Arrived at Great Barrier Reef and Queensland

Arrived in Cairns, Queensland, Australia

It was a three hour flight from Melbourne to Cairns (pronounced CANS), which is a jumping off point for the Great Barrier Reef and day trips into the interior.

Cairns is much farther north and closer to the equator, so the temperatures suddenly went from 60s to 80s. The sun comes up at 6:30 am and it's dark by 6:30 pm, thus there is no use for Daylight Saving Time.

Tomorrow I spend the day at the Great Barrier Reef. May not have access to updating this blog for the next several days.

My Rental Car for Four Days

I turned in my rental car this evening after four days of driving on the left side of the road. My trusty GPS ("Navman") served me well, and I didn't have any major problems. The steering wheel on the right side of the car meant that I wasn't always sure how close I was to the left curb. As long as I remembered to keep to the left at the roundabouts, everything was fine.

Below is a sign you don't see every day.

An Afternoon with the Dingoes

I spent time today at the Dingo Sanctuary and Research Centre, a nonprofit organization run by Lynn and her dedicated volunteers and sponsors.

The sanctuary houses 40 purebred dingoes and conducts DNA and behavioral research on this often misunderstood native Australian animal frequently blamed for killing livestock and humans.

Though the dingo cannot be domesticated, these animals were remarkably tame and happily ate out of my hand.

They do not bark, but they can howl and make other almost-human vocalizations. I applaud this organization in its efforts to assure the survival of the dingo.

Their website is: www.dingodiscovery.net

Penguins and More on Phillip Island

I drove a rental car two hours south of Melbourne for three nights of penguin watching.

Cathy surrounded by penguins!

Phillip Island has a colony of 30,000 Little Blue Penguins who spend all day feeding on anchovies and small krill in the open waters and return to their burrows when the sun goes down. These Little Penguins are only 12 inches tall and vulnerable to large seabirds and all sorts of predators, so they rush the shore at dusk as a big group. There's safety in numbers. They are a hoot to watch as they waddle to safety as fast as they can.

And no, I didn't really get to touch any penguins! The photo above superimposes me into a stock photo of penguins. (Sorry . . . )

Girls watching the penguins from an undergound bunker

Little Blue Penguin

During the daylight hours I entertained myself with all sorts of island activities: hiking along magnificent coastline, seeing more koalas and wallabies (including a wallaby that hopped across the road in front of me), and touring a restored farm from the 1800's. The farm included a demonstration of sheep herding dogs and a sheep shearing demonstration, which I found interesting.

To see more pictures of the penguins go to: https://www.penguins.org.au/

A Busy Two Days of Sightseeing in Melbourne

This was my own version of an Australian "walkabout", aided by the free trams that criss-cross downtown Melbourne. One particular tram circles the downtown district providing tourist commentary. I am told that Melbourne has the world's largest network of trams. Even without the trams, Melbourne is wonderfully safe and pedestrian-friendly.

I enjoyed the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum (in what used to be the Customs House), and the Ian Potter Art Museum with its special exhibit of Indigenous Art.

Melbourne is a true melting pot with its diverse and multicultural population. Almost a quarter of Melbourne's 4.5 million population was born overseas. 180 countries are represented either as residents or university students: Greeks, Italians, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and every other Asian group imaginable, Indians, Turks, Eastern Europeans, and more.

Entrance to Chinatown

I ate Indonesian food last night and Persian food this evening. The Indigenous community in Melbourne (also known as Aborigines or First People) numbers 20,000, although I have not met any yet.

I will be sad to leave Melbourne tomorrow morning. It is a lovely city.

Koalas and Kangaroos in the wild

Spent a great day with a very knowledgeable tour guide (Cathy) and a lovely Canadian couple (Christine and Leopaul).

 

We went first to a state park where we saw lots of kangaroos in the wild, plus an amazing variety of birds and other wildlife, including an emu. We also saw wallabies, a smaller marsupial cousin to the kangaroo.

Kangaroos in the wild

Koala in the wild

At the second park we found a female koala high in a eucalyptus tree eating the leaves. Like other marsupials, koalas carry their babies in their pouch, but we couldn't tell if this one had a baby with her. I was surprised to learn that there are hundreds of varieties of eucalyptus trees, and that different koalas have their individual taste preferences.  Who knew?

Echidna Walkabout Tours website: https://www.echidnawalkabout.com.au

Arrived in Melbourne, Australia

I arrived in Melbourne Australia on Monday morning, October 31, after a 16 hour overnight flight from Los Angeles and crossing the International Date Line. Melbourne is 15 hours ahead of Atlanta.

By the way, the locals pronounce the name of their city MEL-BUN. The letter R gets lost somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

I planned to go to the Melbourne Visitor Centre first thing. When I walked out the front door of my hotel, imagine my astonishment to find myself in the middle of a parade that blocked my route in all directions. I had heard that the Melbourne Cup, a premier horse race similar to our Kentucky Derby, would be held on Tuesday afternoon. No one said anything about a parade the day before. That was a fun surprise!

Melbourne is a leafy, walkable city that is rated as one of the "most liveable" cities of the world. I believe it. There is a free city tram that takes residents and visitors throughout the central business area. People are friendly. There is an amazing cultural mix, not to mention ethnic restaurants and cafes.

Later today I go on a Gray Line tour of the city. Tomorrow I venture out to see Koalas and Kangaroos!!