Yesterday we met Aunt Amanda. Then we ate at Hungry Jack’s. Which is Burger King. They call it Hungry Jack’s because there was a little place called Burger King. So they changed it to Hungry Jack’s. But then Burger King closed. Then we got on a plane to Cairns. After that we went to the hotel and in the pool. Then we went to a place called reef teach. Where they teach you about the reef. I can’t tell you about it because I slept through it.
Today we went to Kuranda. We came their on a skyrail over the rainforest. I got to cuddle a Koala. The Koala was very heavy. I also got to feed wallabies and kangaroos. We saw birds and we got a Galah to come on our arms. I got a red –tailed Black Cockatoo to come on my arm too. They are rare. We saw butterflies and we decided the Ulysses were the best. We came back on a train.
We saw the real muddy on the Cairns' mud flats.
The playground was really cool.
This is the really cool manmade beach because
you can't go in the ocean because of the crocs.
On the Kuranda skyrail going over the rainforest.
Chad holding a fat koala.
And feeding a wallaby.
Weather in Cairns: Very hot and humid. Around 30 Celsius
Mom/Pam says (for Cairns):
Money Facts: Australians have no pennies or dollar bills. They don’t have names for their coins: it’s just 5 cents, 10 cents, etc. Australians have and use $1 and $2 dollar coins. All their bills are very colorful, different sizes and have different shaped clear windows. Because there are no pennies, but yet things are priced in cents – the bills have a subtotal and then a rounding line to the nearest 5 or ten cents. Things are rather expensive here. Amanda says that’s because minimum wage is $13/hr. Luckily, the economic fallout works in our favor and $0.70 US equals about $1. AUS.
It was quite funny when Chad fell asleep in the Reef Teach class. As we were nearing a break, Chad loudly snorted in his sleep and the instructor said, “I don’t blame him.” Reef Teach was very interesting with lots of facts about fish, coral and how to pet some fish and the millions of poisonous things not to touch. My paranoia of killer jellyfish is at extreme now.
Mom/Pam says (for Cairns):
Money Facts: Australians have no pennies or dollar bills. They don’t have names for their coins: it’s just 5 cents, 10 cents, etc. Australians have and use $1 and $2 dollar coins. All their bills are very colorful, different sizes and have different shaped clear windows. Because there are no pennies, but yet things are priced in cents – the bills have a subtotal and then a rounding line to the nearest 5 or ten cents. Things are rather expensive here. Amanda says that’s because minimum wage is $13/hr. Luckily, the economic fallout works in our favor and $0.70 US equals about $1. AUS.
It was quite funny when Chad fell asleep in the Reef Teach class. As we were nearing a break, Chad loudly snorted in his sleep and the instructor said, “I don’t blame him.” Reef Teach was very interesting with lots of facts about fish, coral and how to pet some fish and the millions of poisonous things not to touch. My paranoia of killer jellyfish is at extreme now.
Weather in Kuranda: Hot, sunny & humid. It did sprinkle once or twice. The rainy season officially starts on Nov. 1, but the rains usually start in Dec.
Pam/Mom says:
Since our body clocks are messed up, Chad & I were up at 5am. Luckily, Amanda is an early riser, too. So, we were up, dressed & out the door by 6AM. We walked down the Esplanade (boardwalk) for breakfast and did a little exploring. The tide was out we saw lots of sea life including these little bug-eyed fish that were able to come out of the puddles. We were thrilled with our “unique” discovery until we came upon the Muddy’s playground, statue, restaurant and realized, the fish are quite common. The birds here are quite amazing - lots of parrots, lorikeets, pigeons, pelicans, etc. Chad also played in the huge man-made saltwater lagoon which is there because saltwater crocs are known to be in the area.
On the way to the skyrail station we saw 100’s of fruit bats in trees. Right there in broad daylight – hanging upside down, moving and flying around. And they were big and evil looking. I gave a little scream when I saw the 1st one flying. The skyrail is made up of little gondolas that you up the mountain for 4 ½ miles over the rainforest. It’s beautiful, you can see all the way to the bay. At the 1st stop, we went on a little guided tour. I kept smelling something citrussy and finally asked the guide. He didn’t smell it. Finally another tourist admitted it was her bug spray. Kuranda is a cute little tourist town with lots of craft markets. We didn’t have long to see them because we went to see Bird World, the Butterfly Sanctuary and the Koala Gardens. Then we took the steam train down the mountain and back to Cairns. The ride was a bit hairy. We passed the Barron Falls, but they were low because much of Australia is in a drought.
Water info: Australia is fairly “green eco-minded” country. So most of their toilets have a half flush or full flush option. We haven’t been able to tell if the water swirls counter-clockwise because the toilets don’t swirl. Also all the signs say “Toilets” not restrooms. Some people refer to a toilet as a “dunny.” Amanda’s university actually gives out timers for taking 4 minute showers.
Koalas: The leaves they eat are low in nutrients and high in toxins, so they need to restrict their energy level. So they sleep about 20 hrs./day. And they have a small brain about the size of a walnut. They’re not a bear, they’re a marsupial.
They don’t really celebrate Halloween here. It’s more of holiday for the adults. There are no decorations or jack-o-lanterns anywhere. No trick-or-treating for Chad this year.
Pam/Mom says:
Since our body clocks are messed up, Chad & I were up at 5am. Luckily, Amanda is an early riser, too. So, we were up, dressed & out the door by 6AM. We walked down the Esplanade (boardwalk) for breakfast and did a little exploring. The tide was out we saw lots of sea life including these little bug-eyed fish that were able to come out of the puddles. We were thrilled with our “unique” discovery until we came upon the Muddy’s playground, statue, restaurant and realized, the fish are quite common. The birds here are quite amazing - lots of parrots, lorikeets, pigeons, pelicans, etc. Chad also played in the huge man-made saltwater lagoon which is there because saltwater crocs are known to be in the area.
On the way to the skyrail station we saw 100’s of fruit bats in trees. Right there in broad daylight – hanging upside down, moving and flying around. And they were big and evil looking. I gave a little scream when I saw the 1st one flying. The skyrail is made up of little gondolas that you up the mountain for 4 ½ miles over the rainforest. It’s beautiful, you can see all the way to the bay. At the 1st stop, we went on a little guided tour. I kept smelling something citrussy and finally asked the guide. He didn’t smell it. Finally another tourist admitted it was her bug spray. Kuranda is a cute little tourist town with lots of craft markets. We didn’t have long to see them because we went to see Bird World, the Butterfly Sanctuary and the Koala Gardens. Then we took the steam train down the mountain and back to Cairns. The ride was a bit hairy. We passed the Barron Falls, but they were low because much of Australia is in a drought.
Water info: Australia is fairly “green eco-minded” country. So most of their toilets have a half flush or full flush option. We haven’t been able to tell if the water swirls counter-clockwise because the toilets don’t swirl. Also all the signs say “Toilets” not restrooms. Some people refer to a toilet as a “dunny.” Amanda’s university actually gives out timers for taking 4 minute showers.
Koalas: The leaves they eat are low in nutrients and high in toxins, so they need to restrict their energy level. So they sleep about 20 hrs./day. And they have a small brain about the size of a walnut. They’re not a bear, they’re a marsupial.
They don’t really celebrate Halloween here. It’s more of holiday for the adults. There are no decorations or jack-o-lanterns anywhere. No trick-or-treating for Chad this year.
