Landed Down Under

We arrived in Australia and immediately noticed that it’s the same….but different.
Sign Outside Australian Bar: “Try a Bit of a Flutter at the Pokies”. Hmmmm. Understanding the locals could be a challenge.

Barraged on all sides by obscure Aussie slang, we nevertheless absolutely loved Sydney! Except for the seriously dangerous spiders, snakes, wildlife, and occasional extremely high temperatures, I could live here!

Sydney lies between the mouth of the Parramatta River and a large bay from the ocean, with passenger ferries serving as the main transportation up and down the river and to points around the bay. We were lucky enough to stay with our fantastic hosts, Peter and Margaret Greenwood, who happened to live on Parramatta River about 30 minutes from Sydney. Just going into town was an adventure!

Actually, hanging out with Peter and Margaret was an adventure too. They introduced us to: the Wii Fitboard (Peter, you and Brian will have to exchange ski jump scores – he’s been practicing), the wine vinturi (which some of you may get as a present one day) a multitude of cool kitchen gadgets, tasty deserts, and took us on some extremely interesting sightseeing tours around the area!

Brian’s nephew James and his girlfriend Caro also happened to be in Sydney while we were there. We were able to hook up with them before they left for Thailand, where Caro is finishing her Dive Master qualification. James and Caro are world travelers too…constantly on the lookout for the perfect dive spot.

The only Aboriginal people we saw were demonstrating traditional music and crafts for the tourists. The haunting sounds of didgeridoos permeate the air around the Quay area of Sydney. The overall plight of the Aboriginals is really pretty heartbreaking and I think Australia has a long ways to go in resolving this situation.

After two weeks with Peter and Margaret in Sydney, we headed north…way north to Port Douglas, a jewel of a place on the northeast coast of Queensland. After driving around for a few days, I was just commenting to Brian that we hadn’t seen any kangaroos...when he casually pointed across the road and said “Like those over there?” It was sunset and the fields around the local Bowling Club were COVERED with miniature kangaroos (wallabies, as I later learned).

Brian made a quick U-turn and we ended up taking pictures of the wallabies, had a beer and made new friends at the Bowling Club. They told me that Lawn Bowling is like a crude form of Curling...hmmmm. I’ve always thought Curling is one of weirdest sports I’ve ever seen...at least with Bowling, nobody has to sweep like a maniac!


Port Douglas is a pretty, kind of sophisticated little town, set on 4 miles of spectacular white sand beach and sparkling turquoise water. But the water is so full of poisonous stinging things, that you can’t go in the water, except in special shallow netted off areas. And since a couple of rivers join up with the sea in this area, crocodiles can also be a problem.

Notice the crocodile warning, cautioning against swimming or walking along the beach. It’s about 10 feet from a children’s playground area. These Aussies are so brave!

One really fantastic thing in Port Douglas is its nature preserve. It really has a fascinating collection of birds, reptiles and animals. Here are a few of our favorites:

Koala bears spend most of their life sleeping, as demonstrated by this guy:

This is an eastern Kangaroo – they’re smaller than the western ones, which are the kind we see in ads or movies.

And finally, a tree-climbing wallaby, with her joey stretching out of the pouch!:


Having survived all the dangers of Australia, we’re nearly “home” as we journey on to New Zealand.