Wallabies

There is a field near our apartment that on most evenings has quite a few wallabies grazing. Wallabies are like kangaroos, but smaller. Danny and I recently walked there and saw one with a baby in her pouch! How adorable!

We also hiked up a nearby trail. It was a kilometer to the top, lots of stairs and hills, tough climb! The view at the top was pretty, though!

Dust Storm

There was a dust storm in Sydney, and it is interesting to see the pictures of the places we were at covered in dust! It hit there on the morning of the 23rd, and then I heard about it traveling up the coast to Brisbane, and by the morning of the 24th it was here! It is not near as bad as it was in Sydney, but you can smell the dust when you go outside, and it just looks foggy. Check out the following links:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/23/2693643.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/24/2694899.htm?section=australia

You might have to copy and paste them. I am posting some pictures I took today, with some I have taken of the same areas before.

Cairns Tropical Zoo

Here are some pictures from the Cairns Tropical Zoo. The weather has been really nice here, in the 80s. Nothing new going on, just enjoying our time here! None of the snakes I am holding are venomous!

Tablelands

For Labor Day weekend, Danny and I went up to the Tablelands. It is an area about an hour west of the coast, with a few towns and attractions. I believe it is called the Tablelands because of the high elevation.

We went swimming at Emerald Creek Falls. Here, there were many areas of the creek to swim in, divided by big boulders and waterfalls, so we had a pool to ourselves to swim in. I managed to lose my sunglasses to the pool. It was a pretty area!

The town we stayed in is called Yungaburra. There is a creek that runs through it, and a Platypus viewing blind set up on one of the banks. We got to see our first wild Platypus! There was a young one, and an adult. What funny animals they are!

We ate breakfast at the Lake Barrine tea house. Lake Barrine is a natural lake, created over 10,000 years ago by a volcanic eruption. It is surrounded by rainforest, and about 65 meters, or 213 ft. deep! Compared to what most people think of as a lake, Lake Barrine is a very large pond, with a total shore length of 4.5 km, or a little over 2 1/2 miles.

There are many waterfalls in the area, and we managed to visit 9 of them in one day! One of our favorite was Milla Milla falls, there was a large drop, and a shallow pool at the bottom. Some others we visited were Dinner Falls, Tchupala Falls, and Wallacha Falls. I'm not sure how to pronounce the last two, and I'm sure they have some kind of meaning, but I'm not sure what!

We also visited the Curtain Fig Tree. It is made from a strangler fig on one tree falling over into another tree, and the whole thing being covered in strangler fig roots. It was huge!

Other highlights of the weekend were stumbling across about 3 snakes, but not close enough to know what kind they were or if they were venomous. We also saw a wild Cassowary! The population around Cairns, or the Wet Tropics population, is listed as endangered, so it was very cool to get to see one in the wild!

Our last stop was Lake Tinaroo, which was formed by damming the Barron River. We stopped at the dam overlook and had sandwiches in a park there before we headed back to Trinity Beach.

Keep reading, I added 4 new posts today!

Trinity Beach

We moved to the area of Cairns, but the actual town we're in is Trinity Beach. Going through my posts, I realized there are no pictures of our new beach! We really like Trinity Beach. We have visited a few other beaches around here, but have not found one we like more than Trinity Beach.

Festival Cairns

The Festival Cairns is a two week long event that involves various activities and entertainment, like fireworks, a parade, movies, bands, shows, and art displays. Danny and I made it to opening night for the parade and fireworks, but unfortunately missed the fireworks because we were eating dinner. The parade was fun, with a lot of different ethnic groups represented, some bands and floats. The art on display on the esplanade was interesting.

It is spring here now, and the weather is warming up! The temperature highs are usually from 85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. On the right hand side of the blog, there is a weather display. If you type "Cairns" into the search area, you can choose "Cairns, Australia" to see what our weather is! It is mostly sunny, I would say in the past month it has rained about 2 times. We have been going to the beach every weekend, except for last weekend, when we went up to the Tablelands. That is for another post.

I am now volunteering at the Cairns Tropical Zoo one day a week in the reptile department. I help clean out snake enclosures of the non venomous species, feed lizards and frogs, and hose leaves out of crocodile pens, of course from a safe distance! I plan on taking some pictures while I am there, and will get some up here soon.

Sydney

I admit it. I have been slacking on updating the blog.

At the end of July, we went to Sydney before my parents left. It was a blast! It is definitely one of my favorite things we've done in Australia. We stayed at Darling Harbor, only a short walk away from the water's edge. We took the ferry through the harbor to most of our destinations, a lot better than dealing with traffic!

The first day, we went to an area of town called The Rocks. Dad, Danny and I went on a bridge climb to the very top of the Sydney harbor bridge. There were great views up there! It was an exhilarating experience, and at no time was I scared! We were attached to a belt, that was attached to the bridge. It was interesting to see the construction of the bridge up close. After the climb, we had lunch at a pizzeria, and walked around the Rocks district where we were able to get some good pictures with the bridge and opera house.

The second day we toured the opera house, and wandered around the botanic gardens next to the opera house. It was interesting to see the concert hall, and hear about the construction. I was surprised to find in the botanic gardens, a honey locust tree, which we consider a pest at home! There were also tulips, and a large colony of flying foxes, with other interesting plants, and gorgeous views of the harbor. We also visited the Sydney Aquarium, where the coolest thing was walking under the large aquariums, and getting to watch the fish, sharks, turtles, and dugongs (similar to a manatee) eat. Last that day we went to Sydney Tower, a tall tower you go up in to get a good view of the city. We got up there just as the sun went down, pretty to see the sunset!

The third day we went to the Australia Maritime Museum, where we got to tour a retired ship and submarine. The submarine was cramped, I can't imagine living on it! Then we hopped on a bus to visit the Gap, a park that has good views of the opening to Sydney Harbor, and Bondi Beach. It was sweatshirt and jeans weather (our summer is their winter), yet there were still a lot of surfers in the water! Danny was able to rent a wetsuit and surfboard for an hour, and try his hand at surfing Bondi. He was able to stand up a couple of times!

The last day, mom and dad went to the Toronga Zoo, and Danny and I went to the Chinese Friendship gardens, back to the Rocks for some shopping, then to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where there were lots of paintings and displays. We got to see a picasso and a monet!