The Last Day

Our last full day in Australia, and we thought to ourselves: We need to see more crocodiles! Beaches! Sunsets! And maybe actually have a hot breakfast for once, as up until now we'd been subsisting on Nutella and jelly sandwiches.

So we headed up the coast toward Hartley's Crocodile Adventures. On the way we stopped at one of the many beaches that you can't swim in due to jellyfish. They did warn us, however!


Next up was Hartley's Crocodile Adventure. The setup was similar to, but larger than the Rainforestation zoo. And of course, they were all about the crocodiles, which they not only display but raise for food and skin here. I had wondered why crocodile meat was so inexpensive. Feeding a crocodile a chicken a week makes raising them expensive, but the skin is so valuable that the meat is more or less just a byproduct.

After a great breakfast, we headed out for our boat tour. They have a small river/island set up where the crocs that aren't part of the farm can relax in the sun. Our boat driver also got to feed a couple of them. As this picture shows, when they want to leave the water, they can!


In addition to the crocodiles, they have a respectable zoo there. In fact, we got to see one more new animal. Australia does not have much in the way of large mammalian carnivores, with the dingo pretty much topping the list. Even rarer are the marsupial carnivores. The largest one is the quoll, a relative of the Tasmanian Devil, and the zoo had two that they had acquired in the last month. They were still pretty shy, and hissed continuously at the keeper when he placed baby chicks around their enclosure for them to "hunt", but because they were feeding we got to see both the male and female.

At the end of the day they had another demonstration with the crocodile. They are truly stupid creatures. The croc handler had a chunk of fake food on the end of a rope, and swung it out for the croc to grab. At that point the croc was safe to be around. All the croc needed to do to get the handler was open its jaws, but once it got the fake bait in their mouth it refused to let go no matter what. But they're also fast and dangerous, so most of the demonstration was about croc safety when going camping in the Outback. Following our day at the zoo, we headed up the coast. At the Rex Lookout there were some hang gliders about to take off, but most people were just tourists taking pictures of the wonderful view like we were.

Further up the coast is the tourist mecca of Port Douglas. We found a nice restaurant right on the water's edge, and seemed a great way to end the day. We did get a surprise on our way out of town at dusk: bats were just coming out to feed, and there must of been thousands of them darkening the sky.

Riding high

The next day we headed to the rainforest. Specifically, to the Skyrail--a gondola ride that first gives you a great view of the rainforest from above, and then stops at a couple locations for a closer look. At the first stop, a ranger leads a tour around showing what the locals used the various plants for.

At the top of the Skyway is Kuranda, a tourist type village filled with small cafes and souvenir shops. Also in Kuranda was our next stop: the Rainforestation Nature Park. The first part of the park is a small zoo, here we saw our first wombat of the trip.

The next part of the park we visited was a short Duck tour of the rainforest. Yes, the same Army Ducks that have graced the Wisconsin Dells for so long. For those who haven't had the experience, Ducks are amphibious vehicles made during WWII that can drive on land or in water. They're going on over sixty years old now and still operating, which is amazing in an of itself.

Next we entered the Aborigine part of the park. First there was some dancing, followed by some demonstrations: the spear-thrower, the didgeridoo, and the ever popular boomerang. They let us throw one: I'm happy to say that mine came back, but I couldn't quite catch it. Not a good idea to just hold up your hand--instead you slap your hands together as is whizzes through. Mine was headed to fast for me, maybe next time.

By this time we were exhausted, but still managed to haul ourselves back to Cairns and Barnacle Bill's for the seafood platter. A guy's got to eat!

Ready, set, snorkel!

Our first day in Cairns I'd signed us up for an all day snorkeling trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. The set up was a little different than the trip out from Hamilton Island. First, even though it was cheaper, the equipment was better all around--we got full scuba-style wetsuits even while snorkeling, and the snorkels they used seemed higher quality.

And the location! I saw more fish in the first five minutes where they took us than in the entire time at the other place. There were far too many fish for me to remember all of them, but I know that I saw an enormous school of yellowtail blue damsels really distinctive because of their bright colors. I also saw a moorish idol, which I recognized thanks to "Finding Nemo".

The worst part was the trip back--the seas were getting rough, and our tiny ship was tossed. So tossed, in fact, that at least one passenger did a little tossing of their own. Fortunately, the front and back of the ship were full of fresh ocean air. From the front you could see where they were doing controlled burns of sugar cane fields. Altogether, it was a great trip, and I'll recommend the Tusa Dive tour to everyone I know!

Alice Springs Desert Park

Nestled at the foot of the West MacDonnell range is Alice Springs Desert Park, a fantastic little zoo dedicated to the wildlife found in the center of Australia. The park is divided into three areas: one for the Red Centre, one for desert rivers, and one for the woodland areas. This last blends nicely into the West MacDonnell National Park, and the zoo had several native animals wandering around visiting the area in addition to the ones in cages.
They have quite a variety. This was the first time I'd heard of a numbat, let alone seen one.

The Red Centre area is somewhat different from what we saw on the way up, mainly due to the fact that they maintain it so that it looks like it would after a rainstorm had come through. This means that all the grasses and flowers are blooming, which is quite a sight.
They also have an excellent bird show, showing off the local hawks and the tool using birds getting into emu eggs. They also have several aviaries. Any zoo with desert creatures has to have a nocturnal house to show off the small mammals like this Bilby that only come out at night.

After the park, it was time to say goodbye to the center of Australia and head back to the northeast. Next stop, Cairns!

Minding the gap

We began the day with a trip down to Kathleen Springs on the southeast side of Watarrka National Park. We didn't see any wildlife that morning, but tracks were everywhere. Many of the local species are nocturnal, so that wasn't a big surprise.

Next we drove up to Alice Springs. The West MacDonnell range is just down the road, and just beore the sun went down we made it over to Stanley Chasm. Just as we entered, we saw a black-footed rock wallaby in the wild. It was very shy, and bounded up the rocks as soon as it saw us. Their coloring is excellent camoflauge for the rocks...if it hadn't come down to the canyon bottom to feed, we never would have seen it.

Our next stop was Simpson's Gap, and there we found out that it is actually pretty rare to see the rock wallabies in action, since they are on the edge of being endangered. Driving out of the gap, we saw two more making their way along the dry riverbed next to the road. They instantly split up, heading in different directions. Very neat!

King's Canyon

About three hundred kilometers away from Uluru is King's Canyon in Watarrka National Park, and was the next stop on our trip. Mom took her first turn at the wheel for part of this trip, as we both felt she shouldn't miss an opportunity to drive on the left side.

We reached the canyon in early afternoon, giving time for the walk at the bottom before I headed up to the rim walk. The walk around the rim is one of the most amazing 3 hour walks I've ever been on. The beginning looks like Gollum's little shortcut into Mordor, but soon the view of the canyon from the rim are on full display.

Further along the trail meanders among "bee-hive" formations where the layers of rock have eroded into a maze.

After crossing to the other side, a brief side path takes the hiker down into the Garden of Eden--a continuous water supply that contains plants from 60 million ago.

Once on the other side, you could see where occasionally the rock would split and crash to the canyon floor below.

All together, this was a fabulous hike, and a great way to see the Park. After viewing the sunset (which sadly, wasn't as spectacular as down at Uluru and Kata Tjuta) we headed back to the resort. Dinner was a Bush pizza (croc and kangaroo meat) and another Bush show. There were two performers, and what they lacked in technique they made for with props and audience participation. In fact, Mom got to do the little dance to "Home among the gum trees", along with five other audience "volunteers". Good times!

Kata Tjuta

The sunset was so spectacular that we decided it was worth rising early to see the sunrise at Uluru. It was nice, but lacking the clouds of the night before, the colors were not quite as spectacular.

The highlight of the morning turned out to be the Ranger led talk along the Mala trail. This trail hits some of the highlights of Uluru: there are Aboriginal drawings, geological formations, ending at a shaded waterhole.

After lunch at Uluru, it was time to head over to the second half of the National Park: Kata Tjuta (aka The Olgas). This formation is similar to Uluru but was exposed earlier, and erosion has divided it into multiple mounds. They have an excellent trail to several scenic views. I was fortunate enough while on this path to run across a wild Wallaby, and the views were amazing.

The composition of Kata Tjuta is similar to that of Uluru--the sunset did not disappoint!

Melbourne's south side

Today we picked up two metro passes and headed towards the south end of town. They have an excellent, easy to understand tram system (basically everything either runs north south or east west--and you can tell where the lines are because the tracks in the street are obvious.) Our first stop was the Shrine of Remembrance. This massive pyramid is dedicated to Australian and New Zeland armed forces who served in World War I and later conflicts.

Next we headed over to the Old Melbourne Observatory in the Royal Botanical Gardens. They have an excellent cafe and visitors center--it was cold enough on this day that a cup of hot chocolate tasted wonderful.

Then we wandered north to the National Gallery of Victoria. This is your standard huge museum with art and sculpture from ancient times up through modern times. Exhausted, we then made our way back downtown, crossing the Yarra river with its scenic backdrops.

On the north side, we then went though the branch of the National Gallery dedicated to Australian artists before deciding it was time to eat. We picked a Vietnamese place called Mekong based on a recommendation from the Melbourne Visitor's Center, and it was great. A nice way to finish our stay in Melbourne.

Feeling artistic

Another day in Sydney! On Saturday we'd tried to do the Sydney Tower in order to get our bird's eye view of the city, but learned that it was an hour wait up and an hour wait to come down. Not a good idea! So today we headed over there bright and early so that we could whip up to the observation deck at the 250 meter mark. It was a gorgeous day, and the views did not disappoint. This is a view of St. Mary's Cathedral from the Sydney Tower.

In fact, it was so nice that we decided to hit more of Sydney's green spaces like Hyde Park and Archibald Fountain, on our way over to St. Mary's Cathedral. Of course, by the time we'd reached the bottom, the storm clouds had started to gather. This is a view of the Sydney Tower from St. Mary's.

Following St. Mary's we went over to the Hyde Park Barracks, a museum showcasing what it was like to be thrown in prison after you misbehaved after being sent to the giant prison of Australia. Hint: it wasn't fun. Next we wandered over to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to get our refill of culture, before heading back to the Sydney Tower to run through OzTrek--a motion ride tour of Australia. I'm sure the designers meant well, but that is definitely a D-ticket ride.

On top of the world

Sunday was my first full day in Sydney, and our goal was modest: see the two biggest architectural landmarks in Sydney. First was the Sydney Opera House. We took the roundabout approach--coming in from the Royal Botanical Gardens.

The hour long tour is very well done. It was a mix of short prerecorded videos on the history shown between seeing the different venue. Our tour had one guide and there were about twenty people on the tour. After hearing about the history and seeing the performance venues (there is a concert hall and space for plays in addition to the opera stage), we were sold, and we decided to get two tickets to an opera that they were performing on Tuesday.

Next we took another run through the gardens, followed by a trip by Circular Quay. This is where many of the ferries leave for various outlying parts of the city. Then it was time for me to get ready for my twilight climb of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The bridge was built in the late 1920's (you can see it behind the opera house in the photo above) and is over a thousand meters long and 139 meters high. The Sydney Bridge Climb has been operating for almost ten years. They have strung a cable from the base up to the top span, across the bridge, and then down to the other side. They do not allow any loose objects up on the climb (including cameras) for obvious reasons, but they have a couple stops set up for the guides to take pictures.


The picture above was on the way up the bridge. For a while it looked like I might not get to do it--they suspend operations when there is a lightening storm within 10 km, and one passed through just as my group was heading up to the top. Fortunately it passed, and by the time we were coming down the other side, it was nightfall, giving a great view of the city.

To Sydney!

Today I flew down to Sydney to connect with my Mom coming in from Seattle via San Francisco. Meeting at the airport went fine-but then the first problem arose.

Every vacation must have its little hiccups, and mine came when I first opened my suitcase to find that the four pairs of long pants so carefully selected for the trip where nowhere to be found. Fortunately we were in Sydney, one of the world's greatest cities, right?



They do indeed have some fabulous shopping (the above picture of the Queen Victoria Arcade is but one of the many fantastic locations.) However, I was a bit stymied in my search. The problem is my body shape. My height is 5' 11", but most of that is in my upper body. While I have a waist of 38", my inseam is a mere 29", very short for my height. In the US, men's pants are sold by waist and inseam, but as I discovered, the same is not true in Australia. They sell by waist, followed by three choices of long, regular, or short for inseam. And even the short pants were about two or three inches too long to be wearable for me.

This is when it helps to be traveling with one's Mom. She had brought along her little emergency travel sewing kit, and was able to turn up a pair of pants for me that lasted beautifully through all the climbs and hikes yet to come. Thanks Mom!



After having toured the downtown, the next stop was Darling Harbour. This is waterfront Nirvana for tourists, boasting museums and restaurants in profusion. Our main stop was the Sydney Aquarium, where we were introduced to several of the fish and reptiles that we'd be seeing in the weeks to come.

I'm back!

I have returned from Australia in one piece! The usual adjectives describe my trip: wonderful, exhilarating, exhausting. I'm still far too jet lagged to describe it in detail, so I'll probably put down my thoughts about the trip in the coming days and I work through my notes and pictures. For convenience, I'll just blog about the day exactly three weeks before.

So this being just after midnight Wednesday in the US, I'll describe what my Wednesday was like at Hamilton Island during ISBA 2008. The lunch was supposed to be a beach barbecue but the rain intervened. So instead I hit the hiking trails. The view wasn't too great, too much cloud and mist for that, but it felt good to get a little exertion after sitting and listening to talks for a few days.

My poster was Tuesday night, and it seemed to go over well with the crowd (you can view the poster here). It was never a dull moment--I was kept busy explaining the work all night long. Moreover, it looks like the session will lead to a new collaboration, and that's always a good thing.

To Australia

Well, I'm beginning my flight out to Australia in six hours, and I've finally let myself experience that "I'm about to see a new place" thrill. Much of this week (like it usually is for me before traveling) was the whir of trying to get a list of things accomplished before leaving, so I haven't had time to contemplate the actual trip much.

The poster for the conference I'm attending (ISBA 2008) was job one of course, but also this week I finished off a paper I've been working on for the last three months, and hopefully have completed the data work for another.

I'm also flying in a foreign country for the first time, which brings along with it its own set of challenges. Domestic and International flights have different restrictions on carry-on and checked luggage, and Qantas has different size levels than US airlines do. I bought a new piece of luggage, the Eagle Creek Tarmac 25, to meet their restrictions. I've only had it a few days, but I already love it. I'd long been a user of Eagle Creek's "pack-it" system of containers. They are expensive, but very helpful in organizing different types of clothes, and I've been collecting them since graduate school so I have quite a few.

The pack-it system works with any suitcase, but the Tarmac was designed with the system in mind. Which means that pockets are exactly the right size to hold their "cubes", and there isn't an inch (or cm in Australia) of wasted space. It is very nice, and even staring at it now I find it hard to believe that I was able to fit so much into a suitcase that nominally is much smaller than my old one. And it handles well--at least on carpet in my apartment. Definitely my new favorite suitcase for now.

So now I'm just doing the last minute things that I do when I find myself with a few extra hours before a flight. Checking my DVR so see if I can clear anything recorded for more space; updating the playlists on my mp3 player; throwing out the perishables in my refrigerator. I know--most people do that even when they aren't leaving for three weeks.