Well, I did it! I swam in the Great Barrier Reef! And what a wonderful experience it was. After the hour and fifteen minute cruise to the reef, that is. My daughter and I got quite seasick and had to go out on the back deck. Apparently that is where they send all the "sick" guests. I never looked back but my husband told me there were about 30 people back there barfing. But as soon as my feet hit land, I was fine. We landed at Green Island, which is quite tiny and has great reef around it. We rented special suits on the boat to protect ourselves from the jelly fish (not the deadly ones which do not go out that far, but the smaller ones that are just troublesome when they sting). The suits worked great and covered us from head to toe literally.

The coral was amazing, far more colorful and varied than I have ever seen. We saw many new varieties of fish, my favorite being this huge turquoise one. The visibility was great since there weren't many people there. We even saw a stingray. And lots of jelly fish but no problem there with the suit.

Today we took a train ride into the Kuranda rainforest with a gondola ride back. I particularly enjoyed all the different types of flowers. We also stopped at Kuranda, a small village where a lot of Alboriginal people live. I am including a photo of the largest spider I have ever seen.

But honestly I am tired and can write no more. I am down to the last days now and will see you all soon.

Here are some adorable koala photos.

Currently we are in Cairns which is in Queensland, along the north eastern coast. It is very hot here - 32 degrees centigrade which I think is in the 90's. Sara, our daughter, has joined us now. I'm afraid there are a lot of things here that freak us out - crocodiles, the deadly box jelly fish, snakes, poisonous spiders, more sharks than usual, etc. I don't consider myself timid with this traveling stuff, but even I am a bit freaked. The resort we are at, in the middle of the rain forest, has a huge net set up along the beach so you can swim, but they said that the box jelly fish are so small that they can get through the netting. Definitely out of my comfort zone.

Tomorrow we will cruise to the Great Barrier Reef (it is an hour out into the ocean and not along the coast as one would think) and spend the day snorkeling. Apparently the dangerous jelly fish do not go out there. I'll let you know tomorrow. Later.

We arrived in New Zealand five days ago and have been touring the South Island ever since. This is a marvelous country and we instantly felt at home. Sure, the people speak English (although sometimes the accent is so strong, we cannot understand them), but more importantly, the people are so welcoming and open. There is a definite sense that we stepped back in time, perhaps 30 or 40 years. There seems to be no pretense, no show. They are who they are and they all seem comfortable with it. (I included a photo of a waiter in a restaurant we ate at. Nathan’s mullet was award winning!) As we walk around, we hear accents from all over the world - many Asians, many Europeans, and a few Americans.

We are in the southern hemisphere, with the middle of the South Island approximately 45 degrees latitude. That puts us right now about half way from the equator to Antarctica. In fact, Christchurch is the city where the American scientists check in before heading on to Antarctica. We saw the Southern Cross in the night sky last night, a constellation that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere.

We flew into Christchurch, a very charming small city, and picked up our camper van. This is the way they do it out here and it has worked well for us. We have all we need in the camper, although in the campgrounds there are common kitchens where everyone cooks together. It’s a cool idea. There are campgrounds in all the towns and in the more remote areas, there are “conservation parks”, which are like our national forest campgrounds in Idaho. And like home, there is a lot of space between towns. We watch for the “No Petrol” signs so that we get gas before we wind up out of luck. There aren’t very many people (only 3 million total on the South Island) but there are a lot of sheep. They are everywhere! I haven’t been able to get any good pictures of the sheep though because they run before I can get very close. We’ve also seen red deer, rabbits, penguins (more about that later), sea lions, New Zealand fur seals, albatross, cormorants, and lots of birds. No living kiwi as yet, but we did see a dead one on the road.

It is autumn here and the leaves are beginning to turn. Even though summer is over, the hillsides are still really green. It is not like Idaho where we dry out by the end of summer. They get a lot of rain here and it rains on an average of every other day, but luckily not while we have been here. Every day has been perfect so far.

Seeing Mt. Cook was the highlight of day one. The mountain is the highest point in the South Island (maybe all of NZ) in a range called The Southern Alps. It is covered in snow and blue glaciers. You drive toward Mt. Cook along a lake that is an unusual but beautiful blue-green color, due to the glacial runoff. Over the 30 mile approach, the mountain gets taller and taller. The beauty is hard to describe, but hopefully the photos will help. We took many of them during a hike we took near the area.

We drove on to Queenstown, a place we didn’t know much about. Within minutes, I felt like I could live in Queenstown. Visually it is the most beautiful town I have seen, with a huge lake in the center of town and the houses all around the lake. All this is surrounded by tall mountains called The Remarkables, which is no exaggeration.

Continuing south to Te Anau, we entered the gateway to the Fjordland National Park. We chose to camp in town which gives me time to shop in between sightseeing and hiking. We cruised the Milford Sound, with towering sea cliffs and rainforest coming right down to the water, on a 30 passenger boat. It really is a fjord (cut by a glacier) rather than a sound (cut by a river). We saw seals basking in the sun, and several waterfalls which the captain drove close enough to one to get all of us wet. I took about 100 photos, I think. We took a hike through a rainforest-like area and heard and saw some interesting birds. I have been collecting samples of all the ferns we see along the tracks.

After enjoying the fjords, we drove east to Dunedin, a coastal town known as a good place for viewing penguins. We went out with a local sheep farmer that lives on a large piece of land on the coast. He took us on an 8 wheel drive ATV type vehicle through the mud and down to the rocky beaches to view, up close, the New Zealand fur seals, sea lions, royal albatross, and yellow eyed penguins along the coast. He has the largest penguin colony right on his property. The yellow eyed penguins are very rare but do well here because squid moves up from Antarctica and provides food they like. It was definitely the highlight of this trip so far.

We spent today in the historic town of Oamaru. We are tired and looking to enjoy a quiet evening. Tomorrow we fly back to Australia. As you are all about to enjoy your spring break in a few days, I will fly up to Cairns (pronounced Kanes) to swim in the Great Barrier Reef, something I have looked forward to all my life. I am beginning to miss all of you, and will definitely be ready to get home in 10 days or so.

Hi mates! Just a quickie here. Mr. Westrick just let me know you all did fantastic on the DWA. We'll celebrate when I get home. WAY TO GO!

It’s Thursday here in Sydney, although Wednesday for you. We are 19 hours later than you. We recently found out that sections of Australia vary by the half hour rather than by the hour as we are used to. That would seem really tricky for television schedules, etc.

Yesterday we took the ferry to Manly beach. That is where the rugby team plays. They are really “in the news” this week for their bad behaviors. Cold Play is here this week as is Eric Clapton and Jackson Browne. And my favorite Aussie, Russell Crowe, was spotted in a café in Surry Hills which is the neighborhood where we are staying. But I am satisfied having spotted the kangaroos actually.

We are off to Bondi Beach today, probably one of the most famous beaches in the world, although we are not exactly sure why as yet.

We are off to New Zealand tomorrow for a week of camping on the South Island. There may not be WiFi access down by Milford Sound and the fjords however. Hope all is well in Boise (and Berlin for that matter; Andy took off for his semester in Germany two days ago) and that you are enjoying the last snow.

I have attached some random photos - eels, Queen Victoria Building, sea apples (so colorful), me driving, a lighthouse, beach shots, city scapes, etc.

So many great adventures in the last five days. First and foremost, we have seen roos - lots of roos.

We are still camping and have covered much of the north coast of New South Wales. The Hunter Valley, with its beautiful rolling hills, has more than 200 wineries. We tasted the local wines at two vineyards. The pourers at both wineries were very charming young men and enjoyed sharing their wealth of knowledge about wine as well as some fun Aussie tales. One taught us some local lingo such as “She be right” meaning everything will be fine. We stayed at a small caravan park and enjoyed the curry from the Thai restaurant next door. There seem to be a lot of Asian people in Australia likely because of the close proximity to Asia.

Next we worked our way to the coast and have been blown away by the beauty. The water is turquoise blue-green and the waves are huge. The sand is very fine, not coarse like we are used to. But the best part is that the beaches are unspoiled. Miles and miles of pristine beaches and no one is on them. Not because the locals don’t enjoy the beach, but because there simply is just so much beach. We camped at Booti Booti National Park and enjoyed watching two surfers riding the waves. I waded in the surf and was surprised how warm the water is. We didn’t feel comfortable swimming though because there were “blue bottlers” on the shore (see photo). They are a type of jelly fish that is very blue and has a very long tail. They can sting you with that tail and apparently it hurts a great deal. But they aren’t deadly like the jelly fish further up north. In a couple of weeks, we will fly to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef where the deadly jelly fish are. One sting and you are a goner. We have been told that they are not on the GBR however but are found along the coast (the reef is about 10 miles out into the ocean). We will ask around and get some more information before we take any chances. It seems to be a big concern here.

After a night at Booti Booti, we headed further north to Trial Bay in Arokeen National Park (just south of Coffs Harbor). If there is a “Shang-gri-la”, this is it. It is a perfect spot. We set up camp right on the beach and will be spending three days here. A sailing regatta is going on (the championship for New South Wales) which has been fun to watch. Today there was a strong wind and several boats capsized.

Trial Bay is a campground set at Trial Bay Gaol (French for “jail”). Around 1877, the prison was actually built to house prisoners that were working on building breakwaters (a build-up of rocks that create a protected area for incoming ships). We toured the prison then went on two hikes through the rainforest. Definitely one of the top ten hikes of my life. The vegetation is so interesting and different than we are used to. The birds are abundant and fill the air with their sounds. Some sound like they are laughing; another sounds like a baby crying. We saw two kookaburra which is what that famous Australian song is written about. Along today’s morning hike, we came upon a wallaby not 8 feet in front of us on the trail. They are smaller than a kangaroo and with a rounder face. They both look so weird when they hop, their short arms dangling in front of them, looking useless as can be. I even observed a kangaroo “boxing”. It was by itself so it was just basically air boxing. It was quite a ridiculous sight actually. Now we are in search of koalas. We have been in dense rainforests of eucalyptus trees, but they are difficult to spot. The trees shed their bark this time of year and are therefore white. The “bums” of the koalas are also white so it makes it tricky to spot them when they are high up in the trees.

And my final comment for this entry - I drove on the “wrong” side of the road in the “wrong” side of the car (see photo). I was a weird experience.

We are back in Sydney for 4 or 5 days. I will write again in a couple of days about our visits to Bondi Beach (Chris Martin from Cold Play was spotted there yesterday), Manly Beach, Sydney Aquarium, and more. Cheers.

Driving through the outback in search of the elusive kangaroo. “Kangaroo Crossing” signs are everywhere, but still no kangaroo. We keep saying, “This looks like the perfect habitat for spotting a kangaroo”, but the truth is, we know little (or nothing actually) about the perfect spot for kangaroo. Nevertheless, we have spotted vibrant colored parrots, huge cockatoos, lizards, and a couple of dingos.

We are traveling around the Aussie way - in a campervan. It suits us well. Paul is driving and that is not without its challenges. First of all, they drive on the “wrong” side of the road and in the “wrong” side of the vehicle. The most frequent utterance from me these days is “Other side!”. Only once though did we wind up in the wrong lane when there was traffic. A scary few seconds. A couple days ago, we were attempting to enter a plaza to do some grocery shopping. Our van was too tall to enter under the metal barrier (a lightning speed metric conversion occurring) and we had to back up the one-way road. Picture me guiding the incoming cars. The amazing thing was not one car honked at us, swore at us, or did anything of the sort. These people are simply delightful.

We toured the Blue Mountains and saw some beautiful waterfalls and dense rainforest- like scenery. I have started collecting the different types of ferns. Yesterday we had to cross a wide river and drove our car onto a ferry. A new experience. We have mostly been in small towns the last few days. We marvel at the fact that there are almost no restaurants around here. Today we are touring the Hunter Valley wine country where there are hundreds of wineries due to the perfect conditions for growing grapes. The next several days, we will be venturing up the eastern coast (called “The Gold Coast”) and camping on the beach. Internet access may be difficult.

I have been practicing my Aussie accent daily, but find it rather tricky. I pretty much have the “Mornin’ mate” down with a perfect guy accent. The women’s accents are not nearly as strong as the men’s though and so not as fun to attempt.

Off to hunt down a kangaroo. Later mates.