We spent almost a week in Cairns and now are headed south. We rented a car for a month. We had to wait 2 days to get the car, so we rented another one for 2 days and went to the tablelands near Cairns. It POURED with rain most of the time. The kids enjoyed swimming in waterfalls and we saw duck billed platypusses (well, we saw ripples and brown backs which the guide ASSURED us were duck billed platypusses, so I GUESS we saw them). Al and the kids also saw huge lizards called river dragons.
We spent our last morning in Cairns buying camping equipment. At Woolworths we bought 2 tents for $34 each and two sleeping bags for $22 each. We also got an air mattress the size of the floor of one of the tents for the Queen of Everything (in case you are not in the know--that would be me!). Heather really wants one for the other tent. People have to take turns using the clunky old thermarests we brought with us. She is also angling for one when we get home for the big tent.... I figure that 3 nights of camping will recoup the investment of the tent, sleeping bags, campstove and air mattress. We have spent 2 nights so far. I must say the air mattress REALLY improves my outlook on camping. I have spent a lot of time in my life in tents, but I am getting too old for the cold, hard ground thing.
The first night of camping was fabulous. A little buggy, but there you go. We had the whole campground to ourselves and the red headed Australian brush turkeys that seem to fill the niche of the chipmunk in that park. One was really bold and stole the buns right off the table! We also saw our first kangaroos -- a mother and a baby -- as we drove into the campground. It is the kind of isolated camping experience that I remember from my youth (lo, those many years ago).
Yesterday we went to Townsville and went to a place called ReefHQ. It was really good. I wish I lived in Townsville so I could get a season's pass and go and stare in the windows. It has a part of a reef in a huge tank of water. It has hundreds (maybe thousands) of individual corals and thousands of fish in the tank. There are tons of different species of corals and fish. The tank is about 20 meters by 15 meters at least and about 4 meters deep with viewing windows all around. It wasn't quite as good as snorkelling, but it was really nice. We were there for 3 hours and Heather and I could have stayed longer. She made us go to every lecture (there was on every half hour while we were there). Jacob said to me at one point "you know, three months ago I would have thought this place was unbelievably good" I asked him why he didn't feel that way now and he said "I guess I am just jaded". At the tender age of 12.... what have we done!
Last night we spent in a caravan park. Lots of people and, sadly, very little wildlife. We did see kookaburras and crested cockatoos. Not special for here, but special for us.
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