June 7, 2010

The Australian Trio

Sunday turned out to be an enjoyable day despite the previous day's cancellation to Moreton Island. There was no blue lagoon or light house or dolphin feeding, but there was sand sledding! We opted for another tour offered by the company with a slightly different itinerary. We started the morning off in The Desert tobogganing down the sand dunes. The sheer fun of it was worth the five minute 87 degree slope climb back to the top for another run. Well, it was worth it to climb up that god forsaken dune twice. There's no other fun quite like waxing up your particle board with a candle to hit the sand slopes. After sledding we went to snorkel the shipwrecks. Very cold, very choppy.
Moreton Island is an all-sand island with three small townships and one resort. About 500 people live on Moreton Island, a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride out from Brisbane. The only way around the island is by 4WD because there are no paved roads, only sand roads and the beach. It was originally inhabited by the aborigines. Of the original inhabitants only 11 families remain. Our guide gave us some interesting history of the indigenous people.

We left Brisbane behind early this morning to arrive in Cairns. Our $98/night 'penthouse' faces the water. It's a lovely view, but it's missing the beach we were expecting to be sunning ourselves on today. There is a beautiful boardwalk that runs the length of the shore with shops and cafes. We took a bus out to Palm Cove for a little beach time. The water was cold, the sun was warm, and the breeze was nice. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

We ate a delicious dinner of kangaroo, crocodile, and carramundi. I know I was playing with cute, fuzzy kangaroos just days ago at the zoo, but durn they taste good! I guess I'm not worth of the Wildlife Warrior title I thought I'd earned at the Australia Zoo.

Tomorrow, we are heading out the Great Barrier Reef for some scuba diving. I hope the water is at a comfortable temperature to make the dive enjoyable...it's my first dive.

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