Paradise Found

(steve)

Almost on a whim I decided to look into a little side trip to Fiji while doing planning for the rest of our Australia time. The more I looked, the better it seemed. After some deliberation, we booked a stay at the wonderful Garden Island Resort along with an overnight stay in Nadi before and after. All giddy and excited, we carried on with our Australia travels.

What would a trip to the airport be without some kind of drama? To prevent riff-raff from permanently staying on the islands, Fiji requires proof of an outbound airline ticket prior to letting you board the inbound flight. Written proof. Guess who didn't print out the itinerary two months ahead of time? Luckily for me, we arrived 2 hours before the flight, giving me just enough time to run around the airport twice, make two hasty phone calls to the airline (where I'm afraid I wasn't the most patient or well-mannered customer). With fifteen minutes to spare I managed to get a faxed copy of our tickets and we boarded the plane. Karen watched my dwindling sanity, it must have been fun for her.



This is the best medicine for a stressful morning. Upon arrival, the stress simply melted away in the tropical sun. We got a ride to our Nadi hostel and prepared for our entry to paradise. The next morning we boarded a 16 seat plane for the hour ride to Taveuni, the Garden Island of Fiji. The morning bright and we got a fantastic view of the surrounding island landscape. Once over the water, we saw a series of intriguing reef systems in turquoise waters.



We were met a van after the plane came to a stop at the local airport (really just a closed off stretch of asphalt). The van took us on a 30 minute drive along the coast road that circles the island. It turns out to be the only paved section of road on the island. Our check-in at the resort ended with the entire staff coming out to sing us a welcome song in Fijian and give us shell necklaces. Let's say this right now, Fijians are the most friendly people we have ever met. We'll repeat this again later.



We stayed for 5 nights at the resort. During the day, we loaded ourselves in a boat to visit the reefs. That's right, more diving. We dove eight times, and every single one was a treat. We thought that Whitsunday was a really good time. The Rainbow reef system was far better. With average visibility of about 80 feet, it was impossible to miss the huge abundance of coral and fish life. Following the lead of divemaster Hiram and boat operator Nia, we saw heaps of every local fish species. Every day at lunch we spent an hour looking through the fish books to id what we saw. Hiram provided an interesting experience when he reached into a hole and pulled out a banded sea snake. That's right, he grabbed a really poisonous creature and held it out for us to touch. Most of us held back respectfully, except for Karen, who it turns out didn't know how dangerous it really was. Her comment, "it didn't seem to like being held." (Karen found another snake swimming around the next day, but didn't touch it this time.) Another special treat was the discovery of a blue ribbon eel in a coral nook. These cute little guys are electric blue in color, except for their heads which are yellow. A little further down the reef was a teeny juvenile which is black in color. We also saw a few white tip reef sharks, some Moray eels hiding in the coral (I saw one swimming along the reef too), and a number of Spanish dancers. The very last dive we did was notable for the number of cast members from Finding Nemo found all together in one spot. Gil, Nemo, Dory, and Flo frolicked around a patch of coral that looked remarkably like the movie intro.



Our time above water was spent enjoying the sites and sounds of Taveuni. We walked around taking in Somosomo village and the local high school boys playing rugby after school. The ever present palm trees swayed, and no one seemed to be particularly in a hurry to get anywhere. Everywhere we went, the people smiled, waved, and said "bula" (hello) to us tourists. During a brief rainstorm, we visited the local play area known as the Waterslide, where children slide down the smooth rocks of a creek to small plunge pools.



There were also a couple of tours we took to visit Boumo National Park. While there, we indulged in our last waterfall swim with new diving buddy Gaby. After our hike, we spent a short time with the local villagers where the kids were anxious to test out their English skills, and everyone was smiling and willing for photos.



We were also privileged to be able to visit Duivosovoso village close to the resort for a tour and look into typical Fijian island life. While there we were shown how to many ways there are to use coconut palms. They make baskets, mats, and help insulate a fire, they also made clever tongs to pick up hot objects. We watched as they showed us how to prepare coconut and make a lolo (earth oven) to cook dalo (taro root), cassava, and a mixture of dalo leaves. We also learned how to make the traditional Fijian drink kava. Kava is a ceremonial drink prepared when there are visitors, but also to enjoy in the evening with family and friends. The drink itself comes from the roots of the kava plant, powdered and filtered with water. It kind of tastes like muddy water to me, but every Fijian adult loves the stuff. "It's like wine to us." The fact that it contains an antiseptic, an anesthetic, and a barbituate have nothing to do with it. Kava is an interesting characteristic, and it was definitely widespread.



Our time in Fiji went by very quickly, but we were left with a host of wonderful memories and heap of great photos. We highly recommend to anyone to give Fiji a shot if you like the laid back homey feel. Thanks to all the wonderful staff at the Garden Island Resort for making us feel like part of the family.

Viva Bris-Vegas

(karen)
As anyone who has ever been to Australia can tell you, Aussies are mighty proud of their local spirit, Bundaberg Rum. I'm no fan of rum but I couldn't resist going on the ever popular Bundaberg Rum Distillery tour, especially since the neighboring sugar refineries were going full throttle but weren't offering tours until a week after we left. Let me tell you, after also being denied a tour of the milk factory I was ready to rain down fire if the Rum plant was closed. Lucky for the good people of Bundaberg it wasn't.


This was a great way to spend an afternoon after too many days of hiking around in the wilderness. Rum is made from fermented molasses, the byproduct from refining sugar. I loved the huge sunken vat of molasses that was as wide as a basketball court and 15 feet deep. I'm sure you can imagine the smell. We then got to see the fermentation tanks, the distilling area, and the large white oak barrels that are used to age the rum for three years before being bottled. At the end of the tour everyone got two drinks to try at the Bundy Bar. We tasted a little but gave our leftover drink coupons to a group of very excited backpackers.

Our next stop down the coast was to famous Fraser Island, however due to a combination of poor planning and bad luck we were unable to explore the island like it deserved. It has miles of gorgeous beaches on the eastern coast, a historic shipwreck stranded in the surf, and some amazing crystal clear lakes. Most people explore this sand island on multi-day 4WD tours but we had only our feet and one afternoon so our options were limited. The best I can offer you is a haunted face I found in some driftwood on the beach.


Finally we arrived in Brisbane, our last stop on the great Australian tour. I wish we could have had more energy to see the sights of this beautiful city but Steve and I were starting to get mentally drained from all the traveling. It was so refreshing to be able to reunite with some folks we've met previously on our holiday, including Tam from our Hiking New Zealand trip and Doug and Denise whom we got to know on the Milford Track. Just for fun we did take a day trip down to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Cost. This is an area sometimes referred to as Bris-Vegas and it seems to be more loved by visitors than it is by the locals. Yes it's a bit tacky, yes it's overrun with high-rise hotels, but the sun was shining and the water was clean and it felt wonderful to stroll on the squeaky sands.



Steve surprised me with a trip to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where for a fee I got to cuddle my very own drugged out koala! He was very sweet and sleepy, and after hearing other people's stories I'm very glad he didn't pee on me.


We planned on going into town for a fancy dinner to celebrate our last night in Australia, but changed our minds and decided a home cooked meal with Tam would be a better way to cap off the trip. It was a delicious dinner of wilted spinach with a butter-walnut sauce, roasted pumpkin soup, fresh pasta, pan seared salmon, and crepes in a caramel apple sauce for dessert. The only mishap was a broken blender base that came detached and sent pumpkin soup all over the kitchen. Ah, too much fun.

Stay tuned for our next post about one of the most perfect places on this green earth, Fiji!

Silica Sand with a Side of Platypus

(steve)

We're back in the States, using fast internet, so let's fill in the details of the previous two weeks.

The previous post said all we need to about Magnetic Island. Moving on, Airlie Beach was our next stop. During the previous week, the sky had been overcast but we never really got wet. As we turned off the Bruce Highway towards Airlie Beach we were met by a torrential downpour that didn't relent. Sitting in the car outside our hostel, we hoped this wouldn't end up being a repeat of our Bay of Islands stay in New Zealand.

Airlie Beach is the mainland jumping off point for the Whitsunday Islands, a collection of fabulous resort hotels and popular spot for sail cruises. For us, we arrived seeking a little fun in the sun and just possibly another reef visit. Since the sun was hiding, at least we could see to the reef (we'll be wet anyways). After perusing the options, we decided to go on two different ocean tours to try and wait out the weather.

The first day was a sea tour of Whitsunday Island itself. We jumped in the boat bright and early after watching the pick-up bus go right past us (they came back to get us after I called the office). The cruise began with threatening clouds overhead and a small swell. After an hour we reached our first tour stop, Whitehaven Beach.



Whitehaven Beach is the most beautiful beach we've ever been too. The sand is nearly pure silicon and was bright white despite the lack of glaring sunlight when we visited. We climbed a lookout to get a better overall view and we amply rewarded. The tide was going out and the colors were unreal. From the lookout we even spied about a dozen stingray in the shallows. There were a few diehard sun worshipers lying out in bikinis, but the brief drizzle spells and fleeting bursts of sunshine kept us from shedding clothing. We would love to return to this spot on a clear day.



The second stop for the day was in Mantaray Bay for some snorkeling. Donning wetsuits, we spent at least an hour floating and looking at the fish and coral. The amazing part is the color and variety of coral was actually better during the snorkel than our dive day in Cairns. Once again, we saw more fish than could identify. Here is a short list: bicolored parrotfish, shepard parrotfish, angelfish, yellow-tailed fusiliers, butterfly fish, and a big Maori wrasse. We continued to be awed by the giant clams with their fluorescent colors.

The next day was our second dive day on the reef. We boarded a different boat (with about 200 other people) for the two hour journey out to Reefworld. Once there, four of us peeled off to go on a smaller boat for a dive. We did two different dives during the afternoon. Both were nice drift dives along a coral encrusted wall with lots of nooks and holes to look in. The visibility wasn't that great (30 ft = CA standard vis) but the fish and coral was more impressive than Cairns. Most importantly for me, we ran into a turtle and a Moray eel, both firsts for us underwater. Reefworld was also home to an impressive giant grouper they call George (~200 kg) and a large Maori wrasse called Wally (loves to be petted by snorkelers). Maybe this is only a small taste of what the reef has to offer, but it was really great to finally get the chance.

Reluctantly leaving the beach, we headed over to Eungella (pronounced Yun-gulla) National Park, home of the wily platypus. Now, we've looked for these guys on two different occasions, both unsuccessfully. This is our last hope of finding one in the wild. Eungella is at the top of a set of hills running along the coast. We drove up and over the steep hill to find the river running through the park. In the river is supposedly the largest concentration of platypus on the mainland of Australia. Let's hope the guidebook is right.



The guidebook was right. Upon reaching the viewing platforms it took us all of about 5 minutes to spot our first platypus. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching them frolic around in the still water, and set up our tent in a nearby campground for the night. Sitting next to the camp trail was a huge python. Karen got all brave and picked the head up. The python didn't struggle too much since he was pretty dead.



Unfortunately for us, the platypus didn't sit still very well, making them difficult to photograph. You kind of get the idea above. For scale, they are about 12 in long from bill to tail. Still, it was cool to finally see them in action, nosing around the creek bottom looking for food, and just motoring around on the surface.

Other interesting events/sites were the outrageous fog I had to drive through to get us back from dinner (our last meat pie in Australia) and we hiked up to two waterfalls in Hatton Gorge. At times during the fog drive, I couldn't see anything but the reflective markers in the center of the road right in front of me. I never got out of second gear with a max speed of about 20 kmph.

Fergs Down Under, Reader's Digest Version

(karen)

I write to you from a crappy computer in Fiji, but the important part of that statement is that we're in Fiji! We won't be able to upload any photos or write our typical Discovery Channel style posts until we get home, so in brief here are the highlights from the last couple of weeks:

Magnetic Island
This is an island in Queensland just off the coast from Townsville. We read that it was a fascinating place to hike and see wildlife, but we were a little let down by the overall experience. The best part, however, was having our first legitimate wild koala sighting! We also tried to blaze a trail through some dense bush and learned the true meaning of BIG Aussie Spiders. It gives me the heebie-jeebies just remembering it.

Whitsunday Islands
Too bad the Sunshine State has been dealing us a heavy dose of rain and cloudy skies, but at least these parted briefly to give us fantastic views of Whitehaven Beach. Now I've only seen a little bit of this big world but I can tell you that Whitehaven is the most glorious beach on this planet. Photographic evidence to come...

Steve couldn't stay out of the water so we booked another dive trip that was somewhat murkier than our first, but was more than compensated for by the abundance of fish and corals. Seeing a turtle, moray eel, and a breeching humpback whale are memories to savor for a lifetime.

Eungella
We head inland to see the cutest little monotremes ever, the platypus! We battled our way through thick fog and past pythons (dead) to watch these critters motor around in the calm water, diving for bugs.

Brisbane
We cooled our heels and hung out with some folks we've met during our travels who reside in Brissie. Tam, who we met back in New Zealand, was so kind to let us stay with her for a few days before our flight to Fiji. To thank her I taught her to cook.

Fiji
This is the final leg of our trip, where tomorrow we are flying to one of the smaller islands for four sunny days of all inclusive meals and scuba diving. We'll be sure to share the stories when we return to the states. Thanks to everyone for your comments on the blog. It's so nice to have little messages waiting for us. Take care and we'll see you all very soon!

Trials and Tribulations

(karen)


After our outstanding trip to the outer Great Barrier Reef we headed further north to Cape Tribulation, so named because Captain James Cook badly damaged his ship the Endeavour on a shallow reef while exploring the region. We, however, decided to embark on this voyage with a rental car. Far North Queensland feels like an entirely different country to what we have seen so far. Apart from the endless seas of sugarcane and banana plantations there are massive hills covered with lush rainforest. There are still crocodiles and nasty snakes and spiders, but fortunately we didn't encounter anything of the sort during our hikes. What I found most interesting about the forest are the giant strangler fig trees. These start as small seeds dropped into the canopy by birds or the wind, and they send out vine-like roots that slowly encompass the tree. After years the roots fuse together and make the most spectacular formations imaginable. The forest was littered with trees in various stages of being consumed by the strangler figs.


Also interesting, but mostly annoying, are the "wait-a-while" vines that grow from a type of climbing palm. They have fishhook type barbs along the vine that grab a hold of your clothes and hence you have to "wait a while" to get untangled. One ferocious vine got a death hold on Steve's sock and turned it into a mess of elastic loops. And since we're talking about plants, I fell in love with the gorgeous fan palms. They are like enormous umbrellas that reach into the canopy, and they make a beautiful noise when the wind rustles them.


After touring Cape Tribulation we drove south to the Atherton Tablelands. One thing that quickly became apparent was the hurricane damage caused by Cyclone Larry a few months ago. Not only did the cyclone damage banana crops (resulting in $10/kilo prices), but the fierce winds tore up everything from road signs to the upper rainforest canopy. Lucky for the rainforest such cyclones are part of the natural regenerative process, like fire is in other areas. (Not so lucky for my banana bread.) There are a couple of crater lakes on the tablelands that were formed by volcanoes long ago, and plenty of beautiful waterfalls. We enjoyed walking the trails in the area but the weather turned rainy, so no swimming or camping. Sunshine state indeed!

The next stop on our itinerary is the Whitsunday Coast where we plan to cruise the numerous islands and maybe do a bit more diving. After that we only have about a week left in Australia before we go to Fiji, and then come back to the States on July 26th. All of a sudden the end is near and we can't believe it's almost time to go home. Wait, we don't have a home anymore. Oh crap, does this mean we have to start looking for jobs?!? Nooooo.............

Was that a Shark?

(steve)

The Great Barrier Reef has been calling to me for a number of years now. Ever since I received my scuba certification, I've thought about swimming with the fish through crystal clear turqoise water among the coral. Just picture me in a tropical fish tank to get the idea. Arriving here in Cairns, the airplane banked over the water on approach and there it was. Just that little glimpse was enough to get me excited.

Once settled into the Cairns hostel, we went right out to figure out exactly which boat trip would be perfect for us. We ended up finding a host of choices. Lucky for us, the weather cooperated perfectly, with a nice, calm day prediction to boot. In fact, we were told that the day we wanted to go had the best forecast for the last few months. Imagine me not being able to sit still right about now. We booked a ride on the Silversonic with three dives scheduled for the day.

To balance out my enthusiasm, Karen's stomach began it's normal churning the closer it got to riding in a boat on the ocean. She was cautiously excited, but insisted on stopping for a package of dramamine. I threw in a package of ginger cookies and some ginger beer for good measure.

The bus picked us up at 6:45 am for our ride to the marina. We snaked all over town finding bleary-eyed people for the next 30 minutes. Once loaded, we made our way to the boat in the neighboring town of Port Douglas. The Silversonic is the newest boat in the area, with a 50 passenger capacity in the catamaran style (most stable = Karen's favorite). On board with us were about 40 other folks. To our surprise, only 10 others were certified divers, the rest being snorkelers or introductory divers. An introductory dive is a great way to try out scuba without having to go through the full course. You get to blow bubbles with the gear in shallow water near the boat, but get to go deeper than snorkels let you.

The weather prediction ended up being spot on, to Karen's delite. There was little wind and no real waves as we pulled out to head for the reef. For us, the dive master came around and said, the rule for today is be ready to hit the water when the boat stops. We nodded, but didn't fully understand until we saw the absolute chaos that was 30 people trying to put on unfamiliar gear in a small space. We hit the water quickly (I was first in line if you can believe it).

Under the surface we entered another world. I can only describe the feeling of diving as close to flying (with only the sound of your breathing) among wildlife. It truly is being on water safari. You glide over or among the coral with the fish practically bouncing off your mask. Our first location was called Wreck Reef after the small shipwreck found in the area. We saw an impressive array of small tropical fish as we wound our way through the hard coral. There were too many different species to count, each with lots of color. After 40 minutes of swimming it became hard to remember just what exactly we had seen. Memorable sightings were a whitetip reef shark, oriental sweetlips, clownfish (We found Nemo! We also saw some Moorish Idol, Gil), and a blue spotted lagoon ray.

Next up was a short move to the next reef system called Nursery Bommie. This location had a shallow water (~40-60 ft) spire that was seemingly surrounded by schools of baby fish. This in turn attracts some of the larger hunting-type fish. As we spiraled around the spire, we noticed a nurse shark nestled in a nook, a lion fish (with all the spines) looking for a meal, and a small school of barracuda. The rest of the water was loaded with little fish in big schools. It was neat to watch them all change direction together to keep as close as possible. There was also a large patch of staghorn coral with lots of fish zipping around amongst the spines.

The third spot was a shallow ribbon reef drift dive. Drift diving is the ultimate lazy experience, as you simply go down and let the current do all the work. We descended along a coral laced wall and let the water push us along. For the next 30 minutes we just let the fish and coral come to us. The parade of color and life was amazing. Even with the aid of a fish id book, we couldn't agree on the number of different fish and corals we had witnessed.

As an interesting diversion, Karen and I rented an underwater digital camera for the trip. We compiled more than 40 pictures and about a dozen short movies. We have them on CD and plan on uploading as soon as we find a connection that isn't as slow as molasses.

Our day of diving was lots of fun and worth the wait. The hard part will be resisting going out on every other boat as we head down the coast.