Friday, September 5, 2003
1:00 PM Sydney Airport
Just a quick update: It's about a half hour before we board for our flight to LAX. We made a little change of plans last night and flew into Sydney early so we could go sightseeing this morning. The hotel we found at midnight last night was not the greatest, but we were only there for six hours.
Got up early went to the airport and put our luggage in storage then ventured to Sydney Harbour. I'd put some photos up, but my camera broke :( More details later.
Well almost time to board.
G'day mates.
Thursday, September 4, 2003
Thursday September 4th - Golf and Massages
Had a 9:30am tee time for golf this morning so we got up early headed to breakfast and then onto the links. I think I have only actually played a full round of golf two other times in my entire life. I was hoping the genes would kick in and I wouldn't stink up the course too much. My first tee shot wasn't too bad and I actually beat Jeff on the hole 8 stokes to 9. The course conditions left a bit to be desired but heck the views more than made up for it. We had a really fun time. Only had to let one young whipper-snapper play through. I played with the same ball all game. Jeff did lose two balls to the rainforest on a narrow 14th hole, I actually managed to sail my shot through the trees. We played holes 1, 2, then 12 - 18 to make up our 9, stopping along the way to take pictures. Jeff did hit a beauty of a tee shot on hole 16, our hole number 7. It was an elevated green and he made it to the green on his tee shot. It was a spectacular shot. I on the other hand took 3 shots just to make it to the green then proceeded to 4 putt. Sorry Dad, I didn't inherit those golfing genes just the bad knees and sinus problems. Speaking of medical conditions, my hives are fading finally but it may also be that my sun burn is hiding them better. It is tough to tell.
After golf we hiked over to the artist colony. It was a very pretty walk past the airstrip, the farm, and through the forest. The colony is just a few earthen buildings and locally produced wares. The stuff was interesting but nothing really caught our eye so we just chalked the trip up to a nice walk, headed back and got a bit of a snack at EJs before heading over to the spa for our 1:45pm massage appointments. Jeff got a typical deep tissue massage which he enjoyed immensely. I opted for the Aboriginal Kodo massage which started off with a foot wash, then a smudge. Angela burned some leaves and herbs in a small dish and gently waved it over my body to help create a sacred place for us to work in and to help put me in the present moment. She then proceeded with the massage which was very rhythmic and more gentle than my previous massages. I think normally there are scented oils that are used to add the aromatheraphy aspect to the massage but because I had mentioned my hives they just stuck with the basic oil. The massages were 75 minutes each and we both felt wonderful afterwards, thanks Jenny and Angela!!
After the massages I had to check back at the yellow-bellied sunbird's nest that was hanging right over one of the main paths of the resort. Sure enough the female was home. Jeff put pictures of her up on yesterday's entry. I had also discovered another nest hanging from the light fixture in the plantation bar but the sunbird wasn't home when I checked. Then I gathered up my coconut and headed to the activities center to see if someone would show me how to dehusk it. Karl was nice enough to take us over to the dehusking station and demonstrate. Turned out I had picked a really nice coconut. The milk (really water) was delicious and the nut cracked right in half for me. We left half with Karl and I enjoyed the other half. I didn't have a knife so I had to just pick around the edge with my teeth until after dinner when we stole a knike and I managed to get the rest of the meat out of my shell. YUMMY!!!
After the dehusking we changed into our bathing suits and sat out on the beach reading and waiting for the sunset. It was another beautiful one with yellows and oranges this time. Jeff popped open our bottle of champagne and we toasted to our lovely vacation and our last full day on the island. Tomorrow we fly out at 3:35pm, stay overnight in Cairns then head to Sydney at 6:25am on Saturday morning.
We finished off the evening with an Asian stir-fry dinner out on the restaurant patio. It was very delicious but took a while as there were just two chefs working the woks. You picked your own fixings and they stirred it all up for you with noodles or rice and the meat of your choice. Came back to the room and packed our one large suitcase to take to reception so they could put it on the earliest flight out of the island tomorrow. We were worried about the baggage limit and just wanted to assure that all our luggage made it to Cairns before our flight to Sydney and then home. See the full entry for the pictures of the day and I will try to post our journal for our last day on the island tomorrow evening from the hotel in Cairns. Take care everyone! ...[more]
Wednesday September 3rd – Bocce & Bird Walk
Turned off the alarm clock this morning. Slept in till around 8:30 and got ready for the day rather leisurely. 10am was Bocce games at the activity center so we headed on over. We played with Mel and Myrle from Sydney. We played slightly different rules then I am used to playing. We won the first game 10-9 in a real nail biter. The second game we skunked them 10-0. Third game we lost 10-7. We had a difficult part of the lawn, full of sways and dips and lots of sticks. Made for some interesting throws. Mel liked the short game, I tended to go for distance rounds. We had fun!
After Bocce we walked back up Mount Koo Ta Loo and the view was much clearer than on Sunday. The view really is spectacular. A male turkey came out to greet us and look for hand outs I’m sure. I wasn’t a sap though and he didn’t get any snacks from us. Right at the end of the trail, almost back to the resort, we saw a beautiful green bird with a dark head and yellow around the front of it’s neck. When we returned we changed clothes to beachware and were going to head over to Muggy Muggy beach but it was getting a bit late and we didn’t want to miss the 4pm Bird Walk so instead we just relaxed for a bit. Jeff read and I made our Cairns hotel reservation for Friday night when we have to leave this paradise to head home. (Boo, Hoo!) I also checked the Bird Guide to see if I could identify our mystery bird. I didn’t have any luck so I thought I would just wait to ask Dean during the Bird Walk. The Bird Walk was interesting but the birds weren’t cooperating very much. Dean was hoping to spot a male yellow-bellied sunbird with it’s beautiful iridescent blue throat and breast but no such luck. We did spot a few female sunbirds and several species of honeyeaters, a few swallows, the shadow of an osprey, and some turkeys, including one of their nesting mounds. We asked Dean to help us identify our mystery bird from our walk and he though it might have been a kingfisher but reviewing my guide I just am not convinced. But nothing else seems to fit either so I think it just will remain a mystery unfortunately. Jeff didn’t get a good picture of it because his camera was in his backpack and by the time he got it out the bird was heading away from us. He did get one shot but it turned out to be very blurry. Oh well, even without an identification it was fun to see.
After the walk we headed out to Muggy Muggy beach to watch the sunset. The beach is a bit secluded and has some beautiful rocks along the shore and in the water. It was a nice spot to watch the sunset from. Headed back before it got too dark and then off to dinner. Tonight’s dinner was barbecue out on the patio, it was quite tasty as usual. Back to the hotel and decided it was time we updated the journal so here I am typing away while Jeff reads. I’m about to call him over to write his part and post them with the photos so I’ll sign off. Tomorrow is golf in the morning and massages in the afternoon. Oh this has been one incredible vacation so far…
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Tuesday September 2nd – A more laid back kind of day
Got up fairly early, headed to breakfast and then to the activities office to sign up for the sea kayak tour. Luckily there was still room so we got a reservation. Unfortunately we were too late for the coconut dehusking demonstration. I’m determined to crack open a fresh coconut before I leave though so later in the day I found a good candidate and plan to make an attempt tomorrow. The rest of the morning we just lounged around on the beach writing postcards, doing laundry, and enjoying the view, the sounds, and the warmth. The weather has just been exquisite. Not too humid and in the evening it cools down quite a bit. In fact I turned off the AC and opened the sliding glass door in the evening so we could hear the surf and enjoy the breeze.
The Sea Kayak tour was at 2pm. We headed on down to the jetty and it turned out to be only one other couple and our guide, Bruce. The kayaks were the two people variety except for the guide who was in a single. I’m turning the journal writing over to Jeff so he can give you the low down of our trip. It wasn’t pretty…
[Jeff’s version of events…]
Well let’s just say we narrowly avoided an international incident. The Kayak tour consisted of Beth & I, another couple that were in their mid-twenties – Aussies, and Bruce, our guide, As Beth said, the Kayaks were for two people. The person in the front is basically the passenger and helps to row. The person in the back does the steering and also rows. Beth said she wouldn’t mind doing the steering for us. Bruce explained how to raise and lower the rudder, how to use the oars, and about how the Kayaks would float even if they filled with water. He motioned for us to all get in, push off and lower our rudders. He then started telling us where we would be going and what we would be seeing. Unfortunately, Beth couldn’t really see around me, didn’t see where we were headed, and couldn’t get our rudder down. We were headed straight for Bruce. He never saw us coming. We hit him perpendicular (T-Bone’d him, as they say). Flipped him right over. It was not a pretty sight. I’m not sure what I was doing, it all happened so fast. Beth was yelling that she couldn’t get the rudder down and I guess I was looking back to try to help her… I don’t know. He wasn’t hurt though. He is a trained Kayaker and they have to practice rolling over etc. It took him a few moments to get his bearings, get back in his kayak, and use the bilge pump to get all the water out. In no time at all we were on our way.
We rowed out to Purtaboi Island, just across from us (about 800 meters away). Bruce and the other couple stayed well out of our paths. We landed on the island, got out for a quick walk around the beach, and got a short history lesson of the area. Beth asked me to take over the steering of the kayak. Next we headed back over toward Dunk Island to get a tour of the Northern tip area. Beth and I just couldn’t seem to get in sync with the rowing and fell a bit behind the others (which I’m sure made them nervous and had them looking over their shoulders). We did catch up, but the winds were getting a bit high near this part of the island, so we didn’t get to row up to and area that had some caves. We turned our kayaks around and headed back along the shore area where the water was calmer. Bruce showed us around the shore a bit, then we rowed back to the launch point (without incident).
I don’t think he was too mad at us, but he mentioned how he would love it if we would sign up for his waterskiing tour the next day, and how he would show us a good time. And we laughed and laughed.
After our two hour kayaking adventure, we headed back up the beach to our room and got ready for another wonderful dinner (all you can eat for free, but drinks will cost you - $2.60 for a Coke!). The sunset was spectacular, again and we stayed out late on the beach looking at all the stars.
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Monday September 1st – A Day at the Great Barrier Reef
We got up bright and early and headed off to breakfast then on to the activities center for its opening at 8:30am so we could try to get on the QuickCat excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. We lucked out and there was room. We met at the Jetty at 10:45am for an 11am departure.
The QuickCat III is a 16m catamaran and it could move. It took us about an hour to get to the reef. On the way we saw a few dolphins but no whales. The skipper had mentioned that it is migration time and we might spot them, but no such luck. We made it to the reef and they picked up the glass bottom boat they moor at the reef. I was very excited about snorkeling. Since I left my contact lenses at home it was good that they had prescription goggles for rent. I needed the highest power lenses they carried. I’m so blind. They worked really well though. The part of the reef that we enjoyed is called Beaver Reef. I opted for the guided snorkel and about 6 of us went out with an instructor. She pointed out interesting fish, coral, and clams. I got to hold a sea cucumber. The clams are gigantic out there. She also pointed out the clown fish, looked just like Nemo! They are shy little fish that stay within their protective home, the anemone. The anemone has toxic tentacles but the clown fish are born in them and are immune. I bought a disposable underwater camera and took all 27 pictures. I sure hope they come out nice.
Jeff spent a good part of the time on a little sand cay that he got to via the glass bottom boat. After my guided snorkel I came on board and Jeff and I had lunch. They had cold cuts and salads for us. Afterwards I really wanted to get wet again so I snorkeled over to the sand cay and Jeff met me over there. The colors and diversity of the fish and corals is just amazing. I loved every minute of it. We stayed at the reef for about 3.5 hours and then headed back. Jeff and I stayed out on the bow for most of the trip out and back. I was still holding out hope of seeing a whale. I did spot a few more dolphins on our way back.
We got back to the dock around 5:00pm and we just headed to the room just for a short time and then decided to expel some more energy so we played a few games of tennis. Just for the record I beat Jeff 4 games to 2. Back to the room to clean up and head out for a late dinner. Dinner was a Carvery Buffet, Yummy!!! We were very exhausted by the time we got back to the room. Jeff fiddled with the pictures a bit but we both turned in very early. I managed to sleep through the night hence the reason we have been behind in our journal entries. The 3am wake up time was a good chance to update the journal but I have to admit I’m rather glad I’m sleeping instead. See photos in the full entry, Click
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Monday, September 1, 2003
Sunday August 31st - Our First Full Day on Dunk
What an incredibly beautiful place. I highly recommend it but be prepared to spend some money. Breakfast and Dinner are included in the room charge but everything else, including your drinks (even non alcoholic) cost ya. We started off the day early, rising at 7am. We wanted to finish getting the last two day's journal entries up so we didn't get out of the room as early as we wanted. No breakfast unfortunately. Headed to the Activities Center and took a Rainforest Walk. There were only two other folks who joined us plus the guide, Dean. Before we even left the resort we saw a beautiful yellow-bellied sunbird nest. The bird wasn't home but the other folks on our tour had said they saw the bird home earlier in the morning. We got to experience the rainforest at its best, it was raining. The wet didn't bother us too much though as the beauty, sights and sounds were enough to overpower any worries about being wet. Dean told us about some of the common flora and fauna. He also said that Queensland had the highest percentage of biodiversity to any region in the world. He said the island tropical rainforests and the mainland tropical rainforests are very different ecosystems and as a result the combined biodiversity is incredibly high. Quite fascinating, I'll have to verify that with my experts back home. After the walk we were halfway up the trail to Mount Koo la too, the highest point on the island. We decided to continue on. Tried to do some bird watching but they are hard to spot and once spotted are usually too quick for me to get a good look with my binoculars. I'm just too wet behind the ears as a birder, in this case that was literally as well as figuratively. It rained on and off as we hiked and unfortunately when we got to the top the view was obscured by lots of fog. We will have to do the hike again later in the week as we have heard the views are spectacular on a clear day. When we got back things had cleared a bit and the sun was starting to peek out. An added bonus was getting to see a lot of sunbirds gathering nectar on a flowering tree AND one of them had returned to her nest when we past it on our way back to the room.
We were both starved by this time so we headed off to BB's down on the beach near the spit and the dock. This is where all the water sport activities take place. The view back to the mainland and other islands is really beautiful. We found out later that the parasailing is only done if weather conditions are just right. It has been a bit too windy to do it the last few days so we will just have to keep our fingers crossed that it calms a bit later in the week. After lunch we headed back to the room via the beach and relaxed a bit. We had signed up for the sunset cruise in the evening which we were a bit worried would get cancelled because of the weather but when we returned to the Activities center at around 4:00 we were told it was still on. I was in need of caffeine at this point so we headed to the Plantation Bar and EJ's for a cappuccino. Jeff got a yummy vanilla milk shake. Then off to the jetty (dock) to head out for our sunset cruise around the island. There were three other couples who joined us. Duncan was our skipper and Shannon, the Activities Director, was our hostess. Frank and Liz were also from the States and were from Indiana although Frank had worked a while in Annapolis, they were on their honeymoon as were Hayden and Zita. The other couple, Jim and Zoe, were very sweet and had been happily married for 31 years. We had a beautiful cruise and the sunset did not disappoint us. It was spectacular reds and pinks and the clouds just help make it magnificent. We enjoyed the company, the sunset, the wine and cheese. Back on the island we had a bit of time to kill before our dinner reservation at 8pm so we just chilled. We finished inserting the pictures into the previous two day journal entries and then headed to dinner. Dinner was an East meets West buffet and everything was delicious. Back to the room and by then I was getting a bit tired, I think Jeff was too. We decided to just relax and read for a while. Of course it didn't take me too long to nod off so I put my book down, Jeff did too and off to slumberland we went. Well, for me until 3:30am again. This time I don't think it was my hives as they aren't itching as bad this morning so I think it is just my whacked sleep pattern. Might as well use the time wisely so I'm typing away at this entry. Click "More" to see some photos. Ciao till tomorrow. ...[more]
