Life's daily ritual's of school, grocery shopping (or attempt thereof) and being a family have been uneventful and seamless -- this is part of now being somewhat acclimated to small-jungle-town-living as these rituals and what they bring with are now a part of my "normal" -- which is has taken almost two years' acclimation time and are not my once-known normal (spoiled, untraveled, "world was a bubble" girl speaking). However, in these last month's we have celebrated Easter and once again traveled Cairns, Australia.
We celebrated Easter early as we were going to be traveling to Cairns and feared the Easter Bunny would lose us. The kiddos decorated eggs with homemade dye from vinegar and food coloring with our dear friends. They also received a surprise Easter basket after school the day before we left.
A few days later we were off on a plane to Cairns with our friends who have yet to visit Australia. This is the BEST FLIGHT EVER!!!! Now I say that because there may not be t.v. screens or business class or anything fancy and you still have to either catch a chopper or take a 2 hour bus ride just to get to the airport but this flight is never full, filled with all the people you know, the kiddos make forts with blankets and the parents can stretch out in an entire row and this flight is ONLY 2 HOURS LONG!! It flies during the day and the view of the Australian north coast is breathtaking!! Seriously, best flight ever!!
Our Cairns adventure was stupendous. One day we visited an aboriginal center where we learned of the aboriginal way of life including the how to play a didgeridoo, foods and natural medicines of the jungle, how to throw boomerangs and throw a spear. From the center we loaded a gondola that took us high over the jungle ceiling into a small town. After ice cream and a little shopping we boarded the Kuranda Scenic Railway.
I love trains (and I may be the only one) but this railway was built in the late 1880's and most, if not all, the train cars are original with beautiful detail. However, this is no ordinary railway, this railway curves, winds and treks through steep cliffs, dense jungle and glides over gloriously high bridges. And as the cars take you through this gorgeous scenery the story of the railway is told over speakers throughout. One of my favorites of the trip. http://www.ksr.com.au/History/Pages/Overview.aspx
After an adventurous day in the jungle sightseeing it was time to hit the Great Barrier Reef. But we did it in style! It was our friend's 50th birthday and Mike's birthday as well so we chartered a private yacht to take us fishing and for an intimate journey to the reef. Now all glammed up for our yachting experience we were met with rain, clouds and rough seas. Once we got to the reef point the waters calmed and the clouds parted. We were able to snorkel the amazing reef and even dance with a few hungry and overly-friendly Great Trevally fish, saw a reef shark and a very shy turtle. The ride back to the dock was pretty rough and freezing but the kiddos prevailed and the beer was cold.
Our yachting experience was unique but our adventure was about to deepen. One of our last days we rented a car and drove to one of Cairns' biggest and best kept secrets, Behana Gorge. This secret was shared by a dear Aussie friend and so thankful she did. The drive to the gorge is unmarked and a little difficult to find. We found the parking area after watching a 5 foot snake quietly cross the road (holy hell it was huge) and we began the "walk" to the gorge.
This "walk" was again not your ordinary jaunt. The path is paved but seems like it's never going to end as the hills only get steeper and steeper and the heat hotter and hotter. After an hour and much whining from Mason we made it to the gorge. Yet again this isn't just an ordinary gorge. It is probably one of the most spectacular waterfalls I have ever seen (a contender to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs, Colorado and the Potholes of Delta, Colorado). There are endless waterfalls that careen through large, round boulders creating pools perfect for cooling off after the long and hot hike.
We set down our stuff and got our bathers on (good Aussie word there) and just as I was about to walk over to the pool where our friend was sitting, he screamed like a frightened little girl (love that guy) and he jumped out of the water claiming that something had slithered up around his thigh. "Oh no a snake!!!". That's the first thing that jumped into my head especially after the one we saw just an hour before, but no, it wasn't a snake it was a crawdad (crawfish) and there wasn't just one. They were like little soldiers protecting their rocks and didn't care much for us being there.
Despite the keepers of the rocks we enjoyed the cold refreshing water and we each jumped off the rocks into the deep dark lagoon that pooled within the giant boulders. It was perfect. Now, one would imagine that the walk back would be much easier but nature decided differently. As we were packing up it began to rain. And living in the rain forest jungle that we do, we aren't much afraid of a little rain but this was no ordinary rain it was a downpour. It poured so heavily that my eyelashes were constantly swept into my eyes making it difficult to see. We made it back to the car drenched and cold. We all stripped down to as little as we could and our dear friend and I were laughing about not having any pants on (yes, we still had our togs on -- ha another Aussie term there).
Our trip to Cairns was much needed and enjoyed. We ate much and drank well but most importantly it was extraordinary.
As always, to be continued...
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