Australian Vacation

On our last day together, Debbie, Fred and I decided to cruise the Brisbane River through the middle of the city where we saw this paddleboat cruising up river.

We started with a stroll along the riverfront where we saw this lovely pagoda (or was it a temple of some sort?)

We decided to eat lunch on the riverfront before the cruise and saw this bird.

We don't know what it was, but he was not a bit shy...in fact, was helping himself to lunch at the table next to us!

When the waiter shushed him away, he plopped down in the middle of the bushes, as if he thought that he was hidden from view there!

During lunch, we enjoyed watching the river traffic, including this kayaker.

The sidewalk had inlaid mosaic designs.

A local artist was repairing one of them.

Here's our river cruise boat....a catamaran... called the City Cat. For very little, one can ride this boat, a train or a bus to any place within the city....a pleasant way to get around.

Notice the interesting contrast between the tall, sleek, downtown buildings and the sailboats in the marina.

We passed a quite few paddleboats as we cruised.

A unique waterfall, going down the steps at Riverside.

We saw this fascinating house along the riverbank.

We rode all the way to the end and then back to where we started again.

After the cruise, we decided to check out the special exhibit at the museum next to the Convention Center. It was quite interesting and told of a history of prejudice against Aboriginal peoples in Australia much like the disgraceful history of prejudice against blacks in America.

On the way home, we rode the train, similar to a subway system.

What a lovely day!

Sunday, July 31st

Saturday evening we flew two hours north (about 1200 miles) to Cairns (pronounced "cans") seeking warmer weather and some beach time. When we woke up Sunday morning, this was the view of the mountains and the hotel pool from our balcony. Unfortunately, the clouds had moved in and there was a light rain.

We walked a few blocks to rent a campervan for our time in northern Australia. A campervan has a high top....high enough for us to stand up and is
complete with a table, two benches, a double bed, refrigerator, stove, microwave and sink....not to mention bed linens, pillows, blankets, towels, pots
and pans, utensils, etc. Everything we needed. Australia is covered with caravan parks where we can stop and "plug in" for the night...many of them right on the beach.

As we drove south from Cairns, we passed through endless fields of sugar cane and banana trees.

Unfortunately, I neglected to get a photo of the banana trees.

Our first stop was Mission Beach. In spite of the cloudy weather and a bit of drizzle, it was still fairly warm.

..warm enough for these boys to play in the surf.

Once we settled in, we took a walk own the beach, collecting shells.

I couldn't resist taking some night photos of the surf.

Monday, August 1st

Monday morning, we decided to look further for a good spot to camp...and besides, the weather was still rainy so there would be no snorkeling today!

We wandered along the eastern coast as we drove north, seeing many lovely hamlets and resorts.

Finally, we found Ellis Beach, about 20 km north of Cairns. This was the perfect spot, right on the beach.

The rain seems to have abated but the overcast skies remain. We are told it is likely to be like this for a few more days, so we are exploring some activities in the rainforest which work rain or shine.

Tonight we walked down to a nearby restaurant to eat dinner as we watched and listened to the waves pounding the shoreline.

Signs of Australia

As we drove around Australia, we noticed a number of road signs that seem unique to this country. We thought we would share a few.

We came to hate these "roundabouts" - circles you must slip into and out of to continue driving in a straight line!

There are NINE roundabouts between Ellis Beach and Cairns!

Sort of familiar signs....but...

Speed limit signs: Fred just loved getting to drive at 100 (only it was 100 km/h not 100 mph)

The language is English....with a twist.

And then there are crosswalks
....for school children

...and adults...

...and my favorite....for the elderly!

At the parking lot of the grocery store.....

Along the waterfront

Captain Cook

Cautions for local wildlife.

We saw a lot of these signs! We also saw cassowary signs (but I didn't get a picture). A cassowary is a large bird that look kind of like a turkey and is protected here. We were told they have a very nasty nature.

Then there were some oddities: At first we wondered if these "4x" signs had something to do with the red light district...LOL. But they were EVERYWHERE. Then we concluded they had to do with places that sold liquor. Finally, a cabbie told us that 4x is a brand name for beer, like Budweiser or Millers.