Great Barrier Reef- February 5, 2017

This morning at 8 am we were picked up by bus that took us to Port Douglas.  At Port Douglas we got on board a big catamaran that transported us to a portable island structure in the Great Barrier Reef.  This area is in the monsoon season and there were clouds and showers all day.  Out in the reef area snorkeling, scuba and other diving could be done.  Tom and I opted not to try snorkeling in the very choppy water.

We did take a boat with a submersible underside that allowed viewing of the reef.

 We saw lots of different coral as well as many fish.   A buffet lunch was served.  About 3 hours was spent in the reef area before we loaded back into the catamaran for the return to Port Douglas.  Many people had gotten seasick going out in the morning but the return trip most had taken medication for the seasickness and slept much of the way.  We were returned to Cairns by bus.  We did see wallabies in a field eating grass on the return trip.
In the evening the tour group went to a restaurant, Dundees, for dinner.  The food was good.

Uluru-Kara to Cairns. -February 4, 2017

Today is Tom and my 50th anniversary and the reason for taking this wonderful trip.
At last we had a day that did not start early.  First on the schedule was to be checked out our room by 10 am as we would be moving on later in the afternoon.  We left our bags in the room and porters move them to a point to be picked up by our bus driver, Myles.   As a group we walked a short distance to the center of this resort where we had a lesson in aboriginal art and then we each had a canvas panel to do our own painting using aboriginal symbols.

We then had time to do some shopping or to get some lunch.  We had some cheese and apples from breakfast that we ate.  We wanted something to drink so we went into a small grocery store where they had diet coke in 1 liter bottles for $4.00 plus and in 2 liter bottles for $2.00 plus.  We got the cheaper 2 liter bottle knowing that even if we didn't drink it empty we had paid less .
About 1:30 pm we had all met up at the hotel, boarded the bus for our ride to the airport.  Checking in at the airport proved to be a fiasco.  We had overweight carry-on luggage.  So we had to take things out of the bags and put these items in other bags to finally be allowed to proceed.  Once checked through we placed some of the items back into the luggage.  It was all going to be carried on the plane whether on 1 luggage container or in additional bags.
About 3:20pm we were taking off for Cairns which was about a 2.5 hour flight.  We landed a few minutes before 6pm.  Luggage was obtained and we then met up with our waiting bus driver and loaded up.  We are staying at the Cairns Hilton Hotel.
We walked down the street looking for a place to eat and found Barnacle Bill's and had a wonderfulness of seafood jambalaya.  Great meal to celebrate 50 years.

Uluru-Kara Tjuta National Park- February 3,2017

A real early start today as at 5 am we were boarding the bus for the sunrise on Uluru.  Once at the park another reception area had again been set up but this morning there were hot beverages and biscuits (cookies).  We had to follow a pathway with red lights until we came to an area with green lights which indicated the viewing area.

Unfortunately, there again was a heavy cloud cover so this rock formation was not lit up as the sun rose.

We were back at the hotel by 7:30 am for breakfast.  At 8:30 am we loaded into the buses again heading back into the park and did some walking about the base of Uluru-Kara with our tour director,

Dave, pointing out the aboriginal wall paintings and giving some aboriginal information.

 A cultural center was another stop that was made before returning to the hotel for rest and some lunch.  Tom and I walked the short distance to the resort center for lunch.  At 4 pm we were once again on buses going into the park but this time we were at the huge rock formation of Kata Tjuta.

 A walk through a gorge which Tom and I just walked part way because of the heat. When we returned to the bus, our bus driver had a cooler of cold wash cloths that he handed to each of us.  How refreshing and thoughtful of Myles, a terrific bus driver. 
Finally we went to another viewing area to watch the sunset on Kara Tjuta- and like last evening we had an assortment of beverages and canapes set up for our benefit.  It was a lovely evening with a nice sunset that added color to this rock formation.

Travel Day. - February 2, 2017

Everyday seems to start fairly early and today was no exception.  We had to have our luggage outside of our rooms by 7 am.  When I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day I had a visitor- a little tiny frog not much bigger than a dime.
We were underway by 8am and had 280 miles of travel by motorcoach ahead of us.  We stopped at a camel farm that offered camel rides for $7.00 .  So Tom and I took our first ever camel ride.

Continuing on we had stops for lunch and then to view Connor Rock, a mesa and a salt flat.

 We arrived at our destination Sails in the Desert hotel at Uluru ( Ayers Rock) about 3pm.  The travels through this outback region was over a road with minimum traffic.  Normally this area appears as the color of the red sand but there have been more rain than usual and there is much green coloring from the vegetation  After getting our room key we went to our room to await our luggage arrival and to chill out for a spell.

 At 6:15pm we were back on the motorcade to travel a short distance to a viewing area of Ayers Rock as the sunset.  Unfortunately, clouds were very heavy preventing a nice sunset.  But the tour company had arranged for drinks, alcoholic and non alcohol, and canapes to be served as we waited.

\

There was a brief shower of rain.  Flies are real nasty landing on one's face so we had obtained nets today at one of our stops and found the nets to be very beneficial this evening.

  We will be here for 2 nights.

Alice Springs. - February 1, 2017

Today started early and we were on the move all day.   We were up at 6 am in order to get our big suitcases outside our room and to eat breakfast.  Then about 7:20 am we were on the bus headed for the airport.  We were leaving Melbourne and going to Alice Springs today.  Luggage was checked in at airport and we loaded on the plane for takeoff at about 9:30 am.  Our flight was about 2 3/4 hours long but time was moved back 1 1/2 hours, new time zone.  Landing in Alice Springs was a real treat.  This was a rather small airport so there were no jet ways to walk through into the terminal.  We had to walk down the steps to the tarmac and then go into the terminal to retrieve our luggage.

 A bus was waiting for us.  After everyone was on the bus we were taken to the town of Alice Springs to a shopping area for our lunch.  Alice Springs is in center of the country, the Outback, in the Northern Territory where it can be hot and today temperatures were over 100 degrees.  After lunch we then were taken to the School of the Air which educates the children in this sparsely populated territory by means of satellite computers.

 From there we went to the Royal Flying Doctors Service which provides medical care for folks in this area and even further when need arises.

 Then it was a drive up a big , Anzac, to have a panoramic view of Alice Springs and to see a military monument.

 Finally, we were taken to the hotel we would be staying at tonight, Chifley Alice Springs Resort.  Nice rooms with king size beds.  This evening we are to picked up about 6 pm to go to a Be Our Guest dinner.
The dinner, an Australian barbecue type meal, was at Earth Sanctuary World Nature Center owned by the Falzon brothers.

 Tom and Danny Falzon, after dinner, talked about the lifestyle they have established on this ranch.

 Nice evening although it was cloudy preventing a nice clear view of the sky and stars.

Great Ocean Road, January 31, 2017

We signed up to go on the Great Ocean Road tour today, an optional tour.  By 8am we had been picked from the hotel and taken to a central area to be assembled with folks from other hotels going on this tour.  The Great Ocean Road is a coastal road south of Melbourne.

This area along this road had communities that most of the houses were vacation rentals.  The views along this road were beautiful with sandstone cliffs, sandy beaches and blue water. 

 We made several stops along the way.  At one stop just passed an area that had a forest fire we saw a koala sound asleep up in an eucalyptus tree, koala are nocturnal.

There also were king parrots that would land on people that held out hands with pumpkin seeds.

 A kookaburra bird was also heard then seen sitting on utility wires.  An area called the 12 Apostles  because of the sandstone formations that were a result of the ocean wearing away the sandstone was very scenic. 

 We had lunch at Apolla Bay, a small area of several restaurants and a few shops.  On the trip going back to Melbourne we passed many farms of either dairy cattle or sheep.  We were back to the hotel about 8:25 pm.  A long  enjoyable day of sightseeing along the coast.

A Long Night's Journey Into Day January 27-30, 2017

This blog entry is the beginning of our trip to Australia and New Zealand.
On Friday 27th we were picked up at our house at 11:05 am and transported to Brownwood town square.  At 11:45 am we took a shuttle from Brownwood to Orlando airport.  About 3:20 pm we were on a plane to Dallas, Texas.  We landed in Dallas about 5:30 pm and had about a 3 hour lay over.  During this time we grabbed a bite at a pizza restaurant.
At 8:05 pm, central time, we were boarded on a huge Air Bus 380, a 2 level aircraft with 2 aisles and ten seats across. 3,4,3,  to Sydney, Australia.  We were on the lower level, coach class.  Luckily for us, we were on a side with 3 seats of which the third seat was vacant.  The plane had a wide variety of movies, music and T.V. shows that was available on individual screens.  Blankets and pillows had been distributed before we boarder the plane.  We were going to be flying almost 17 hours.  We were served dinner of chicken, peas and rice and mango cheesecake for dessert about an hour after take off.  The main lights were then turned off.  Tom and I watched movies or read until we were sleepy or fell asleep.  We would sleep a little and wake up to watch movies or whatever hour after hour.  Believe me, it was along night.  About 2 hours before getting to Sydney we were served breakfast of scrambled eggs with tomato, mushrooms and peppers, potatoes and a muffin.  Finally about 20 minutes after 6 am Australian time we landed in Sydney.
Even though our luggage was tagged to go to Melbourne, we had to claim it in Sydney our entry point into the country. Of course, it seemed as if we had to walk miles to get to the gate of the departure for Melbourne.  But first we had to get our luggage on the conveyor to go to the plane and again we had to go through security check.  Well, Tom had something in his carry on that looked suspicious and finally it was discovered to be a harmonica.  We were to be on a plane to Melbourne at 7:30 am and all the hassle was eating up time..  It was after 7:30 when we got to the gate and boarding had not started but shortly  afterward it did.  The flight to Melbourne was about an hour.
After claiming our luggage we had been met by a representative from Trafalgar, the tour company.

 We were put in a shuttle and sent off to the hotel we would be staying at for 3 nights, Crowne Plaza.  And our room was not ready.  Bummer!! The date was now January 29, 2017- in our travels we crossed the International dateline and lost 1 whole day.
After walking to a nearby commercial area along the Yarra River and getting a bite to eat, we returned to the hotel and our room was now ready.  In the evening we had a scheduled meeting at the hotel with our tour director, Dave Overton.
Later we walked a short distance to a tram station and boarded the Colonial Tramcar where we were served dinner while the tram toured the city.

The next day, January 30, we had a private walking tour with our tour director, Dave, in Melbourne.  Melbourne is unique with its many laneways (alleys that have shops and small cafes, some with covering overhead).  There is also an underground tunnel that leads to the train station with cafes and shops.

 Later in the day we were on our own to do whatever, Tom and I walked to the area of the laneways and found a little Italian restaurant where we had paella for dinner.