week three

once again....... more pictures! ------> click

Sept 13th.

bound and determined to get in the ocean, we braved so-called choppy conditions and waded into the surf despite warnings posted of a strong northern sweep. the waves tossed us out and our sore ankle and knee suffered just trying to survive the thrashing. it was fun to be tossed around but in no way was it relaxing. as a result of conditions, we decide to forego our first shot at a surfing lesson and head on to cairns with a two day stop-off in brisbane.


Sept 14th.

had a great breakfast on the ocean before we leave for brisbane that would later be referred to as the "crack" french toast. we arrive in brisbane by bus early in the afternoon and the day turned into a culinary delight as we opted for a b.y.o. chinese food restaurant and risked it all, ordering the "sizzling szechuan spicy beef." no question, it was my favourite meal in australia thus far. finished our bottle of cab-sauv in good time and headed to the beer garden attached to our hostel for a few games of pool. two locals joined us for a game and offered a drink and some lively conversation which helped the booze flow and before we knew it, po and i were 3 sheets to the wind.


Sept 15th.

awoke to the realization that we are extremely hung over. i couldn't even stomach lunch and saved my sandwich for after our nap. in search of a plate of nachos, we stroll along brisbane's picturesque river that snakes around the city core. snapped a few photos of the architecture and bridge, found our nachos and headed to catch the last act of a street festival going on nearby. the show was 2 guys scratching records with a live drummer and they weren't half bad.


Sept 16th.

caught the flight to cairns with no trouble, expect to be on the ground by 2pm. the forecast is 26C and clear with a chance of aerial photos of the great barrier reef!


Sept 17th.

booked a tour of kuranda village and a snorkel trip to the reef for this week. walked downtown in search of lunch and on the way home, stopped to catch a festival-ending parade through town and snapped some cool blurry photos.


Sept 18th.

headed to kuranda village which is buried in the tropical rainforest 20km outside cairns. on the way in we took a gondola that took us high over the rich green mountains that line the coast here. the views were great and we spotted a wild cockatoo on the tip of a dead tree 20m tall as he flexed open his brilliant yellow mohawk.

the gondola stopped at a massive waterfall (270m) called the barren falls -- of which we would later get much better views from the train on the way back. not surprisingly though, kuranda was not exactly an aboriginal paradise... it was developed and packed with tourist trap shops and attractions.


Sept 19th.

LAZY DAY.


Sept 20th.

our first trip to the reef. made our way out to upolu cay reef on a small (and slow) catamaran boat uncreatively named the 'reef daytripper'. there were only about 12 people there despite the capacity of 20 passengers. the winds were strong enough to toss both our stomachs but we fought it back and managed to get a good snorkel session in before lunch. i choked down some buffet food in an attempt to quell my nausea. i fought my instincts and spent another 40 mins in the water but poeli couldn't eat much or get back in the water again on the day.

as i floated around in the water i saw some amazing sharp blue coral and plenty of schools of fish but without an underwater camera, i was limited to pictures of the reef from above water and the tropical mountains on the horizon.

week two

new pictures at the link -------------->

Sept 6th.

arrived in sydney without complication and checked into our new hostel, where the owner turned out to be a civil engineer from queen's university in kingston with an iron ring to prove it.

Sept 7th.

we were searching for shelter and headed for sydney aquarium, which turned out to be a decent choice. although i shot many a bad photo, it was exciting to see all the aussie marine life on display. the platypus were really cute, as were the little penguins. not cute at all were the sharks, jellyfish and saltwater crocodile.

for dinner, we headed to woolworth's and bought some steaks to barbeque in order to SAVE money on our meal. eating out has hurt our budgets..

Sept 8th.

slept in, but managed to drag our asses out to the koala sanctuary in the quiet suburb of penant hills. some nice photos of the landloving wildlife to counter the marine species of the previous day. this was our tourist thrill of touching koalas and kangaroos. (roos are softer)

also of note, a wiley bird gave us a piece of his mind with quite a vocabulary and some skill at head bobbing competition... not sure if i won, but it was fun.


Sept 9th.

surprise, rainy all day. went to sydney opera house via the botanical garden nearby. did the tour of the building which has an intriguing design, inside and out.... as well as history and prestige up the wazoo.

after dusk we went up to the bar in sydney tower and rotated about 270 degrees of the view of the city - all lit up in the dark. somehow the only good pictures were of the exquisite light fixtures that came around overhead.

finally got back to the hostel to catch the second half of the footy game between sydney and west coast. i cheered sydney on to a victory, but ultimately the game made me yearn for my NFL.


Sept 10th.

met up with poeli's relatives today. they were at our door at king's cross waiting for us to roll out of bed at 9am. they were kind enough to take us out for breakfast at hungry jack's which in north america is known as burger king. the "whopper" is a dead giveaway if the logo hadn't tipped you off.

as a group of 8, we walked around the city centre and darling harbour, snapping a few pictures. they were very excited to meet poeli, as she wasn't born the last time her mom had seen her half-brother et al. burritos for lunch and we were cut loose once again.


Sept 11th.

with the last day, we tried once again to get some decent views of the city in the limited amount of sun we were afforded. first to the fish market, where we scarfed down fresh deep fried barramundi and chips for a late breakfast and made acquaintances with a few large pelicans on the wharf.

afterward it was straight to the famous harbour bridge and we walked its length before the rain came down and trapped us at a cafe on the wrong side.

finally made it back to the hostel again and were wisked off to the airport for our flight to what was supposed to be our weather salvation, surfer's paradise on the gold coast.

our late arrival made things interesting, causing in turn, an expensive cab ride and a late check-in but luckily everything ended up as planned.


Sept 12th.

got our first look at the ominous surf just across the road from our hostel. winds were high, so if you didn't want to get sandblasted on the beach, you had to risk getting a bit wet. surfer's paradise is an obvious tourist trap, but surprisingly we found some of the cheapest (and best) souvenir stores so far.

after a couple of drinks with dinner, the bartender at the irish pub recommended a mini-guiness shot consisting of tia maria topped with bailey's. i gladly pass along his recommendation.

week one

From the hard copy: ( more photos are up )

Sept. 1st

after touring the st. kilda district of melbourne yesterday and dipping our toes in the icy springtime ocean water yesterday, we spent today in central melbourne. poeli and i took in the picasso exhibit being shown at the national gallery of victoria. we grabbed a lunch along the yarra river which runs right through the city and is heavily polluted, but nonetheless beautiful. The elaborate pedestrian bridges and various artistic structures placed all around the area provide colour and add a strong taste of the diversity here.

in the evening we attended an afl game between western bulldogs and essondon bombers. aussie rules football (footy) was explained to us by a friendly bloke sitting in front of us. his team, the bombers, added to his grief losing once again after an already terrible season winning only 3 games. his advice on melbourne was to steal a view from up high in the bathroom of an office tower (a poo with a view so it's called) . Back to the hostel afterward, we were tired and couldn't muster enough energy for a drink on this friday night, and we'd already spent enough money for one day.


Sept. 3rd

spent our last night at st. kilda walking around looking for a good place to eat. we settled on a nice looking vietnamese place. every restaurant and cafe has a liquor licence and we took advantage.. i had burrumundi fillet with our cheap bottle of cabernet sauvignon and on the walk back we stopped for another 'pot' of beer. the bouncer saved me $10 at the next bar by turning me away at the next bar down the strip. not for disoderly conduct, but for wearing sandals to his seedy english pub.

Sept. 4th

at our next hostel near queen victoria market, we toured through the sea of wares at the seemingly endless line of booths for the entire afternoon. after 2 hours the products began to repeat themselves and we lost interest. we booked a tour of the great ocean road and passed out early.. without dinner!

the great ocean road:

got picked up right at our front door at 7:30 am. the tour took the entire day and featured some spectacular ocean views and mixed in a bit of wildlife (koalas and parrots) and even a short walk through a temperate rainforest here. it all made for a visually stunning day and i hope the pictures prove it. we're both ready for an easier and cheaper day tomorrow touring some free sites around the city and maybe try some of the famous meat pies for lunch.