Wine Tasting and Gorge Gazing

Next stop was Lovedale in the Hunter Valley for some wine-tasting. Got there too late for afternoon imbibing so we had to go for the dreaded early morning tastings where the wine mingles with toothpaste on your palate. We soldiered through it, hitting Hungerford Hill and Brokenwood. There's nothing like a 10am buzz. We got to see some wild kangies grazing nearby, but that may have been through wine goggles.

We stayed at Lovedale Cottages (not to be confused with the Cottages at Lovedale--heck if we'd known the difference we might have made the last afternoon tasting), in a very quaint faux Aussie outback style homestead.

The schedule demanded we move onward to the next stop--Leura and the Blue Mountains. We made it in time to see the glow of the sunset (sort of) on the Three Sisters. The temperature went down to well below 10 degrees Celcius.



We stayed at the Old Leura Dairy, revisiting the scene of Grandma Joan's notorious 70th bday party in 2006.

Tasmanian Devilishness

Back to Sydney from Cairns, the folks, PK and I set forth on a trip sans children (Grandma Joan stayed at Whalie with the kids). First stop, Walkabout Wildlife Park (been there, done that with Justine and the Holbrookes). Ah but there's always a twist at WWP. This time, we got to see the feeding of the Tazzie Devils.



It was primal. You have to imagine the grunts and snarls, truly elemental stuff. Dad was most impressed.

Atherton Tablelands and Barron Gorge

Still a little dazzled by the previous day's Reef experience, we bid farewell to Stephen's lovely condo (view from the living room featured to the left) and headed back to Cairns via the Tablelands and Barron Gorge. The sites were all rather terrestrial but still lovely, of course.

The Reef

On our last full day in Queensland, we hit the Reef, the largest living organism on Earth, easily discerned from space, and the refuge for thousands of species of coral, fish, and other magnificent underwater creatures.

We consulted Stephen for the very best way to experience the Reef and he suggested Synergy catamaran--a 60 foot double-hulled yacht with captain and experienced underwater guide. Sounded excellent so off we went--a 20km motor/sail out to the "Outer Reef" to a private mooring for superb and private snorkling. The conditions were excellent, with great visibility above and below the water. And when we weren't snorkling, we could lounge on the deck, partake of a gourmet lunch, and help ourselves to some bubbly.

Before anyone entered the water, we were dutifully lectured about the perils of encountering the devilish irukandji, a stinger the size of a fingernail with 100 times the venom of a cobra. Its sting is so painful, victims often plead for death (no kidding). We were at the tail end of irukandji season, but still... Isabella quite sensibly donned a stinger-proof suit and was resplendent (and safe) in blue. Meanwhile, the jokes about the incident from years ago where the couple was abandoned by one of those big touristy snorkling outfits were rather more abundant than necessary.

The girls ventured into the depths first . . . and immediately came up screaming, "shark!" They had indeed seen a white-tipped reef shark, confirmed by our fellow sailor, Emma, who confirmed the sighting and then promptly climbed back into the boat and waited another 2 hours before going back in again.

Sharks, excruciating stings from invisible jellyfish, possible abandonment to the elements by the yacht...we all went in the water without a second thought, for the Reef is one of the most beautiful and awesome things I've ever seen.

Parade at Port!

We managed to hit festival week in Port Douglas--and you know what that means. Yep, parade! A good old fashioned parade with homemade floats, antique cars, Elvis impersonators, girls bedazzled in rhinestones (or facsimiles thereof), and boys with light sabers.

Mossman Gorge: a Walk on the Wild Side

With a healthy respect for the crocs, we headed up into the mountainous rainforest to a place called Mossman Gorge where two sreams feed into one spectacular fresh water river. After gazing at the illicit swimming hole, we inadvertently separated into two groups. PK, Isabella and Emmett stayed for a swim while Grandpa, Grandma, Clare and I hiked up the rainforest trail--several km through dense vegetation, over slippery rocks, past strangler figs that looked at too much like the pythons we knew were lurking up in the trees. Ever vigilant for the elusive cassowary, we only came upon a lyre bird or two, but the trees were the real attraction.

The other group caught up, speeding through the trek to find us. Turns out PK had had quite an adventure of his own back at the swimming hole. A mother and son were in danger of being swept downstream, so PK dove in and saved the day!

I thought Gma and Gpa were pretty heroic too, taking on the rainforest with Indiana Jones-like proficiency.

Queensland Rainforest

Thursday three generations flew to Cairns in North Queensland for a trip to the Daintree Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. We stayed at our friend Stephen's condo in Port Douglas--a lovely spot, perfect for all 7 of us. "Port" reminded us all a little of Key West in Florida with its cool and hopping bars and lush landscape. It's also the last port of call for miles--to the north is really nothing but rainforest and the paved roads turn to dirt after Cape Tribulation (named so by Captain Cook whose ship crashed there on the reef).

We spent the first full day exploring the rainforest, mad keen to spot some cassowaries (signage above), but, alas, all in vain. But we did see crocs--deadly salties--on the banks of the Daintree River, 5 altogether! And check out the beautiful Ulysses butterfly.




Daintree River ferry--you do NOT want to fall into that water.



Momma Salty