South Molle Island: Day Forty-Two (30 November)

This morning we watched the fish being fed from the pier on South Molle Island.

Afterwards it rained heavily so we played bowls in the Discovery Bar.

Then we thought we would go for a walk but turned back after we thought we heard a snake in the bushes. We had an ice cream instead :-).

Barnaby

Whitsundays: Day Forty-One (29 November)

As you can see we had a gorgeous day for our sailing tour of the Whitsundays Islands. We caught a ferry from South Molle to Daydream Island (which has a much bigger resort) and joined a purple catamaran called Camira.

The first stop was at Hook Island where we could have gone snorkelling in special stinger suits to protect us from the poisonous jelly fish. However we opted to talk to some of the other people on the tour instead.

From there we went to the famous Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island. The sand is so white because it contains lots of silicone.

We had a delicious BBQ lunch on board the yacht before sailing back past Hamiton Island, where Miss Robb stayed last time she was in Australia.

Barnaby

South Molle Island: Day Forty (28 November)

We enjoyed a relaxing day on South Molle Island today with a massage and a swim in the pool. Morris and I also tried a mocktail (a cocktail without alcohol).

Barnaby

Airlie Beach: Day Thirty-Nine (27 November)

We spent last night in a Backpackers' Hostel (but we had our own room with en suite bathroom!) Here I am in Airlie Beach which is the jumping off point for exploring the Whitsundays. Look at the colour of the sea -).

From here we caught a ferry to South Molle, which is a tiny island with a self-contained holiday resort. Every afternoon they feed the local rainbow lorikeets with fruit and guests can help. Lorikeets are a kind of parrot and they are like flying rainbows with red and blue feathers on the underside and green on top: very pretty.

Like all parrots they are also very noisy and the ones on South Molle came a bit close for comfort.

Barnaby

Townsville: Day Thirty-Eight (26 November)

Today we are being proper backpackers and catching a bus to Airlie Beach. But first the kind people, who gave us a lift yesterday, picked us up from our motel and showed us more of Townsville. We went to the Tropical Museum and saw a very interesting exhibition about HMS Pandora, which pursued the mutineers from the Bounty.

Then our friends gave us lunch in their traditional Queenslander house - built on stilts to keep it cool in the summer - before giving us a lift to the bus station.

Townsville is also where Morris and I discovered Tim Tams (chocolate biscuits a little bit like Penquins) so we stocked up for the journey.

Barnaby

Townsville: Day Thirty-Seven (25 November)

Our local Mothers' Union in Tunbridge Wells has been writing to a branch in Mundingburra, which is a suburb of Townsville, for years so today we went to their church. They made us very welcome and invited us to 'morning tea' after the service, which was lovely.

Two members of the congregation gave us a lift back into Townsville for our final afternoon. We explored the markets and then walked back along the Strand and relaxed at the Rockpool for a couple of hours.

Barnaby

Townsville: Day Thirty-Six (24 November)

Today we went to the Aquarium in Townsville, which is called Reef HQ. It is brilliant: you are even allowed to put your hand in the water and touch some of the exhibits. We learnt about sea turtles, saw lots of reef fish (including clown fish like Nemo) and even watched people feeding the sharks.

Afterwards we relaxed at the Rockpool on the Strand and enjoyed a chocolate and macadamia icecream. Macadamias are a kind of nut, which grows in Australia. They taste especially nice covered with chocolate (doesn't everything :-).

Barnaby

Townsville: Day Thirty-Five (23 November)

Today we went to Magnetic Island, which is a twenty minute ferry ride off the coast of Townsville. It's called Magnetic Island because Captain Cook thought his ship's compass went funny when he sailed past but there's no evidence there is any magnetic material there. It is very pretty, though, and you can see koalas in the wild.



We took a bus to Horseshoe Bay where we met Sylvia, an Italian lady who was staying with Miss Berry at the same time as us. Sylvia learnt English in Cairns before going travelling round the rest of Australia and to New Zealand.



From Horseshoe Bay we walked to Balding Bay, famous as the most beautiful bay on the island. The track to get there was rough with lots of stones to climb over and we were a bit worried about snakes. Later we took the bus to Alma Bay where there were lots of schoolies but we found a quiet spot at one end.

After a lovely sunny day, we caught the 6.15pm ferry back from Nelly Bay and had dinner in the motel in Townsville.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Thirty-Four (22 November)

Our last day in Cairns. We sent some parcels home to England (including Zippy and Gerald, who would have preferred to stay in a warm climate) and then had a relaxing time till Miss Berry took us to the airport.

The flight to Townsville only took an hour - there was barely time for the grown ups to drink their complementary glass of wine. We took a taxi to the motel and had an early night.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Thirty-Three (21 November)

It was a beautiful day in Cairns. As soon as we'd finished our errands we went for a walk along the Esplanade (which the locals call the 'nade) to see if we could find a nice fish restaurant for dinner this evening.

We also had chocolate ice cream at the best place in Cairns - Dolce & Gelati - before opting to have a Balinese takeaway at Miss Berry's.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Thirty-Two (20 November)

We picked up the tickets for our trip down the coast this morning. It turns out the train isn't running on the day we want to go to Airlie Beach so we have booked to take the bus instead (like proper backpackers).

In the afternoon we went for a walk in the rainforest, which was lovely apart from the marsh flies.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Thirty-One (19 November)

Hurrah, we finally made it to the famous Great Barrier Reef. There are tours from Cairns but we went up to Port Douglas and joined the boat there. Because of the cyclone, there was a strong wind warning in place (20 to 30 knots) so it was quite a bumpy ride.

It took an hour and a half to reach the part of the reef we were visiting, which has a permanent platform moored over it with an underwater observatory. We looked round this first and then went on a semi-submersible through the coral. The views were amazing even though it was a cloudy day.

Because of the clouds and the choppy sea, we decided not to go snorkelling or diving (they don't make diving masks for teddy bears anyway). We did send a postcard from the special platform post box though.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Thirty (18 November)

Far North Queensland does not have Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter like we do; it has a tropical climate with a dry and a wet season. November is during the wet season so it was not surprising it rained again today. There was also a cyclone out at sea, which is why we have not been able to go to the Barrier Reef yet.

But we did visit Cairns' Botanic Gardens with Miss Berry and had a nice lunch in its cafe.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Twenty-Nine (17 November)

We spent the morning in Cairns (and found Robb Street :-)) before heading out to meet Miss Berry’s parents. They live an hour’s drive inland at a place called Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands, which is farming country. Miss Berry’s father keeps cattle.

On the way we visited de Breuy’s Winery. They make wine from lots of fruits other than grapes including mangoes, passionfruit and lychees. They also make tropical fruit port.

After a cup of tea at the homestead with Miss Berry’s Mum, we drove over the property. As well as keeping cows, the Berry’s run a restaurant called Ringer’s Rest, where people who have been on a balloon ride can stop and have breakfast. A Ringer is the Australian name for someone who rounds up cattle, like an American cowboy.

We headed back to Kuranda for dinner and to see a popular Australian singer, Missy Higgins, in concert. The show was so good we bought her CD.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Twenty-Eight (16 November)

Another quiet day in Cairns today sorting out travel plans so I thought I'd show you some photos from our visit to Koala Gardens yesterday.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Twenty-Seven - Afternoon (15 November)

We caught the sky rail back to Cairns. It goes right over the rainforest and we stopped and had a ranger walk on the way. The ranger showed us some of the rainforest food that people can survive on, including a witchity grub, which is a bit like a fat white worm. I decided my ice cream was enough to keep me going until we had fish and chips for dinner at Miss Berry’s.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Twenty-Seven - Morning (15 November)

Out on a trip today! We took the steam train to Kuranda, a village in the mountains above Cairns. The line was built by a Mr Robb and takes one and a half hours. On the way the train slows down so people can take photos of Stoney Creek Falls and Barron Falls.

After lunch, we visited Koala Gardens, which is a small wildlife park with wombats and wallabies as well as koalas (and freshwater crocodiles, lizards and a turtle though I wasn’t so keen on seeing those). When we got there the koalas and wombats were asleep (they do that a lot) so we had an ice cream before going back. They were very cute, especially the 10 month old baby who was climbing everywhere just like a human toddler.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Twenty-Six (14 November)

It is Schoolies Week in Australia next week when all the Year Twelves go away to celebrate finishing school. (They have their summer holidays in December and January because they are on the opposite side of the world to us and all the seasons are opposite too). This made our travelling plans more difficult because lots of places were full up but we got there in the end

We celebrated with another delicious ice cream .

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Twenty-Five (13 November)

We hadn’t booked the next stage of our trip when we were in England so today we had to go to a Flight Centre in the centre of Cairns and arrange how we were going to get to Sydney for 13 December. We knew we needed to see friends in Townsville and near Coffs Harbour and we had to decide where else we would like to stay on the way.

Afterwards we had lunch and explored more of Cairns. The area along the sea front is especially nice.

I got to see Home & Away again:-).

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Twenty-Four (12 November)

We had a lie in after all our early mornings in Kakadu. It was lovely to be in a home not a hotel and Miss Berry looked after us really well. Her house is some way from the centre of Cairns so we took a bus in and sent emails from an internet café (which arrived this time – hurrah).

We also had a yummy chocolate milkshake before heading back to Miss Berry’s and saving all the photos we’d taken since the start of our trip in South Africa.

Barnaby

Cairns: Day Twenty-Three (11 November)

Remembrance Day and because it is a short flight from Darwin to Cairns we were able to go to a service at 11am. Afterwards Miss Berry drove us to Port Douglas to see the beautiful four mile beach and walk around the markets.

We had lunch on the seafront and then drove backs to Cairns for a family BBQ at Miss Berry’s, which was lots of fun.

Cairns is in the tropics and is on the edge of the rainforest and it did (rain) just as the BBQ was starting so we all had to move inside. The food was more like an English BBQ too:-).

Barnaby

Darwin: Day Twenty-Two (10 November)

Our last day in the Northern Territory! We visited a local war memorial and went swimming in three different croc-free places - Florence Falls, Buley Rockholes and Wangi Falls – and enjoyed a nice walk along Shady Creek which lived up to its name: hurrah. (As my profile says, I love sunbathing but 46 degrees Celcius is a bit too warm for someone as furry as me, especially when it’s humid too).

Our final stop was at the Banyan Tree before we began the long drive back to Darwin, showers without cane toads and air conditioning. Heaven!

We went out for pizza with some of the people from our trip and then went to bed as we flew to Cairns in the morning to visit Miss Berry, who used to teach at Claremont.


Barnaby

Kakadu: Day Twenty-One (9 November)

Tents do not have air conditioning (unless you leave the flap open, which is not an option in the Australian outback)! After three days of temperatures averaging 45 degrees Celcius, I was accused of having of B(ear)O. Unfortunately they do not make deodorant for teddy bears (well they do - it's called Febreze - but we didn't have any with us).

Today we visited the famous Katherine Gorge which has now been renamed Nitmiluk, after the Aboriginal tribe from the area. Our guide for the tour was a member of the tribe and told us lots about it, including showing us how to play a didgeredoo.

Australia is the only country to have freshwater crocodiles as well as saltwater crocodiles. Freshwater crocodiles are not meant to be dangerous to people (unlike what the Aussies call Salties: the ones we saw on our first day). Nevertheless we decided not to go swimming with the ones here but waited till we got to the nice thermal pools later.

John, our guide, described tonight's campsite as rustic. That turned out to mean an ants' nest on my bed (he gave us a new mattress) and poisonous cane toads in the toilets and showers. The men checked they were safe before we used them.

We've enjoyed our Australian adventure but are looking forward to going back to Darwin and our 4* hotel tomorrow.

Barnaby

Kakadu: Day Twenty (8 November)

Today we saw some more aboriginal rock art. It was a steep climb to get there and it was hard work in the heat and humidity. However when we got to the first swimming place there was a crocodile warning sign so we only dipped our paws in the water.

We did manage a swim at Edith Falls later and for dessert at the second campsite we had a traditional Australian cake: Lamingtons.

Barnaby

Kakadu: Day Nineteen (7 November)

We were travelling to Kakadu by minibus so we were only allowed to take one bag. (We left the rest of our luggage - and Zippy and Gerald - in the hotel in Darwin). Behind the minibus was a trailer with all the food for the trip because we were going camping. (We thought the travel agents had booked for us to stay in lodges but that turned out not to be case. I was worried because I don't like English creepy crawlies very much and Australian ones are poisonous).

We stopped at an interpretation centre outside Darwin and then drove for a long time to reach Kakadu National Park where the first thing we did was go on a crocodile cruise. I was very nervous as the French tourists in the group did not stay seated or keep their arms in the boat as they were told to and I thought it might capsize. Crocodiles can also leap a long way out of the water. Then a big male crocodile blocked part of the river and we had to wait for him to move before we could return.

The aboriginal rock art at Ubirr Rock was much less scary but it was dark by the time we got to the campsite. It was a bit of a shock after staying in 4* hotels but at least the tents were permanent ones with hard floors and proper beds and mattresses.

There was a big thunderstorm that night so I didn't get much sleep.

Barnaby

Our guide, John, a Scot who has lived in Australia for years but still has a broad Scots accent, did all the driving and cooking as well as telling us about everything. We were the only British people on the tour: the others were Danish, Dutch and there were eight people from France

Darwin: Day Eighteen (6 November)

Our last day in Western Australia. Today we fly on to Darwin, which is the capital of the Northern Territory, right in the middle of Australia at the top.

Our flight was not till the afternoon so we spent the morning by the pool and then had lunch with a nice couple from Broome whom we met on Safari. They were in South Africa on honeymoon.

After lunch they took us to Broome Airport, which is quite small. It was only a short flight to Darwin but we had to put our watches forward by half an hour. We were now 9 and a half hours ahead of the U.K.

We went to bed soon after dinner because we had to leave Darwin early the next morning to go to Kakadu.

Barnaby

Broome: Day Seventeen (5 November)

Bonfire Night in England but it was shorts and t-shirts weather for us. We went swimming in the hotel pool before going on an "Essential Broome" tour.

This started at the Open Air Cinema where the seats are deckchairs and we posed with a model of Charlie Chaplin.

We then found out about Broome's pearl diving industry. Most pearls today are created artificially because it is very dangerous to dive in search of them. Many of the divers who died were Japanese and there is a special cemetery in Broome where they are buried.

We also visited a local brewery (I only tried the mango juice and ginger beer) and finished the tour with a camel ride along Cable Beach.

Barnaby

Broome: Day Sixteen (4 November)

Broome is a popular holiday destination in Australia and our hotel was lovely. We were really tired after all the early mornings on safari in South Africa and our sightseeing in Perth so we had a lazy day by the pool today.

Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere which means its seasons are the opposite to England. November is Summertime! The temperatures in Broome were in the low thirties Celcius :-).

Barnaby

Broome: Day Fifteen (3 November)

We left Perth early in the morning to fly to Broome, which is still in Western Australia but near the top right of the continent whereas Perth is near the bottom left.

Broome is famous for the spectacular sunsets on Cable Beach.

Barnaby

Perth: Day Fourteen (2 November)

Our last day in Perth. Today we caught the train to Fremantle which is a famous port that yachts and tall ships call into when racing round the world. It is also famous for its fantastic fish restaurants so we had fish and chips for lunch!

We found a whalers' tunnel and saw one of the first jails in Western Australia called The Round House. They fire a cannon every day at 1o'clock and we were there to watch it. It was very loud!

Then we looked round St Patrick's Basilica before catching the train back to Perth via Claremont Station.

Barnaby

Perth: Day Thirteen (1 November)

Today we went on a trip to Rottnest Island. It's called Rottnest because the first settlers thought the little animal found there was a rat but it's actually a kind of marsupial (like a small kangaroo) called a quokka.

First we took a ferry down the Swan River to Fremantle. Then we got on a catamaran (a boat with two hulls instead of one) for the last part of the journey. As soon as we arrived we took a bus ride around the island which gave us the chance to see the many lovely beaches and bays. During lunch we were lucky enough to glimpse a shy little quokka.

After lunch we went on a walking tour. The island used to be a prison so we saw that as well as other original buildings. I had an ice-cream :-) before we caught the catamaran back to Fremantle - it was quite a bumpy ride!

Barnaby