The Holiday continued . . .

On our third day in Cairns we rode a large boat, The Big Cat, out to Green Island to spend the day snorkeling off the coast and out on the Great Barrier Reef. The boat ride started out with Evan being a celebrity (again!) All the Asians on board (and there were many) wanted a picture with Evan (see Evan's blog to see the paparazzi that seem to follow him everywhere we go.) When we got to Green Island we had to get into our stinger suits and Bryan, Patricia, John, and Evan went snorkeling right off the shore of the island and along the jetty. They reported that there was some great coral and you had to make sure when you stood up you didn't stand on any of it.

Lunch was spent on the boat eating a provided buffet meal. Right after lunch Bryan and I headed back to the mainland to meet our group and boat to ride out to the Great Barrier Reef for an extended snorkeling adventure. It was phenomenal!! Words and pictures can't even describe the ocean life and wonder we saw. We had alot of fun with an underwater digital camera we rented. Now, don't be surprised to see that alot of the coral is gray and looks washed out . . . it really isn't like you see in pictures. When coral is gray it is living so most of what we saw is living coral. Many professional photographers can get the color of the coral to appear when they are taking pictures by using the correct underwater lighting along with the sun hitting the water at correct angles . . . we definitely are not professionals!! But, regardless, the views were spectacular and amazing! Bryan and I are hoping to do this again before leaving Australia.

While Bryan and I snorkeled on the Reef John and Patricia took the boys in the semi-submersible boat (submarine) to view the Reef - and not get wet or have to jump into the ocean. You get to see the Reef from another viewpoint via the submarine which also provides amazing and unforgettable sights. (I later went on the submarine with Kaden while the rest of the gang went snorkeling off the shoreline again, so I was able to see the Reef from multiple angles.)

The day ended with Bryan, Evan, John, and Patricia missing the boat back to the mainland and having to catch a separate ride back. This left Kaden and I on the boat alone with a TON of stuff that we had hauled with us for the day. Although we road alone for the hour and a half trip back it wasn't as bad as it sounds because the rest of the gang rode a faster boat and actually beat us back to the mainland so Bryan was able to help get me and all of our stuff off the boat. Not really sure how I would have managed everything AND a baby on my own though!! You can see a picture in our slide show of The Big Cat heading back to the mainland as "the gang" passes us (and waves to Kaden and I) from their faster alternative boat.

On our final full day in Cairns we rented a minivan and drove up to the Atherton Tablelands. This area is located in the tropical mountains above Cairns so it was much cooler than previous days and we enjoyed the warm weather without the humidity. We visited the well-known Cathedral and Curtain Fig Trees, drove the waterfall circuit, and stopped to view several of the crops that are grown in this area.

Our flight back to Brisbane didn't leave until early evening so we spent the day down on the Esplanade in Cairns on the ocean front. They have some street side markets to shop at along with a very large swimming lagoon. There was also a GREAT park for Evan to play in that had a water play area, which was perfect for another hot and humid day!

Australian Education:
The Curtain Fig Tree was another amazing sight. We would just stare at the tree and wonder how it had transformed in the large "curtain" that we saw. Luckily at the end of the trek around the tree there was some posted educational information that taught us more about how the Curtain Fig Tree evolved.



The Cathedral Fig Tree had some additional interesting facts about it that we thought we could share.

- This fig started out as a seed that was only a couple of millimeters in size - equivalent to the size of a sesame seed.
- The Cathedral Fig Tree has a girth of 44 meters. This means if 24 people linked hands around the tree, they wouldn't quite meet together.
- The tree is estimated to be about 48 meters tall - equivalent to a building 5 storeys tall.
- The crown of the tree extends over 2000 square meters, which is the same area as two Olympic-sized swimming pools.
- It is estimated that the tree hold leaves that are 1000kg in weight (2205 lbs.), equivalent to the weight of a small car.

Our first Aussie "Holiday" . . .

and by "holiday" we aren't talking about Christmas - we went on our first major vacation (or "holiday" as the Australian's would say.) The first week Bryan's parents were here we all boarded a plane (with a TON of luggage - mainly for the boys) and headed to Cains (pronounced "Canz") in nothern Queensland. This area is referred to as the Great Tropical North. It was dreadfully hot and humid while we were there but we enjoyed or time and the adventures we had. This post will cover the first two days of our five day trip. Also, I just had to add the snowflakes to our pictures. It has been difficult getting into the Christmas spirit when trying to celebrate Christmas in the SUMMER here (not WINTER) and when it's 90+ degrees outside!!

On the first day of the trip we rented a minivan and drove up the coast (literally right next to the Coral Sea) to see the Port Douglas area, including Mossman Gorge and the Daintree Rainforest. We ate lunch at the Daintree Inn. Many good restaurants in AUS have "Inn" or "Hotel" in their name but aren't actually a lodging facility at all.

It was very hot and humid on this day so everyone put on their swimming suits before heading down the rainforest path to Mossman Gorge. Mossman Gorge is a valley located in the rainforest with crystal clear water cascades amongst large granite boulders which have been washed down from the hills during times of heavy flood. Everyone was quickly refreshed after taking a dip in the waters of the Mossman Gorge. On our return home we stopped in the Port Douglas and Palm Cove areas so that John and Patricia could get their first ever "hands-on" view and feel of an ocean from the shoreline. It is currently stinger season in Cairns so you are only allowed to swim in ocean areas blocked with stinger nets or if you wear a stinger suit. Bryan and Evan ventured out into the ocean (within the appropriate area) while the rest of us observed from the shore.

On the second (hot and humid) day of our trip we rode the Kuranda Scenic Railway Train through the rainforest up to the small mountain village of Kuranda. We spent several hours in Kuranda and also visited the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. This sanctuary is one of the largest butterfly farms in the world in terms of enclosed flight space. There were beautiful butterflies everywhere! If you stood very still they would even land on you for a short time. To get back down the mountain we road the SkyRail Rainforest Cableway and the views were phenomenal! The Skyrail cableway consists of 114 gondolas that carry you along a 4.7 mile route above the Wet Tropics World Heritage Rainforest. (We learned that all of the towers used to hold the cableway were lifted into place by helicopters to avoid disturbance of the rainforest.) We were then all exhausted from our day long adventure and spent the evening at the resort pool relaxing.

Stay tuned for more pictures and information about the rest of our trip to the tropical north, including pictures of The Great Barrier Reef!

Australian Education: DID YOU KNOW?

The Koala is not really a bear (even though most of us call it a "koala bear"), but is related to the wombat family.
- When fully grown the koala is 60cm long.
- The koala lives in gum(eucalyptus) trees, dozing by day and foraging for the oily leaves by night. It rarely drinks.
- Koalas breed every other year. The offspring is born in an immature state and is harbored and suckled in the mother pouch.
- After the baby is six months old it learns to leave the pouch and is carried on the mothers back until about a year old.

We have visitors!!!

I started this post last week but never got it up so it may be a little dated . . . sorry! We have so many pictures and new things to share since we braved and completed our first "holiday (vacation)" with the boys (along with TONS of help from the grandparents) so there will be lots more pictures to come as I find the time to update.

Bryan's parents arrived last Friday (Nov. 30th) to visit for a couple of weeks and we had a busy weekend around the city from the moment they stepped off the plane on Friday morning. We rode the Oxley train into the city on Friday night to view the first lighting of the Brisbane Christmas tree. The tree is located at the top of the hill at Queen Street Mall so we browsed the shops and watched an Aerial Angels show (see picture) before we watched the official lighting of the tree.

On Saturday we rode the City Cat (the water taxi in Brisbane that takes you to various city points along the Brisbane River.) We got off at Southbank and walked through the Saturday markets and watched the swimmers in the man-made beach and pool along the river. We then continued to ride the City Cat along the northern route and saw the Story Bridge (one of the only bridges in the world that you can walk across . . . not on level ground but harnessed and walking the peaks.) We stopped at New Farm park and strolled through the grounds and let Evan play in the awesome park that they have there.

On Sunday the grandparents, Bryan, and Evan went to the Botanical Gardens and Mount Coot-tha to see the flowers and plants and the magnificent view of the city.

Australian Education:
Australia just elected a new Prime Minister a few weeks ago. We found the entire political election process very interesting here. Here are some of the fine points:

1. They do not have elections every 4 years like they do in the US. The Prime Minister in office has a 4 year window and can call an election at any point that he/she wishes during his term. Once the election is held the 4 year window starts over again. So if his ratings are high at the current time he might choose to have an election so that he can extend his time in office from that point on.

2. Once he calls the election he also states when the election or voting will occur. In the most recent case it occurred exactly 6 weeks after he called the election. So we only had to endure 6 weeks of political campaigning (versus the 2+ years you endure in the US!)

3. Everyone in the country is REQUIRED to vote. If they do not show up to vote on the required date they are fined $50 or more.

4. Instead of just voting by checking the box of the individual that they wish to vote for they have to number the individuals running in order of their preference with #1 being the person they want to get the office the most. If there are 50 people running they have to number each one from 1 to 50. If they don't choose to vote this way they can just choose the party (LABOR or LIBERAL) that they wish to vote for and that is where their votes are placed.

It was interesting that John Howard, the Prime Minister that was in office when we arrived in AUS and had been the PM for over 11 years, had announced at some point that he would be retiring in the near future but he went ahead and ran for office during this election. So everyone basically knew that if they voted for him he might choose to retire within days of the election. BUT, he didn't get re-elected and Kevin Rudd is now Australia's new Prime Minister.