Last day in tropical paradise

Our last full day in Port Douglas was spent getting a massage (Todd made me do it, what a mean husband he is - hahaha) then we took a tour up to the Daintree rain forest - and the Mossman Gorge. We started with a cruise up the Daintree River to spot crocodiles! We actually saw quite a few, a lot of little hatchlings, it was amazing that our boat driver could spot these little guys. We saw one really good size male, almost 3 meters, not sure how many feet that is, but it was enought to make me back away from the edge of the boat. We followed the river cruise with a trip to the Mossman Gorge, walked through the rain forest and attempted to jump in the crystal clear river, however it was too cold for my liking so Todd and i just talked to the tour guide about all the fish we could see. We ended up ordering in room service for dinner, ive caught an Australian cold - and was needing a good nights sleep before today long flight to New Zealand. We are in Brisbane now, waiting for our flight - we have a 3 hour layover. I can tell Todd is more anxious then ever to make it to NZ for three full days of fishing, and hopefully more. The weather today in Port Douglas was around 90 degrees, but we left at the perfect time - a torrential downpour started!! Our drive to the airport was wet - and they dont have ramps to the planes so we got drenched walking out to the plane too. Oh well. This trip has been great. Already at our halfway point unfortunately. Im looking forward to catching up with all my Kiwi friends - more from NZ!!

Katrina

Katrina - if youre reading this - will you email me all of your details again? Ive lost the email and cant find your email address, number, or parents address in TeAnu. Send it to GSarah9@aol.com

Orders

Marisa - ill bring back Crunchies - anyone else need some Aussie or NZ lollies or souveniers??? Let me know =)

Crocodiles, Jellyfish, and snakes.... OH MY!

If the crocodiles dont get to you, the jellyfish will - and if they dont get to you, well then the snakes are sure to! We've woken up in our beautiful Port DOuglas hotel room with a note under the door each morning, telling us about crocodile sightings in the ocean and to not swim in the ocean. And then there was the brown snake slithering across the steps to our hotel room last night, that was eire, some Australian guys said "watch out, this guy can be aggressive..." And then there was the Jelly fish today, as we took a boat out to the Great Barrier reef - we wore protective suits, but a jellyfish smacked me right in the face, im a hypocondriac so im sure it was nothing, but it did sting. The dealdy box jellyfish dont go out that far, they stay in close to the shore.

So today, we are in Port Douglas, it is amazing. We went on a snorkel tour with Quicksilver, which took us to the outer reef, to three different locations. The boat ride was suprisingly smooth, im not so good with motion, but i didnt get sick. Its about an hour and ahalf due eat from the mainland to get to the outer reef, pretty cool to be in the middle of the ocean snorkelling. As you can see by our pictures, this place is a must see.

Yesterday, we bummed around the hotel - it has 3 lagoon pools that have sand at the bottom so you feel like you are actually in the ocean.

Our last day in Sydney was incredible. Walking up the steps to the Sydney Opera house to actually see an Opera was surreal. Im not sure how Todd liked it, but i thought it was a pretty cool experience. We saw a modern day version of Mozarts "Cosi Fan Tutte." We sat 4 rows back, perfect seats. Todd had left his "sunnies" in Daves truck, so he had to take a ferry back to Manly to get them, meanwhile i stayed and checked out the Rocks area of Sydney and went into the museum of contemoporery Art. I realize that a lot of young Aussies have strong feelings against Americans in some of the art they have created. But that doesnt really come over in the people, everyone we meet has been very friendly.

ONe more day in Paradise before we make the journey to New Zealand. If you havent visited the Great Barrier Reef, you need to put that on your list!

Left Behind

I knew drinking an entire bottle of water wasnt a good idea. My tour leader asked "is it an emergency" and yes it was. He told me where to find the bathroom, and to STAY THERE, the bus would come find me. I followed directions and sat near the rest room, and waited, and waited somemore. I started to get a little nervous when i saw another tour group come and go in the time i was sitting there. But, i figured our tour guide had taken the group somewhere else to have a look at the blue mountains before heading back to the bus. I was a few moments away from asking someone to call my tour company, when finally the bus came around the corner. It felt like forever, but im sure it wasnt really that long. I walked onto the bus to find everyone laughing and smiling at me, Todd told me the bus driver had forgotten me, and half way to our next location, TOdd had to stand up and ask if he was going to go back to get me. I was asked by everyone the rest of the trip if i was getting nervous. (Robyn, I kept replaying your last Rick Steves tour in my mind when someone got lost - it wasnt that bad)

So that tour was to the Blue Mountains. Its about 90 minutes outside of Sydney and worth the trip. Its nice to see the landscape of a new place. WE started the day with a trip to the wildlife park to pet koalas and kangaroos. Then we learned how to throw a boomarang, Todds ended up in the forest - mine landed perfectly. What can i say, im a natural. We took a cable car deep into the valley, walked around the rainforest and then took a ride on the worlds steepest railroad. I didnt like that, Todd did. It was freaky we went up the side of a cliff backwards, It was so steep it felt like we were standing up in the cars.

We ended the tour by taking a look at the Olympic Park. It is an incredible site, everything ran on solar power. Quite a site. We took a ferry back out to Manly and Dave and his wife Joice took us to a fabulous seafood dinner. I had octopus salad and barrimundi - it was awesome!! so delicious. Joice and i finished a bottle of Australian wine between the two of us =) (Virginia - i had a glass for you).

Rewinding a little, we have seen so much of Sydney. Darling Harbour, did the aquarium - walked to the botanical gardens, strolled through the art museum. Ate great food. We are having a lot of fun.

Tiffany i have found you so many souveniers! Im not sure how i will get them all home though, that will be a problem.

My first blog entry, Sarah doesnt really let me write. We had a great time with David Murrays family, they had the best BBQ I have ever been to and the beer was even better. I woke up this morning a little foggy if you know what I mean.

Sydney is amazing. Everyone is so friendly and easy going. I am amazed at the city and what there is to do here. Today we went to the Sydney Botanical Gardens and just bummed around the city. Our hotel is in a great location, we have been walking everywhere.

Tomorrow we head to the Blue Mountains on a tour. Looking forward to that, apparently the wild life is really fun.

Not too long until the South Island where I hope to run into some rather large trout. My dream fly fishing trip is finally coming true.

Sydney!

Ambien CR is a must, so is a bag full of snacks, because the crap food they give you on a nearly 15 hour flight wont get you through it. We touched down in Sydney, made our way through customs without a hitch, and our ride arrived shortly after to wisk us away. Todd knows a guy named David through work, and he was gracious enough to come and pick us up and take us to his home in Manly. Its a little north of the actual town of Sydney. The house overlooks red cliffs (think La Jolla). We showered and had breakfast right on the beach front with David, his wife Louis, and one of their three sons, Eric. A surf/swim/kayak competition was going on right there on Manyl beach, so we took a while to take that in before heading back to their home. David then took us to get settled into our hotel in Sydney. Grandma and Papa are letting us stay in their time share - its right downtown, near Chinatown. We checked into our room and decided against taking that nap that i so needed and wanted. Instead we took a stroll down to the Circular Quary and walked around near the ferry terminals.

OK - who watches WHALE WARS? Now, at first this show was cool, but then i was like - why are these freaks putting people before whales? Anyways, if you havent seen the show, you wont care about what happened next. So we're walking down the boardwalk and Todd looks up and low and behold THERE IS THE STEVE IRWIN! Ha, the their ship is currently docked in the Sydney Harbour. Apparently funding is low, so their docked until December when they'll retunr to the Ocean to put lives at risk to save the whales. Seriously, if you havent seen the show, watch it.

We caught a ferry back to Manly where we have been treated like family. Its Davids middle sons 24th birthday, there are probably 20 Australian surfer boys eating sausages and drinking beer (im really wishing my girlfriends were here - trust me, youd likee!) We're drinking and eating a ton of meat - and loving life. We cant believe we are here, and Todd has already asked if we can please move here.

Words to describe Sydney - Clean, laid back, welcoming, patriotic.

More to come soon. Moms and dads, we are here safe! We will check in soon.