Great Barrier Reef and onto Sydney

Friday April 12, 2013

We did get to the Great Barrier Reef but the weather did not cooperate. The waves were awful. Brian will remember what the one in Greece was like. This boat trip was real similar. The only thing was that it was shorter. Many folks got sick and other things on Green Island where we went were cancelled. The snorkeling, the glass bottom boats and trip to outer reef was called back due to the turbulent seas.

We did get to go through a special marine museum which was really quite nice. They had crocodile feeding as well. That was fascinating to see that they don't care what or who they chomp on, as long as they get something in those large jaws.




Awfully large crocodile.




Fish swimming within the coral seas plantlife.



This sort of shows the different coloring as to where the reef is.




Lots and lots of green crud that has washed up on the beach area. The wind was really, really strong.

Leaving The Outback Area

Thursday April 11, 2013

We began our day at 5:50 am to go out and view the rock at sunrise. After breakfast and checkout, we did our tour around the big red rock of Uluru and noticed all of the cracks and crevices close up. It was really a special place since it was so dry and desolate yet plants and wildlife and people exist in this harsh environment. We toured the Cultural Museum and then headed out on our flight to Cairns.






Sunrise photo of this lovely rock.


Cave paintings under crevices of the large mt. rock.



It really was very pretty. The sky almost looks too blue to be real.


The sign below was in the airport at Cairns. It just struck us as being very strange.




We will be heading to Green Island to experience more of the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow. Our hotel is just a short walk to the beach. It looks pretty good from what we can tell. We will have a better look tomorrow when it is daylight.

Kata Tjuta and Uluru

Wednesday April 10, 2013

These are the two names of the rock formations called Ayers Rock. We did a nice hike in the gorge of Kata Tjuta and had some wonderful photo opportunities. The blue sky almost looks fake and the red dirt and rock formations are such a nice contrast. The formations themselves at Kata Tjuta are really rocks of all sorts of shapes crunched together as if by cement.







The colors are really spectacular. This is Kata Tjuta.

I could have purchased WiFi at the hotel for $5 for 6 min. I wouldn't have even gotten gmail open in that amount of time since the connection looked pretty weak. I will see what Cairns near the Great Barrier Reef has to offer. We will be there for 2 nights and hopefully there is something nearby.




This is the big old rock that Walt has been waiting for. It is really pretty especially at sunset. We had a champagne and mimosa tailgate party at Uluru and it was a lot of fun. Pictures, maybe a few between sips and snacks. :-)

Enroute to Ayers Rock

Wednesday April 10, 2013

We will be spending a greater part of the day traveling to Ayers Rock. The bus ride could be a bit long but we will have breaks throughout the journey.

Walt is also trying different types of liquid refreshment as we travel around. He did try the rum of Fiji which did not impress him. The beers have been pretty good. Even the one local beer of Fiji.
The following are Ausie beers that meet his approval.
VB
XXXX Gold Premium
Tooheys
Crown Lager Premium

Enroute we have seen some animals but going at bus speed does not make for good photos especially since you can't get your camera focused in time to actually spot the animal. There were camels, wedge tail eagle and dingo (wild dog). We did see emu at our rest stop but they were behind cages.

Our guide also explained about opals the country stone of Australia. The "bolder opal" is a stone that represents the tropical colors. The "black opal" is the rarest and will soon no longer be mined. Obviously the black will be most expensive, sort of like the price of a home. I think Walt should get me a black opal for me to celebrate his birthday. :-)




Here is a photo of a "bolder opal" with all of the pretty blues and greens.

We continued on our day journey and did make a short stop to see Connor Mountain. There we walked up a red sand dune to see a salt flat that resembled a large lake. Nice view of Connor Mountain.




Connor Mountain with the red sand dune in the foreground.


Here I am with the salt flats in the background. The ground here doesn't look very red, but it was like the red sand of Kauai.

Alice Springs

Monday April 8, 2013
We are now up in the bush country of central Australia. The main reason there are any towns in this area is due to the telegraph. That was the only means of faster communication and it was set up in Alice Springs. Alice Springs is about 1,000 miles from the nearest large city and other small towns are even quite a distance. Speaking of distance-education is also different due to the great distance from any school and few children in one area. They have School of the Air. This school began in 1951 and used radio even up to 2005. Now they have satellite, computers and all sorts of technology to reach those students at a distance. The students also must have some sort of tutor to make sure that tasks are actually understood and completed. Some paper work is required that needs to be sent in, corrected and sent back. After a student reaches middle school, they must either attend a boarding school or do correspondence studies.

Tonight was dinner in the bush or in the woods. We stopped en route to see some Rock Wallabies. We were given some food to feed them if we wished and to take photos. They are really quite small.

The dinner was entertaining as well as tasty. The chef prepared a bread type batter in front of us with very loose type measurements. The batter was mixed and put in flour covered pans.It was then cooked with a shovel full of hot coals on top and another shovel full on the lid and left to cook for about an hour. We had a nice BBQ while we listened to some silly Australian songs and jokes while it cooked. It was quite tasty and similar to a scone. The sanitation was a bit questionable, but all in all, it was a fun time. The flies are a bit pesky too, so face nets will be a must for the next several days.





Certainly well camouflaged.


Notice the very sanitary blue glove. :-(



Aren't you jealous of these neat fly nets? Hard to tell, who is the bride and who is the groom?

Alice Springs at Dreamtime Tours of Aboriginal Culture

Tuesday April 9,2013
We were fortunate enough to be able to experience some of the culture and living styles of the Aboriginal people. Con, our guide demonstrated the use of a number of seeds and plants that the Aboriginal folks used for cooking. The seeds were ground up to a fine powder with a grinding stone and that ground up meal was mixed with water to make a type of bread that was probably shaped like a pancake and cooked. They also retrieved a grub worm under a particular tree root and that was also a good nutrient. A kangaroo tail was also cooked and it was a lot like a pork and somewhat greasy. The folks also married early since their life was quite difficult and due to their hard life did not live very long. We also had the opportunity to throw a boomerang that was not meant to return. We again had the opportunity to try spotted dog (scone type bread). We could also look at and purchase some of their artwork that they had on display on their blankets. Our guide explained what each of the symbols meant. It was really interesting and a well organized morning.




This person is spinning human hair for a web belt that could be used to hold weapons or whatever so that their hands were free.




A collection of some of the artwork. Some may be very colorful while others are more subtle. It all depends upon the artist.




Walt is holding the one we purchased. Not too large but offers some modern elements. Nicely done work on canvas.




Now, if this boomerang would just go the right direction.
We were finally able to get WiFi at a nearby casino. :-)

The painting of Chloe

Sunday April 7,2013

This is the nude painting of Chloe so hopefully Anne is not as traumatized by this as the naked Greek statues at the Getty Museum. Yes, we remember, she was only about 3 years old, but that is beside the point. I explained about this painting in the previous blog and this large painting is now in the Young & Jackson bar.