Reef and Rainforest

We drove north up the Tropical Queensland coast to the village of Mission Beach. The hotel we had planned to stay at cocked up our booking but eventually it was sorted out. That evening we had a lovely freshly cooked pizza enjoyed with German beer at a bar by the sea. The setting of the town was amazing with palm trees on a long, almost deserted, sandy beach. The major drawback in the summer months being the very poisonous jellyfish, or stingers, in the warm, tropical but deadly ocean. Fortunately for us we were here about a month prior to 'Stinger season'. For the three nights and two full days we were at Mission Beach we enjoyed the sea, walked in the rainforest and ate and drank in the bars in the evenings. One day we went to the Atherton Tablelands, a hilly area inland from the coast. We enjoyed a pleasant walk around a large lake. However on the last day, just as we were about to leave Mum developed an itch on her shoulder. It turned out to be a big green tick that had burrowed its head into a pore and had its back legs sticking out. It still makes me shiver just thinking about how gross it was. We had to visit the local doctor who took it out with the help of vaseline. Ticks are a big problem in the north of Australia and can regularly kill sheep and cows and if not dealt with properly can kill humans too!

Our next port of call for the following five nights was the picturesque town of Port Douglas. As we travelled up the coast the landscape changed as more and more sugar cane plantations appeared. We passed the outskirts of Cairns and drove along the windy hilly road to Port Douglas. After checking into our townhouse our first port of call was to book a trip to the Reef. We arranged one for the following day as the forecast was for the weather to get progressively worse as the days passed.

The next day was probably the highlight of my time in Australia so far. We boarded on the boat with Calypso tours and headed out to sea towards the Reef, early in the morning. It was a perfect hot sunny day. We stopped at the Reef at three different places over the course of the day and it was simply amazing snorkeling on the reef. The colours and the wildlife below the surface were wonderful and it was remarkable how the reef was so close to the surface in places and how deep the surrounding ocean was. I could have spent all day in the sea and my back suffered later as it was red raw due to me snorkeling on the surface and looking down. I dived down a bit too and the pressure became quite powerful the deeper you went. Most scientists reckon the Reef has not got long left due to the warming of the oceans because of climate change, so it was extra special seeing it. It is shameful that this habitat will be destroyed because of humans. The Australian government does not care about saving it as they have failed to ratify the Kyoto treaty, which is probably too little too late anyway. They say that the economy comes first over the environment but so many tourists visit the Reef and if it is destroyed, will the tourists come and bring revenue into the country, Mr Howard?

We spent the next day at Mossman, an area of tropical rainforest north of Port Douglas and made a further trip the following day to the Daintree Rainforest. We had to catch a boat across the river in order to get there, which was interesting. The Rainforest boardwalk was extremely informative too as we spent a good few hours here. Later in the afternoon we got the boat train on the river and we spotted a female crocodile sunning itself on the bank. The guide on the boat train was brilliant and very knowledgeable and passionate about the conservation of the river. Highly recommended.

We spent the last two days mainly in Port Douglas visiting the sunday market and swimming in the sea as the weather, as had been correctly predicted, became wet and windy and very humid. We also walked in the Mossman again. We left for our flight back to Melbourne from Cairns early on the 3rd October. It was cold in Victoria when we landed!

My parents left for the UK a couple of days later but not before we had visited Kyabram Fauna Park and a parrot took a great interest in mum's handbag and emptied its contents all over the floor, which was amusing for all except the parrot as it found no food for its efforts. I then prepared for my last term at school down under and the last few weeks here in our rapidly dwindling year.

Reflections of a footy season down-under and it's hot up north!

After patiently waiting for my ribs to heal up I managed to play in the last 2 games of the soccer season. I was particularly pleased with my final game for the Raiders as we won 3-1 and I got 2 assists and the man of the match award, a lovely way to finish off what was a highly enjoyable season of footy on the bottom of the world. Sarah too enjoyed her first season of league football for the women. Joining the team has been extremely rewarding for both of us on many levels. We firstly had a great time playing the matches and participating in training and also we both got fitter too. Secondly we met some great people who we will keep in contact with in the future. Thirdly as a result we have had a good social life on the weekends we have been in Echuca. Lastly through Sarah's contacts at the Club she has managed to find work and now works for a minimum of two and a half days a week. In country Australia it really is who you know in order to obtain employment. This is because when we first arrived earlier in the year Sarah sent her CV and a covering letter to a few organisations, most of which didn't even respond to her. When we joined the footy club she got talking to people and was recommended by a couple of people and got work instantly. So it has helped us financially too. It is also nice to meet people outside of my work and the exchange programme and to socialise with people from other walks of life. So all round we thoroughly enjoyed being part of Echuca-Moama Border Raiders Soccer Club.

As Winter turned to Spring the weather became warmer by day although it still remained cold at night with temperatures hovering around freezing in the wee hours and up to the 20's on some days. In the penultimate week of Term 3 I went down to a town called Maldon with the grade 4 children and that was an interesting experience, particularly with some of the people I met when down there. The last week saw my parents arrive. We met them at the train station in Bendigo and they occupied themselves around Echuca whilst I completed the last few days of the term. On the first sunday of the Spring holidays we drove down to Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne to catch a plane to the Tropical North of Queensland. We arrived in Townsville in the evening and the weather was hot and muggy. The following day we took a boat to Magnetic Island which is off the coast of Townsville. It was a hot and sunny day and we took a bus to the north of the island. My Dad and I then walked across a large hill in the wonderful landscape, which took around about an hour, to be rewarded with a near deserted sandy beach in a cove. We swam in the sea and sunbathed on the sand for a couple of hours before returning the same way before visiting a bar. That evening we had a lovely meal of Aussie steak in a steakhouse. The following day we left our motel and after visiting a rather non-descript wildlife place on the outskirts of Townsville headed further north into the Tropics. More of this next time.