not a good idea to go swimming there. They do have certain areas at certain beached with enclosed areas you can swim in, but we weren't in one of them. We did wonder why no one else was swiming.

Tuesday morning we left for Cape Tribulation with the Tropics Explorer Tour. On the way to Cape Trib, we went on a River Cruise on the Daintree River, where we saw a bunch of Saltwater Crocodiles-these are the big ones, the ones Steve Irwin was always with. We also went on a walking tour through part of the Daintree Rainforest before arriving in Cape Tribulation. Cape Trib is a very small town, one of our guides said only 58 families live in the town, but it's a popular destination for backpackers. That afternoon we went on a walk along the beach, and went to the actual Cape Tribulation. It's named such for some explorer who had trouble running aground in the reef and called it the cape of tribulation. The beach was awesome, and the type of beach Amy and I were hoping to find-gorgeous white sand, and lots of beach. The sand is very very fine, and sticks to you like crazy, it's impossible to wipe off. I think I have sand everywhere in my stuff.

Wednesday we went snorkling on the Great Barrier Reef! It was so awesome! We went with the Ocean Safari Company, and I highly recommend them. We saw other boats on the water with snorkelers that take up to a couple hundred people at a time. The company we went with only takes about 25 at a time, meaning while snorkling you rarely saw anyone else, and there was no one else to disturb the fish where you were. The reef was so cool! There were so many fish, all different colors, and the coral was all different colors too. It's so hard to discribe how beautiful and how colorful! Just imagine snorkeling at the aquarium, and you will kind of get an idea. The only bad part of the morning was I got badly sunburned on my back and shoulders. I lathered up with sunscreen that morning, but being in salt water washed it all off. I'm hoping it turns into a tan, so I have a great tan after this trip! Wednesday night we went on a Night Walk in the Daintree Rainforest. The Daintree is the oldest rainforest in the world, and is a World Heritage Site. We saw a lot of huge spiders and some small lizards, sadly nothing too large, but even being in the rainforest at night was awesome.

Thursday morning Amy and I went horesback riding. It was a 3 hour horseback riding tour that went along the beach and through the rainforest. The guides were really good, and even let us gallop. Thursday afternoon we left Cape Trib on the same tour bus that brought us, and on the way back made a few stops to see one last bit of the rainforest before leaving. Thursday night we stopped in Port Douglas for the night. Port Douglas is a very ritzy expensive touristy town, with some of the best and most luxurious resorts in Australia.

Also, for those who have facebook, I've posted two albums of pictures from Brisbane. If you don't have facebook, you can still see the pictures.
The link to the first album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2194890&id=27216207&l=24c94ceafe
The link to the second album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2198299&id=27216207&l=e159fc322a

As soon as I can, I'll post pictures from Cairns and Cape Trib.

A beautiful day in Cairns

Today was a fantabulous day! Amy and I went to Centenary Lakes Christian Church this morning, and it was so refreshing and wonderful to be able to worship God for the wonderful trip He has allowed me to take. Part of the message this morning was talking about all the majestic things God has created in this world, and that really spoke to me as I've taken in all the beauty of Australia. It was a needed reminder that it was all created by God and I should worship and thank Him for it.

After the service, we went to the Botanic Gardens and Rainforest Boardwalk. The Botanic Gardens were awesome, I have never seen so many different kinds of plants. I took over 50 pictures of plants that I've never seen before and have no idea what kind any of them are, all I know is they are beautiful. The Rainforest Boardwalk was also very cool. There were all kinds of large and different-looking trees and plants. We also went to the cafe at the Gardens, and I ordered an iced coffee. All the iced coffee here comes with ice cream, I've discovered-very good, but not what I was expecting!

Tomorrow we hit the beach!

I'm in Cairns!!

We safely made it to Cairns, and all our luggage arrived as well! The best part about the flight was they gave us cupcakes on the plane-yes, cupcakes. They were good too! I've never been on a plane where they had cupcakes. We are staying at a hostel called The Northern Greenhouse, and it seems to be a great place. It seems to be close to the center of the city. Amy and I walked around a bit, and spent the rest of the evening deciding what to do for the next few days. It's going to be a busy couple days....the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforest, the botanical gardens....I'll keep you posted!

It's super warm here, as it's further North. There are lots of hills, and again it's very green. It's supposed to be warm the whole time we are here. One interesting thing about Australia is it gets dark really early. It's getting to be winter now, so the days are getting shorter, but it still starts to get dark before 6pm. It was this way in Brisbane, and the same in Cairns.

It's been a while...

I need to get more in the habit of posting here. The past two weeks have been really good. I've spent more time exploring Brisbane and meeting new people. One of the best things we've done is go to the Lone Pines Koala Sanctuary. It's pretty much a zoo, but they have a lot of koalas, kangaroos, and other native animals, including a tasmanian devil (which does not look at all like the cartoon, and not scary at all) and wombats. They also have kangaroos that you are able to pet. I also was able to hold a koala, and get my picture taken with it. They are pretty soft, but not fuzzy, and they are heavier than you would think.

Another great thing we did was go up in the Brisbane Eye. It's a giant ferris wheel that is right along the river, so the views are great. We went at night, and the city looked awesome. Other stuff we've done includes going to a gaelic football game (not at all like american football), seeing one of Amy's co-worker's band play, went to the Museum of Brisbane, the Queensland Museum and Art Gallery (my favorite of the galleries and museums in the city), and took a bus ride to Mount Coot-tha, which overlooks the city, and has some great views.

Tomorrow Amy and I leave for Cairns to start backpacking. Cairns is in the North, and after spending some time there we will start heading South toward Melbourne.

I can't believe I've already been here for over a week!

The past week has been great! Amy has been working, so I've been spending time just hanging out and sightseeing. Brisbane is a gorgeous city, and there's a lot to see. One of my favorite places is the Botanical Gardens. It's huge, and right along the river, so there's a lot to see and it's really pretty. I also really like an area called South Bank, it has a man-made beach, and lots of cute shops and restaurants. I also rode the bus by myself several more times, and am becoming a lot more comfortable with that.

We also had a really good weekend. Friday night we met up with some friends of Amys that she works with, they are Irish, and are in Australia on working holiday visas, which is what Amy and I have. They are a lot of fun, and great to hang out with. We went downtown, so I also got to see more of the city. Saturday we went to a pro rugby game. We went with a couple of Amy's friends, and they explained the game to me, so I understand it a little now. It's a little like football, except they don't wear pads or helmets. They also have some other rules like you can only pass the ball backwards, you have to run it forward. They also don't stop the clock at all, and the ball is still in play if it hits the ground. It was a lot of fun to go to the game. Sunday we played soccer again, as it's a sunday tradition.

It's fall right now, so it's cooling down during the nights. I'm happy about that, as I'm still getting used to the heat. It's still in the high 70s during the day.