Australia 2001

Australia Journal
Dayton Ohio to Australia. 10 Jan to 21 Jan 2001


1/10 Thurs

We are at the airport. Josh drove in the drizzling rain. The check in was uneventful. They did not find the box cutter we did not know was in Patti’s purse (more on this later). We ate lunch at the airport-- Max and Erma’s restaurant. We had boarding passes for all flights to Australia and our bags were checked all the way through. We did notice lots of Army military policemen in the terminal.

The flight out of Dayton was delayed for 30 mines due to an air traffic hold. During the lay over in Chicago we killed time in the food court. Egg rolls, dunkin donuts and McDonalds fries. Weird snacks! The flight out of Chicago to Los Angeles was delayed because they could not get the copilots window closed. What the hell is duct tape for? Due to the delay, the in-flight movie was free. We watched ‘Serendipity,’ it was pretty good.

When we got into LA we had to change terminals. At the international terminal we had to stand in long lines for security. Patti got through ok (box cutter in purse). My boots set off the metal detector and I was sent to the suspect line where I got patted down. I had to hold my arms out as a lady ran a wand all around me. She patted me down. Next she asked me to turn around and undo my belt buckle. I was facing a British lady. I said don’t worry I’m not going to strip. She laughed and flushed beet red. The international terminal was ok but it had way too many foreigners!! We took off 30 minutes after midnight.

1/11 Friday
We crossed the International line somewhere between LA and Sydney and lost a day so we did not have a Friday.

1/12 Saturday
Flying through the night still. Qantas fed us nonstop. We were only supposed to get a breakfast meal, but every 3 to 4 hours out came more food. One thing that was kind of neat was this computer projection they put up on the movie screens. It should a map and a symbol of where the airplane (a 747) was. They also showed movies nonstop- about 4 I think. The first movie was the one we saw on the flight from Chicago to LA so we kicked off our shoes and took a nap. The flight took just under 14 hours. We landed and went through customs. The Australian customs clerk asked for our customs form. I told her we did not get one and she said, “Yes you did.”
“No I didn’t” . “Yes you did you were sleeping at landing then.”

We went to the back of the customs area and filled out the form. Cleared customs and immigration got our passports stamped and got our bags. I did not realize just how much luggage looks alike anymore. We went to look for our shuttle ride to the Corus Hotel. The ride was set up by our travel agent. We exited the terminal—Wow!. It was warm and slightly humid. We asked directions, and went right about 200 feet and back in the terminal. I was wondering off, but Patti saw out driver holding up a sign. First impression- Its odd , a mix of a US/European kind of atmosphere. On the drive to the hotel Patti pointed out all the flowers and Palms. It is summer in Australia. We were booked into the Corus hotel which is downtown Sydney.

10th floor room 1013. I got on the phone and called to confirm our upcoming tours. This I had to do twice because I got confused by what day it was (the date line crossing). We checked into the hotel room at 11:00 am local. Check in was 1:00 pm so we where happy we did not have to wait 2 hours in the lobby. By this time we had been up for 26 hours with naps as possible on the plane. Ordered some room service for lunch. A breakfast platter. As we soon found out, an Aussie breakfast platter is a little bit different than an American one. First they do not fully cook their eggs. Sunny side up with some runny white. Patti could not take that. Also bacon is not crispy but very limp. Come on folks cook the food!!! Haha. A few unusual things on the breakfast platter- lamp chops, pork and beans and whole tomatoes. Nap time so we thought. We went to bed about 1:00 in the afternoon and slept off and on till 3:30 in the morning when we were up and wide awake.

1/13 Sunday
Figured out how to work the coffee pot to heat up water for coffee. Ordered the continental breakfast- fruit, cereal and Danish. Since we got up so early we walked up to the waterfront early to look around. It was only about a 12-minute walk to Circular Quay (pronounced “key”). We saw the famous Sidney Harbor Opera House and the bridge. We were talking a Harbor sights cruise. We were sitting in the sun in shorts wearing sunglasses in January. Found myself wishing it was cold and snowing in Ohio.

Our trip was on the “Capt Cook” tour boat. It was large and had about 100 people on it. Patti and I sat on the top deck to enjoy the sun a mistake (I got a minor sunburn.) It was about a 2 ½ half hour cruise to the harbor mouth and back. We enjoyed the boat ride and the scenery but the tour guide was new we think. She would say things like, “Over there behind those trees, you can’t see it from here…there use to be a building…” After the cruise we headed back to the hotel for a rushed lunch and then back to the Quay for our bus city tour. Went through most parts of Sydney. Population 4 million. 7th largest city in the world as far as land area. The architecture is interesting, a mix of ultra modern, Victorian and a little new Orleans Bourbon Street thrown in. Drove through the Botanical Gardens, stopped at the harbor overlook for some pictures and then on to Bondi (bond-eye) Beach. Bondi Beach is topless. For some reason Patti wanted to stay up near the snack bar. I’m not sure why. We sat on the grass and had a couple bottles of water. A few new Aussie terms- they call take out food “take-away”, they call turn signals “blinkies”. End of the day we both had too much sun. The sunscreen is going on tomorrow.

Ordered some “take away” pizza from an Italian restaurant for dinner. Australians like odd stuff on their pizza too. I had to work hard to convince them I did not want chili sauce on my pizza. (Only later did I learn chili sauce meant their pizza sauce) The waitress was Italian and barely spoke English. All of the rest of the employees was Chinese. I asked for a beer while I was waiting and was told “no”. It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode about the guy they called the “soup Nazi”. A restaurant owner who would tell people “No soup for you.” I questioned why “no beer for me”. A Chinese lady came over and said you can only have beer while eating in the restaurant. Since I was waiting –no beer for me.

Favorite expressions so far- “cheers” meaning: Hi, thanks, bye, what’s up
“No worries” meaning: Hi, thanks, bye, what’s up

Turned on the TV when we got to the room that night. Steve Irwin aka “the Crocodile Hunter was on. I thought only the Americans watched him.


14 Jan Monday

Got some McDonalds for Breakfast (no runny eggs) and some fresh fruit from a sidewalk stand. I woke up at 4:30 Patti woke up at 5:15. But I have not felt tired. We meet our tour bus at a hotel around the corner from ours. Off to the Blue Mountains which is about 60 miles west of Sydney. Other sites to see were included so this was an all day trip. We left Sydney and crossed the Harbor Bridge. Continued North through the Suburbs.

We went past a cemetery that the driver said was the site of one of the biggest tragedies in Australian History, the site of the Australian Irish Rebellion. After all the historical facts-- he mentioned 12 people were killed. Sad I guess, but a typical weekend night in a big US city. I guess its something to be said for them that that is their big tragedy. Stopped about 10:30 am for a coffee/tea break at a roadside fruit stand/store in The Bilpin fruit bowl area. Had fresh apple pie with cream and sat on the patio and ate while the wild Cockatoos carried on in the trees.

Went bye the Royal Air Force Base in Richmond. Had lunch at the ‘Three Sisters’ mountain peaks in the Blue Mountains. They get the name “Blue” because the sap from the Eucalyptus leaves evaporates into the air causing a blue hue. The 3 Sisters is a huge out cropping of peaks from the sandstone cliffs. A big tourist spot. We sat in the restaurant in front of huge plate glass windows that overlooked the valley.

Next we drove about 2 miles to a tourist spot that provided some unique ways to see the mountains. Patti surprised me and was quit brave. We rode a very steep small gauge train down to the valley floor. It was at about 52 degrees slope. We felt like we were standing up. It is in the Guinness book of records as the steepest train in the world. And then to get back to the top we rode a huge cable car up from the valley floor. The view was magnificent.

Stopped at the Feartherdale wildlife park on the way back into Sydney. We needed more time here! Only had a bout an hour. Saw Koalas and had or picture taken with a Koala named “Mindy”. Also got to see and pet Kangaroos. It was midday and they were mostly lying around. We did see a mom with a joey in her pouch. Patti was patient and waited a bit and the baby eventually poked his little head out.

Stopped in the bar for a few drinks when we got back to the hotel. Hey, its vacation.




15 Jan Tues

Left Sydney for Ayers Rock resort. Flew Qantas and the flight took about 3 hours. Ayers rock is in the center of Australia. Australia itself is about the size of the US.

Ayers Rock (the Aborigines call it Ulruhu) is a big mountain rising up out of the Desert floor. Kind of a “devils tower” for them. The resort we flew into is like an island. Small terminal. We walked down stairs and walked into the terminal. It was about 95 degrees and climbing. Patti joked, “Yeah but it’s a dry heat.”

A corporation runs the resort, which consists of 4 hotels and some shops. Our Bus driver was taking us from the Airport to the hotel and stopped at an intersection and just sat there…stopped. Looking left and right he finally came on the loudspeaker and said, “One day I will have to stop for traffic.” We all laughed.

That night we had the “Sounds of Silence Dinner” in the outback. We were driven about 5 miles to a clearing in the bush where they had tables set up. Very elegant, linen and all the fancy centerpieces. Dinner under the stars as we watched the sun set over the mountains. We were given Champaign as we watched the sun set- never ending glasses of Champaign! The foods were Australian fish, Kangaroo, Emu sausages, chicken, and a very good potato salad. I had tried the Kangaroo with the canapés and did not care for it. I did try the emu sausages and thought those were pretty good. Patti stuck with the Chicken and fish. The desserts however, where out of this world-Macadamia nut pie-yum yum.

They had a person play an aboriginal musical instrument called a Digidroo (long hollowed out piece of wood that makes a sound like a waah waah wah kind of a vibrating sound. I thought it was very cool. We were told the aboriginal legend of how the sunrise and sun set came to be.
In the old days when the world was all black all of the aboriginal people prayed for light. Man could live and function, but not well. Meliva heard the prayers of the people and sent her daughter to provide light. In the morning she sat cross-legged in the east with embers in front of her lap. She rubbed the red soil on her skin to help reflect the light. As she rose high in the sky she hovered, and the people prayed for her to continue her journey so it would cool. She listened and continued to the west. In the west she again sat cross-legged and rubbed red soil onto her skin to reflect light as the embers faded out.

A late night, we got back to the hotel room around 11:00. It was overcast so we did not get to see the southern stars. We really wanted to see the Southern Cross.

16 Jan Wens.

A free day. Got breakfast the buffet in the restaurant and spent some time by the pool. Eucalyptus leaves provided a nice scented air. After about 11:30 am the pool tiles were almost too hot to walk on without sandals. One thing that was unusual was all the butterflies. I guess the heat does not bother them. That night we had clear skies and did get to see the stars.

17 Jan Thurs

We flew from the desert oasis of Ayers Rock to the tropical town of Cairns, on the North East Coast. It was a 2 ½ flight . When we landed it was about 88 degrees and humid (the topics). Very green. Trees everywhere. The town were staying in was Palm Cove about 30 miles north. The hotel was right across the street from the beach facing the Coral Sea. We were checked into the hotel and the concierge gave us a guided tout of the hotel and facilities. To say the hotel was fantastic is an understatement. It only has 65 rooms and originally built by a millionaire to entertain his friends. It is British colonial in design. 2 pools one had a waterfall and two hot tubs, one with a waterfall. The hotel was very open, the veranda, bar and restaurant barely had side walls. Large overhead fans turned to make it cool. It had a bar in the veranda, again British colonial. It was an Honor bar, guests help themselves and sign a chit, stick it on the pad. How cool is that? There is also a regular bar for all of the tropical drinks. Our favorite bartender was Michael who did a good job for us and went out of his way to make us feel comfortable.

For Dinner the first night we walked down the block to a little fast food place across from the beach. I got fried Barramundi (fish) and Patti got lasagna. The fish was wrapped British style in paper and was on a huge pile of French fries. The fish was very good. I had heard about Barramundi before and had wanted to try it. We signed out a video from the guest library. Only watched about 15 minutes and we were out like a light.

Fri 18 Jan

Our cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef. Got picked up at the hotel and it was about a 40 minute drive to Port Douglas the departure point. We were on Quick Sliver 5 a high speed jet catamaran that held about 200 people. The ride out to the Algoncourt part of the reef took about 1 ½ hours. We were well out of sight of land. When we got there they had a lunch Buffet ( I know it seems like all we did was eat on this vacation). It was outstanding. Fried Chicken, prawns, salads, fried rice.

We took a ride in a semi-submersible- its kind of a boat/submarine mix. The top stays above water but we were sitting in the “basement” which was all glass windows on the sides. It drove us all around over the coral. So much color and lots of fish. Corals of Blue, green and purple. The boat was tied up to a large platform that stayed out in the reef. It also had an underwater viewing area.

For dinner we dressed up and ate in the hotel restaurant. It was open as I mentioned earlier and we faced sitting the ocean. Very pretty. I had prawns; it was a seafood day for me and Patti had steak and an Australian potatoes salad that she likes a lot. We got a couple of fancy deserts- banana fritter and strawberry waffle.

Irony prevails- we were dressed up in a fancy restaurant, eating our fancy desserts when a little lizard (a gecko) went running across our tablecloth. He was not on the menu and I do not think he needed a reservation. Some times God has ways of making us humble. We had to laugh. Went back to the room, watched another 20 minutes of the video and went to bed.

19 Jan Sat

Had the alarm set for 3:30 am. We were picked up from the hotel at 4:30 for our hot air balloon flight. This was not on our itinerary, we added it cause we had a free day. We drove up and over the Kuruanda Mountains to Meereba. It is in a plateau area they call the Tablelands, a mix of bush and farmlands. It took us about an hour to get there. It was barely getting light when we arrived at the take off site. The balloon was on its side and had just begun the process of being filled up. Burst of hot air from propane burners did the job. We were in a clearing next to a mango grove.

The balloon was tied to a truck to make sure it did not take off till ready. Patti and I had booked a one-hour flight, which meant we got two 30-minute rides. The basket held about 10 people and the pilot. We all got in a few blasts on the burners and we were rising. It was very gentle and quiet, during our ascent the only sound was from an occasional blast of hot air. About 10 minutes into the flight I saw a Kangaroo hopping through a mango grove.

The sun was not fully up but it was very light. It was a very smooth ride. They launch the balloons in the morning because that’s when the air is calmest. There were about 6 balloons in the air from several different companies. We went up to 700 feet then down to the treetops. When he got lower we could hear the Cockatoos and birds down in the trees. We landed and traded out passengers for the 2nd hop. Patti and I stayed on. They were only about 6 people on now. Patti saw a small field with 7 Kangaroos. When we landed we got a surprise. We all got “the honor” of helping to pack up and load the balloon and basket. Hey that was not in the brochure!!
Went into town on for a Champaign breakfast and were back to the hotel by 9:00 am. Nap time! Lazy rest of the day, used the hot tub and pool and did some shopping along the beachfront. That afternoon it poured, well this is the tropics. Went back to the hotel and had a few drinks in the Brigadier lounge. The honor bar again. Some of the Australian Beers I tried: Victoria Bitters, XXXX (called 4x), Tooheys, John Byne and Cascade. My favorite was Cascade, a beer that is made in Tasmania. Got some “take away” chicken. Finished the movie finally.

20 Jan Sun

Our trip to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest. And it rained a lot. I was told that’s why they call it a rainforest not a sunforest. Stopped at an observation facility for a nature walk and talk. Climbed an observation tower to see the 3 levels of the rainforest canopy. Prior to our walk we had coffee on the deck. There was a huge spider an Orb Weaver in a web just a few feet from us. Patti said, “Oh it’s fake.” It wasn’t. It had set up housekeeping there the day before. The staff at the center said we don’t mess with her and she does not mess with us. The Orb spider is poisonous. We found out that the rainforest is very scenic but not healthy for man. There is a tree they call the burn tree. If you touch it covers your skin with little glass like capsules that break in your skin and cause intense pain for 6-9 months after contact. I kept my hands in my pockets. It rained so much and so fast out in Cape Tribulation that our driver had to keep an eye on the creek levels to make sure we could get back. The creeks were rising fast. He crossed through one I would never have tried. It splashed water over the roof of the mini bus. It was alike a large passenger van (4 wheel drive) that could carry about 15 people.

Wonderful lunch under a covered picnic area. A BBQ of steak, chicken and fish. And again the Aussie potato salad that is so good. For desert we had a plate of exotic fruits. Many I have never seen or heard of. I liked most of them. Next we took a cruise on the Daintree River. It was supposed to be a wildlife and Croc sightseeing trip. It was scenic but no wildlife. At the end of the cruise the guide “thought” he knew where a croc had been seen earlier that day. It was half covered in grass. Patti suspected that it was not real and was put there for the tourists. I did not agree at first but the more I have thought about it she may be right. We could not see its face, and it did not move even when the boat got close. The cruise started within about 100 feet of the last fatal croc attack on a human. A girl had been drinking and thought she would jump into to river. The last mistake she ever made. They eventually found her bones and jewelry in the belly of a croc. Our guide said, “Most croc attacks on humans have alcohol involved. Croc should not drink I guess.” Lovely dry Aussie humor! Had the afternoon tea/coffee break. Our driver was very friendly and chatted with Patti and I a lot. There were only 6 people on the tour. A family of four from Sydney who had come from Hong Kong and Patti and me.

Dinner at “The Pirate’s Cove” near the hotel. I had Grilled Swordfish with an avocado salsa. Only about 12 dollars US. We loved the exchange rate. One US dollar is roughly equal to 2 Australian dollars. It was a very good bargain to vacation there. Patti wanted German food and had a plate of Jaugersnitzel.

21 Jan Mon

Time to go home. We flew from Cairns to Sydney to LA to Chicago and into Dayton. All together we were up 33 hours before getting home. The cold air sure felt different. In Chicago we had a 5 hour layover. It was ridiculous because the flight to Dayton is only 50 minutes. Josh and his Girlfriend and Buddy picked us up at the airport.

Random thoughts…

It was a great vacation. Seven roles of film to be developed.

Yes it is true the toilets flush backwards with the swirl.

The toilets have to buttons to flush- a half flush or full flush option.

The Australians were extremely friendly almost without fail.