Mungali Falls
Babinda Boulders
Curtain Fig Tree (one tree fell over into the second and both are covered in the parasitic fig)
The view looking up....
The view looking downSaturday, July 18, 2009
July 9 Thursday I got a confirmation that I have been accepted for a volunteering position out at Uluru (Ayers Rock) for 10 days at the beginning of September. That was good news.
July 10 Friday. Today a group of four of us: Hendrick and Freddie, both from Germany, Ralph from the UK, and myself, rented a car and toured the Tablelands just south of Cairns. It is a region noted for waterfalls and farmland. We left at 9am and headed to Babinda Falls as our first stop. On the way we passed Walsh's Pyramid, a naturally shaped pyramid that has hiking trails on it. I might come back to climb it later on. Our next stop was Josephine Falls, where Freddie and I swam in the falls and slid down the smooth natural rock waterslide. Next was a two mile hike at Crowley's Lookout, which really was not worth it. There was a decent view from the road and we hiked a mile DOWN to a more expansive view of the same thing and then had to climb back UP a mile. The fourth stop was Mungali Falls, which was a worthy stop. This was followed by the three waterfalls in the Milla Milla loop: Elinjaa (very nice), Zillie (very nice), and Millaa Millaa (rather disappointing, in an overdeveloped kind of way). The highlight of the day came next in the form of The Crater. This is the remain of a large gas vent from deep within the earth that must have erupted during the flood. Tremendous. And as a bonus the ladder of cascades that make up Dinner Falls (and the headwaters of the Barron River) are here and beautiful in their own right. We took a short cut through the backroads to get to Malanda Falls, ,which is on all the tours, but to us it was a major disappointment. It is a completely developed swimming pool with ladders, stairs, artificial beach that happens to have a 10 foot cascade dropping into it (with a nice road overpass right behind it to spoil any picure opportunities). I am sure it is packed during the middle of the day, but we cruised through later in the afternoon and only stayed a few minutes. The final two stops were to the Curtain Fig Tree and the Cathedral Fig Tree on either end of Lake Tinnaroo. Both of these were amazing – like combination Dali/Giger paintings. Very otherworldly. We made it back to Asylum just as the Friday BBQ was getting underway. One of the best things about this day is that we saw all the highlights that two day trips with tours would have covered and it cost us each $31 when we split the total. The tours would have cost us each $300+. Yay for shared expenses!
July 11 Sabbath: Everyone was back from Camp and the church was full this week. I was invited to stay for their potluck and finally left around 3:30 after eating and talking to a lot of different people. And this time as I was walking back one of the ladies from church stopped to give me a ride, which I really appreciated, as it was quite hot in the afternoon. The rest of the day was just relaxing around the hostel.
July 12 Sunday. A couple Dutch travelers told a story of what their friends experienced driving through the Outback. It seems their friends had pulled to the side of the road for the night somewhere in aboriginal territory, which has similar self governance like many Indian reservations in the US. As they sat around their campfire having dinner, they heard gunshots. The shooting got closer until they could hear the bullets going overhead. They ran off into the brush and hid for several hours. One was bitten by something and his arm was swelling up. When they ventured back out to their van, everything had been stripped out of it, but it was still drivable. They did get their friend to a hospital and his bite got treated, but they were told not much would or could be do about the loss of their belongings. No a very reassuring story to hear.
July 13 Monday: Bungy jumping!!! I won a free bungy jump at the last Mad Monday and took advantage of it today. I rode out to the site with 10 girls all going for the first time just like me. If I had not gotten the gift cert. I probably would not have tried bungy. I loved sky diving and did not see much need to try both, but people say the two are almost mutually exclusive on the experience scale and since it was free, let's do it. This jump site is run by the AJ Hackett company, which has locations around the world. The tower is a 50 meter platform over the rainforest and a pool, where you can do a splash hit. I did not really feel nervous in the bus, but by the time I had climbed the platform I was shaking slightly. I got into the line of people already up there and watched several jumps. Then it was my turn. So I went right over, no sense in dragging it out and making it more stressful. I liked it, I hit the water, which most people did not get to do, and so I did it again. The second time was backwards, which was a very different feeling. Much easier because for the first few seconds you do not see what is happening, instead of watching the water rush up towards you. I got up to my shoulders in the water this time. And then it was just watching others jumping until my bus at 2:30. Oh, and a couple Japanese ladies wanted to have pictures taken with me because they watched me jump. Who am I to say no? They were part of a larger group and did not even want to climb the tower to see the view, but seemed to be enjoying watching the rest of us crazy people.
It was Mad Monday again, but this was much more subdued. The group was slightly smaller, but as there is so much changeover at a hostel, this group was just less rambunctious. I still made it home at 3am.
July 14 Tuesday. Finished reading a book (a collection of short stories all set in the Bay Area, not what I would have expected to find in a hostel in Australia), went back to the Botanical Gardens and finished looking through it. I also went by a spot where I had seen some graffiti, got some pictures, and found a aboriginal family living under a bridge. This was a reminder that the poor are never far away, and while this seems to be an awesome place to be if you are homeless, it does not make the situation any more satisfying to those who live it.
July 15 Wednesday. In the early afternoon, Adam (from Sweden), Adam (from Canada), Adam (from England), and I went to the Cairns lagoon and had a small bbq. It was a nice sunny day and we were surrounded by people working on their tans. Hendrick, Elsa, Henning, and I went to Woolshed, RhinoBar, and The Heritage to get free food at each location for dinner (Spaghetti with vegetables, spice Thai curry, and pasta with mushrooms). By the time we finished that we were all stuffed. Tonight was the third game of State of Origin and since I watched the first two while in PNG I wanted to see the conclusion. The Maroons representing Queensland (where I am currently) had won the first two contests and wanted a clean sweep. But the Blues of NSW made sure they came away with at least one victory by taking the game 28-16. My dive card finally arrived today. Thank you mom. Now I can get some diving in early next week before I start down the coast. I also mailed off another package home, so that should arrive in about a week.
July 16 Thursday I made arrangements to do some diving now that I have my card. I'll be living aboard a ship Sunday Monday and Tuesday, diving along the Great Barrier Reef. That will give me 10 dives and bump me up to Advance Dive certification, which will allow me to do deeper dives and night dives as well as a few other beneficial things. It will cost me just over $410, which is a great price and it includes the two nights accommodations on the boat, plus all meals during the three days. In PNG an advanced course would only include the required 5 dives, no accommodations, and run $400+. I also continued looking for rideshares down the coast. I am heading in the wrong direction this time of year, so the options are somewhat limited. Everyone is heading north to the warmer weather. It is a toss up as to whether it would be better to buy a travelers van/car and sell it in Sydney or get a bus pass. If Gabe was here it would be a no brainer, buying a car would be a great way to really keep the expenses down, but while I am doing this alone it makes the decision harder. The last couple days there has been a fair in town and tonight as Hendrick, Henning, Elsa, Vickie, and I were walking back to Asylum after getting free food we watched a nice fireworks display. It went on for a decent amount of time and had a large variety of fireworks. The one thing that really stuck out to me was that none of the fireworks were of the high altitude type we see so commonly in the US.
July 10 Friday. Today a group of four of us: Hendrick and Freddie, both from Germany, Ralph from the UK, and myself, rented a car and toured the Tablelands just south of Cairns. It is a region noted for waterfalls and farmland. We left at 9am and headed to Babinda Falls as our first stop. On the way we passed Walsh's Pyramid, a naturally shaped pyramid that has hiking trails on it. I might come back to climb it later on. Our next stop was Josephine Falls, where Freddie and I swam in the falls and slid down the smooth natural rock waterslide. Next was a two mile hike at Crowley's Lookout, which really was not worth it. There was a decent view from the road and we hiked a mile DOWN to a more expansive view of the same thing and then had to climb back UP a mile. The fourth stop was Mungali Falls, which was a worthy stop. This was followed by the three waterfalls in the Milla Milla loop: Elinjaa (very nice), Zillie (very nice), and Millaa Millaa (rather disappointing, in an overdeveloped kind of way). The highlight of the day came next in the form of The Crater. This is the remain of a large gas vent from deep within the earth that must have erupted during the flood. Tremendous. And as a bonus the ladder of cascades that make up Dinner Falls (and the headwaters of the Barron River) are here and beautiful in their own right. We took a short cut through the backroads to get to Malanda Falls, ,which is on all the tours, but to us it was a major disappointment. It is a completely developed swimming pool with ladders, stairs, artificial beach that happens to have a 10 foot cascade dropping into it (with a nice road overpass right behind it to spoil any picure opportunities). I am sure it is packed during the middle of the day, but we cruised through later in the afternoon and only stayed a few minutes. The final two stops were to the Curtain Fig Tree and the Cathedral Fig Tree on either end of Lake Tinnaroo. Both of these were amazing – like combination Dali/Giger paintings. Very otherworldly. We made it back to Asylum just as the Friday BBQ was getting underway. One of the best things about this day is that we saw all the highlights that two day trips with tours would have covered and it cost us each $31 when we split the total. The tours would have cost us each $300+. Yay for shared expenses!
July 11 Sabbath: Everyone was back from Camp and the church was full this week. I was invited to stay for their potluck and finally left around 3:30 after eating and talking to a lot of different people. And this time as I was walking back one of the ladies from church stopped to give me a ride, which I really appreciated, as it was quite hot in the afternoon. The rest of the day was just relaxing around the hostel.
July 12 Sunday. A couple Dutch travelers told a story of what their friends experienced driving through the Outback. It seems their friends had pulled to the side of the road for the night somewhere in aboriginal territory, which has similar self governance like many Indian reservations in the US. As they sat around their campfire having dinner, they heard gunshots. The shooting got closer until they could hear the bullets going overhead. They ran off into the brush and hid for several hours. One was bitten by something and his arm was swelling up. When they ventured back out to their van, everything had been stripped out of it, but it was still drivable. They did get their friend to a hospital and his bite got treated, but they were told not much would or could be do about the loss of their belongings. No a very reassuring story to hear.
July 13 Monday: Bungy jumping!!! I won a free bungy jump at the last Mad Monday and took advantage of it today. I rode out to the site with 10 girls all going for the first time just like me. If I had not gotten the gift cert. I probably would not have tried bungy. I loved sky diving and did not see much need to try both, but people say the two are almost mutually exclusive on the experience scale and since it was free, let's do it. This jump site is run by the AJ Hackett company, which has locations around the world. The tower is a 50 meter platform over the rainforest and a pool, where you can do a splash hit. I did not really feel nervous in the bus, but by the time I had climbed the platform I was shaking slightly. I got into the line of people already up there and watched several jumps. Then it was my turn. So I went right over, no sense in dragging it out and making it more stressful. I liked it, I hit the water, which most people did not get to do, and so I did it again. The second time was backwards, which was a very different feeling. Much easier because for the first few seconds you do not see what is happening, instead of watching the water rush up towards you. I got up to my shoulders in the water this time. And then it was just watching others jumping until my bus at 2:30. Oh, and a couple Japanese ladies wanted to have pictures taken with me because they watched me jump. Who am I to say no? They were part of a larger group and did not even want to climb the tower to see the view, but seemed to be enjoying watching the rest of us crazy people.
It was Mad Monday again, but this was much more subdued. The group was slightly smaller, but as there is so much changeover at a hostel, this group was just less rambunctious. I still made it home at 3am.
July 14 Tuesday. Finished reading a book (a collection of short stories all set in the Bay Area, not what I would have expected to find in a hostel in Australia), went back to the Botanical Gardens and finished looking through it. I also went by a spot where I had seen some graffiti, got some pictures, and found a aboriginal family living under a bridge. This was a reminder that the poor are never far away, and while this seems to be an awesome place to be if you are homeless, it does not make the situation any more satisfying to those who live it.
July 15 Wednesday. In the early afternoon, Adam (from Sweden), Adam (from Canada), Adam (from England), and I went to the Cairns lagoon and had a small bbq. It was a nice sunny day and we were surrounded by people working on their tans. Hendrick, Elsa, Henning, and I went to Woolshed, RhinoBar, and The Heritage to get free food at each location for dinner (Spaghetti with vegetables, spice Thai curry, and pasta with mushrooms). By the time we finished that we were all stuffed. Tonight was the third game of State of Origin and since I watched the first two while in PNG I wanted to see the conclusion. The Maroons representing Queensland (where I am currently) had won the first two contests and wanted a clean sweep. But the Blues of NSW made sure they came away with at least one victory by taking the game 28-16. My dive card finally arrived today. Thank you mom. Now I can get some diving in early next week before I start down the coast. I also mailed off another package home, so that should arrive in about a week.
July 16 Thursday I made arrangements to do some diving now that I have my card. I'll be living aboard a ship Sunday Monday and Tuesday, diving along the Great Barrier Reef. That will give me 10 dives and bump me up to Advance Dive certification, which will allow me to do deeper dives and night dives as well as a few other beneficial things. It will cost me just over $410, which is a great price and it includes the two nights accommodations on the boat, plus all meals during the three days. In PNG an advanced course would only include the required 5 dives, no accommodations, and run $400+. I also continued looking for rideshares down the coast. I am heading in the wrong direction this time of year, so the options are somewhat limited. Everyone is heading north to the warmer weather. It is a toss up as to whether it would be better to buy a travelers van/car and sell it in Sydney or get a bus pass. If Gabe was here it would be a no brainer, buying a car would be a great way to really keep the expenses down, but while I am doing this alone it makes the decision harder. The last couple days there has been a fair in town and tonight as Hendrick, Henning, Elsa, Vickie, and I were walking back to Asylum after getting free food we watched a nice fireworks display. It went on for a decent amount of time and had a large variety of fireworks. The one thing that really stuck out to me was that none of the fireworks were of the high altitude type we see so commonly in the US.
Pics to go with previous post
Butterfly at Kuranda Butterfly Sanctuary
Butterflies at Kuranda Butterfly Sanctuary
The SDA Church in Cairns
Photogenic Pier at the Cairns harbor
The USS Essex
July 1 Wednesday I spent a lot of time walking around today, probably put in seven miles. First down to the harbor to see the America naval vessels, the USS Essex, a carrier, and the USS Tortuga, its companion supply ship. Some of the 6000 sailors have been wandering town for the past week or so and will be for another week. The haircuts give them away. Which reminds me I need a haircut myself and made a note of a barbershop, while walking around. Then a serpentine path throughout the first few streets up from the promenade, ending at a shopping center that has one of the main grocery stores in Cairns. With my supplies, I returned to base. Lunch was a veggie pizza for $7. The place called it a large, but they only offer one size so it is kind of misleading. It was plenty big enough for one person, that is for sure.
July 2 Thursday I spent the morning online exploring and catching up now that I know I have a stable internet source for a while. I bought a world map. It is not my first choice. The Japanese guy I met in Madang had a really nice, compact multi-page atlas, but it was Japanese. This is a single world map and it will have to do for a wile, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Thank you U2. I had a banana and chocolate crepe on my way back to base after wandering around for several hours.
July 3 Friday. I made the decision to stay here for at least another week, after getting an email from Gabe about his progress. I've talked to several travel agents about various packages and like I thought the choices are overwhelming. I'm also looking for volunteering opportunities. My visa does not allow me to work, and from talking to other travelers, the jobs are all taken right now, anyway. There are A LOT of travelers here right now. Friday's the Asylum hosts a bbq and probably 70 of the residents where there. They actually made special food for the three of us that identified ourselves as vegetarian. It is a cornucopia of nationalities here. I was at a table with a French guy, a Chilean, two German girls, two French Swiss girls, a German guy, and a Japanese guy. Some have been here for months, some are here for school, some for work, most for vacation. Some have bought cars, some are hitchhiking, etc etc etc. The language differences slow us down only a little. While out for the afternoon, I bought a couple Nussgipfel at a Swiss bakery. These will be for tomorrow. I got some bread and cheese and more juice at the supermarket.
July 4 Sabbath. Happy 4th of July everyone back in America! My day started off with cornflakes and banana slices plus an orange, then a pleasant 40 minute walk to church. The Cairns SDA church/school is located in a nice neighborhood a couple miles in from the shoreline. The attendance was sparse, only because most of the members are at a campmeeting at Townsville, which has been running for the past week. Normally it is a busy church and they have a potluck every week, except this weekend. A 79 year old man gave the first sermon of his life, since the main pastor was also at the campmeeting. He went over a bunch of the promises given in the Psalms. People were friendly and wanted to know if I would be around for a little while. One lady brought a bag of pomelos to distribute and I got one. I had it with my lunch and it was good but very tart.
July 5 Sunday I slept in this morning, but went power walking in the afternoon; about 20 km, including a 7.5 km loop in the mountains behind the Botanical Gardens. The peak of Mount Lumley had some decent view points, but most had trees blocking significant parts of them and made picture taking moot almost. The Mount Whitfield side was similar. The Gardens are free, but they close early in the afternoon, so I only got through part of it and will go back to see the rest later. There are Bush turkeys everywhere and you can see immediately that they do not have any predators of substance, because they will let you get within a couple feet before they even look up from eating. My return home was through part of the rainforest/swamp in the center of town. It has a nice boardwalk winding through the park and signs say crocodile sightings are not unusual, although I have yet to see one.
July 6 Monday. I went on a day trip to the little town of Kuranda today. I was picked up by a shuttle at 7:25 and taken to the Kuranda Railway station. By 8:30 the train was loaded with passengers and we made our departure. The train makes its way slowly up from the coastline floor, along the Barron River gorge, past several waterfalls, most notably Barron Falls, and to the town of Kuranda. There was a lot of historical information given during the train ride about the man who single handedly envisioned the railway and through sheer determination saw it to completion. The main falls was impressive even though it is not the rainy season, but the pictures of it in full flow are amazing. The water's power is harnessed by an Australian power company in several places down the gorge. After a brief stop for photos, we continued to the town.
Kuranda itself is a tourist trap, with endless souvenir shops and pricey eateries. I skipped all of that and went to three places: The Butterfly Sanctuary, The Koala Garden, and Birdworld. I spent a long time in Birdworld, long enough for a cockatoo to bite off a piece of my camera. It still works fine, but the lens is not covered completely when the camera is turned off. Luckily I have a good case for it. Next, I spent a long time in the Butterfly Sanctuary. Dad would have loved it here. I remember going to the Butterfly exhibit when they first opened it at Marine World. There were many many butterflies, and each time I went back there were less and less. This was like that first trip magnified by ten. Butterflies everywhere including many of their signature ones: the Ulysses and the Cairns Birdwings. The Ulysses has brilliant blue coloring on its upper wings, but that is only visible when they are flying because the instant they land their wings are folded up. The Birdwings are like the butterfly in my picture from PNG. They have bright yellow on their undersides and a reflective green on top that shines in the sunlight. There was a photographer there who said it took almost 800 shots to get one of the Ulysses with the wings opened. He was relieved to have gotten one. He was still trying to get the green of the Birdwing in flight. I got a picture with two of them that shows the green, even if they are slightly blurry. I would recommend other visitors skip the Koala Garden. It was a small facility, the highlights being a kangaroo and wallaby petting area and a place where you could get a picture taken with a koala. The pictures were more than I would be willing to pay and feeding the wallabies was nice, but not really worth the price of admission. The other two places were wonderful. I also walked a couple miles out of town to a viewpoint looking back to Cairns. Good exercise.
The return trip to Cairns was via the Skyrail, a six seat gondola ride above the rainforest. You can get out at two different midway points and visit lookouts/small walking tracks/etc. This was definitely an interesting way of seeing the terrain, but not for those afraid of heights. My camera battery decided to run out on me at the second midway point, so I missed a few great shots as we crested the final hill and had spectacular views down on Cairns, but I had a thoroughly enjoyable day
At the Asylum, Monday means Mad Monday, where the majority of the residents collectively go out to dinner and then basically a pub crawl. A group of almost 80 went this time. There is free food, games, giveaways (I won a free bungy jump!), discounts, lots of music, and of course, general madness. I got home at 3 am.
July 2 Thursday I spent the morning online exploring and catching up now that I know I have a stable internet source for a while. I bought a world map. It is not my first choice. The Japanese guy I met in Madang had a really nice, compact multi-page atlas, but it was Japanese. This is a single world map and it will have to do for a wile, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Thank you U2. I had a banana and chocolate crepe on my way back to base after wandering around for several hours.
July 3 Friday. I made the decision to stay here for at least another week, after getting an email from Gabe about his progress. I've talked to several travel agents about various packages and like I thought the choices are overwhelming. I'm also looking for volunteering opportunities. My visa does not allow me to work, and from talking to other travelers, the jobs are all taken right now, anyway. There are A LOT of travelers here right now. Friday's the Asylum hosts a bbq and probably 70 of the residents where there. They actually made special food for the three of us that identified ourselves as vegetarian. It is a cornucopia of nationalities here. I was at a table with a French guy, a Chilean, two German girls, two French Swiss girls, a German guy, and a Japanese guy. Some have been here for months, some are here for school, some for work, most for vacation. Some have bought cars, some are hitchhiking, etc etc etc. The language differences slow us down only a little. While out for the afternoon, I bought a couple Nussgipfel at a Swiss bakery. These will be for tomorrow. I got some bread and cheese and more juice at the supermarket.
July 4 Sabbath. Happy 4th of July everyone back in America! My day started off with cornflakes and banana slices plus an orange, then a pleasant 40 minute walk to church. The Cairns SDA church/school is located in a nice neighborhood a couple miles in from the shoreline. The attendance was sparse, only because most of the members are at a campmeeting at Townsville, which has been running for the past week. Normally it is a busy church and they have a potluck every week, except this weekend. A 79 year old man gave the first sermon of his life, since the main pastor was also at the campmeeting. He went over a bunch of the promises given in the Psalms. People were friendly and wanted to know if I would be around for a little while. One lady brought a bag of pomelos to distribute and I got one. I had it with my lunch and it was good but very tart.
July 5 Sunday I slept in this morning, but went power walking in the afternoon; about 20 km, including a 7.5 km loop in the mountains behind the Botanical Gardens. The peak of Mount Lumley had some decent view points, but most had trees blocking significant parts of them and made picture taking moot almost. The Mount Whitfield side was similar. The Gardens are free, but they close early in the afternoon, so I only got through part of it and will go back to see the rest later. There are Bush turkeys everywhere and you can see immediately that they do not have any predators of substance, because they will let you get within a couple feet before they even look up from eating. My return home was through part of the rainforest/swamp in the center of town. It has a nice boardwalk winding through the park and signs say crocodile sightings are not unusual, although I have yet to see one.
July 6 Monday. I went on a day trip to the little town of Kuranda today. I was picked up by a shuttle at 7:25 and taken to the Kuranda Railway station. By 8:30 the train was loaded with passengers and we made our departure. The train makes its way slowly up from the coastline floor, along the Barron River gorge, past several waterfalls, most notably Barron Falls, and to the town of Kuranda. There was a lot of historical information given during the train ride about the man who single handedly envisioned the railway and through sheer determination saw it to completion. The main falls was impressive even though it is not the rainy season, but the pictures of it in full flow are amazing. The water's power is harnessed by an Australian power company in several places down the gorge. After a brief stop for photos, we continued to the town.
Kuranda itself is a tourist trap, with endless souvenir shops and pricey eateries. I skipped all of that and went to three places: The Butterfly Sanctuary, The Koala Garden, and Birdworld. I spent a long time in Birdworld, long enough for a cockatoo to bite off a piece of my camera. It still works fine, but the lens is not covered completely when the camera is turned off. Luckily I have a good case for it. Next, I spent a long time in the Butterfly Sanctuary. Dad would have loved it here. I remember going to the Butterfly exhibit when they first opened it at Marine World. There were many many butterflies, and each time I went back there were less and less. This was like that first trip magnified by ten. Butterflies everywhere including many of their signature ones: the Ulysses and the Cairns Birdwings. The Ulysses has brilliant blue coloring on its upper wings, but that is only visible when they are flying because the instant they land their wings are folded up. The Birdwings are like the butterfly in my picture from PNG. They have bright yellow on their undersides and a reflective green on top that shines in the sunlight. There was a photographer there who said it took almost 800 shots to get one of the Ulysses with the wings opened. He was relieved to have gotten one. He was still trying to get the green of the Birdwing in flight. I got a picture with two of them that shows the green, even if they are slightly blurry. I would recommend other visitors skip the Koala Garden. It was a small facility, the highlights being a kangaroo and wallaby petting area and a place where you could get a picture taken with a koala. The pictures were more than I would be willing to pay and feeding the wallabies was nice, but not really worth the price of admission. The other two places were wonderful. I also walked a couple miles out of town to a viewpoint looking back to Cairns. Good exercise.
The return trip to Cairns was via the Skyrail, a six seat gondola ride above the rainforest. You can get out at two different midway points and visit lookouts/small walking tracks/etc. This was definitely an interesting way of seeing the terrain, but not for those afraid of heights. My camera battery decided to run out on me at the second midway point, so I missed a few great shots as we crested the final hill and had spectacular views down on Cairns, but I had a thoroughly enjoyable day
At the Asylum, Monday means Mad Monday, where the majority of the residents collectively go out to dinner and then basically a pub crawl. A group of almost 80 went this time. There is free food, games, giveaways (I won a free bungy jump!), discounts, lots of music, and of course, general madness. I got home at 3 am.
Friday, July 3, 2009
June 27 Sabbath This Sabbath finds me at the Garden Hills SDA church in Moresby, and it is an apt name. This is like a little oasis in the midst of one of the settlements. There is extreme poverty all around, but the church grounds are like a park and while the building is simple it stands out from the surroundings. Around 150 people are in attendance. That number includes around 30 new interests from the meetings of the past two weeks. I was treated like a guest of honor again and had a crowd around asking questions after the service. The pastor was kind of pushy about needing me to raise some money for a few of his pet projects that he was describing to me. Eventually, Joel, Watson, and I made our way back to the Transit Lodge with the bags Watson had been holding for me. He lives in the settlement and I got to meet his family. Most of the people living in this particular settlement come from the highlands. Like people everywhere they make the pilgrimage to the big city to try and find a better life, but it eludes them. I take a nap for a good chunk of the afternoon, then make a list of the things I need to try and do before I leave on Tuesday.
June 28 Sunday: I spent nearly the entire day at the Rugby Stadium. I went with Joel, who was working with a Police security detail at the stadium. I brought a book of short stories and poetry, but mostly from 10:30 am until 5 pm it was rugby rugby rugby. They actually had an earlier game starting at 9 am, but we did not watch it. So that means for about $4 you can spend a whole day at the major sporting arena in Mosbi watching 5 full rugby games. Now that is getting your money's worth. The first four games of the day are all between local city league teams and lead up to the showcase match between the Muruks and the City Rangers in PNG Professional Rugby League competition. Despite watching a fair amount of rugby during my time here, I still do not understand the penalty segment. I get the basic rules, but sometimes on penalties they get to kick to advance the ball, sometimes they have a scrum, sometimes their tackle count gets reset and the why has eluded me. There is also a tremendous difference between footie and rugby, with footie being much more physical from what I have seen, and they are kicking all the time. There was a pronounced difference in the skill level between the preliminary local matches and the Muruks/Rangers.
After the last game, which the Rangers held on to win 20-18, in the best game of the day, I got to visit the inside of a police station, before Joel and another officer walked me back to Gordons. I picked up my laundry from reception and did most of my packing. Then I had dinner and finished another book, so I can lighten my load in anticipation of a large charge when I fly to Australia.
June 29 Monday: I was cleaning my breakfast dishes in the lodge kitchen when a man came up to me. He introduced himself as Samraj and said he recognized me from the revival meeting on Friday. He is Sri Lankan and SDA and was at the lodge to visit the other Sri Lankan I had met before. Samraj says there are only 7 or so fellow country men and he likes to keep tabs on them and talk to them abour religion. And wonder of wonders he lives near PAU, where he was soon going. So an hour later, I was at the Gordons buses center with him heading to PAU. The school is in mid term break, but I got a good tour of the campus, which is huge. The school buildings cover about 150 acres, but they have an enormous amount of land devoted to gardens and wild spaces. I visited the campus church, the nursing dept, the library (undergoing renovations while school is out) and various other building. At the IT dept where Samraj works, another of his coworkers with a car was heading back into town, so he gave both of us a ride. Samraj went to visit another of the Sri Lankans and I went with his coworker to pick up Cat 6 cable to go into the library. Then he treated me to a late lunch and dropped me off at the lodge. I made sure my transportation to the airport was arranged for the morning, made some adjustments to my packing, bought some fresh bananas and peanuts at the open air market across the street to use up some of my remaining money and had a relaxing evening.
June 30 Tuesday: I gave my PNG cheap phone to one person who has helped me out, dropped off my room key,and headed to the airport at 7:30. We stopped by Airways to try one more time to get my PADI card, but the office was locked up despite the posted hours. Oh well, it is as much my fault for not getting that taken care of sooner. Joel was waiting at the airport and I gave him a letter to mail for me and some money to cover the letter, as well as some for him and Watson. Even though my flight was scheduled for 9:30 departure, they had us board at 8:30 and we left half an hour early. The flight itself was uneventful and though I had a window seat it did not help much, since cloud cover obscured nearly everything. The temperature is noticeably cooler in Cairns and while it is only a few degrees, I like it already. There are a lot of backpackers in Cairns and the city seems to cater to them quite a bit. I found a place three blocks from the shoreline and close to down town for $20 per night, which includes breakfast on site and free dinner vouchers to local establishments, and a host of other amenities. I am in a four bed room with a Canadian who has been in Aust for 8 months, a Frenchman I've only briefly met and a third guy who was asleep when I arrived to go to bed myself and gone in the morning when I awoke.
This is a city, but it has many parks and seems to have a host of wildlife all around. There are many birdwatchers with their telescopes and binoculars along the shore. I saw mud skippers there as well and while I had always thought they were small (less than 6 inches long), these are well over a foot long. There is a zoo within walking distance and I may go there for a visit. There are also many many little art galleries with beautiful photography and various art forms produced by people from the area. But the prices are shocking. Luckily I do not need to buy very much in the way of art on this trip.
I did succumb and buy one t-shirt. Now I need to get in touch with Gabe and find out how his back recovery is going and decide if I need to extend my time in Australia or how we proceed. There seems to be an overwhelming array of things to do in and around this part of Australia. Trying to pick a tour company will be a challenge in itself. I had dinner at a place five blocks from the hostel and it was a good portion of vegetarian spaghetti. Onwards to July.....
June 28 Sunday: I spent nearly the entire day at the Rugby Stadium. I went with Joel, who was working with a Police security detail at the stadium. I brought a book of short stories and poetry, but mostly from 10:30 am until 5 pm it was rugby rugby rugby. They actually had an earlier game starting at 9 am, but we did not watch it. So that means for about $4 you can spend a whole day at the major sporting arena in Mosbi watching 5 full rugby games. Now that is getting your money's worth. The first four games of the day are all between local city league teams and lead up to the showcase match between the Muruks and the City Rangers in PNG Professional Rugby League competition. Despite watching a fair amount of rugby during my time here, I still do not understand the penalty segment. I get the basic rules, but sometimes on penalties they get to kick to advance the ball, sometimes they have a scrum, sometimes their tackle count gets reset and the why has eluded me. There is also a tremendous difference between footie and rugby, with footie being much more physical from what I have seen, and they are kicking all the time. There was a pronounced difference in the skill level between the preliminary local matches and the Muruks/Rangers.
After the last game, which the Rangers held on to win 20-18, in the best game of the day, I got to visit the inside of a police station, before Joel and another officer walked me back to Gordons. I picked up my laundry from reception and did most of my packing. Then I had dinner and finished another book, so I can lighten my load in anticipation of a large charge when I fly to Australia.
June 29 Monday: I was cleaning my breakfast dishes in the lodge kitchen when a man came up to me. He introduced himself as Samraj and said he recognized me from the revival meeting on Friday. He is Sri Lankan and SDA and was at the lodge to visit the other Sri Lankan I had met before. Samraj says there are only 7 or so fellow country men and he likes to keep tabs on them and talk to them abour religion. And wonder of wonders he lives near PAU, where he was soon going. So an hour later, I was at the Gordons buses center with him heading to PAU. The school is in mid term break, but I got a good tour of the campus, which is huge. The school buildings cover about 150 acres, but they have an enormous amount of land devoted to gardens and wild spaces. I visited the campus church, the nursing dept, the library (undergoing renovations while school is out) and various other building. At the IT dept where Samraj works, another of his coworkers with a car was heading back into town, so he gave both of us a ride. Samraj went to visit another of the Sri Lankans and I went with his coworker to pick up Cat 6 cable to go into the library. Then he treated me to a late lunch and dropped me off at the lodge. I made sure my transportation to the airport was arranged for the morning, made some adjustments to my packing, bought some fresh bananas and peanuts at the open air market across the street to use up some of my remaining money and had a relaxing evening.
June 30 Tuesday: I gave my PNG cheap phone to one person who has helped me out, dropped off my room key,and headed to the airport at 7:30. We stopped by Airways to try one more time to get my PADI card, but the office was locked up despite the posted hours. Oh well, it is as much my fault for not getting that taken care of sooner. Joel was waiting at the airport and I gave him a letter to mail for me and some money to cover the letter, as well as some for him and Watson. Even though my flight was scheduled for 9:30 departure, they had us board at 8:30 and we left half an hour early. The flight itself was uneventful and though I had a window seat it did not help much, since cloud cover obscured nearly everything. The temperature is noticeably cooler in Cairns and while it is only a few degrees, I like it already. There are a lot of backpackers in Cairns and the city seems to cater to them quite a bit. I found a place three blocks from the shoreline and close to down town for $20 per night, which includes breakfast on site and free dinner vouchers to local establishments, and a host of other amenities. I am in a four bed room with a Canadian who has been in Aust for 8 months, a Frenchman I've only briefly met and a third guy who was asleep when I arrived to go to bed myself and gone in the morning when I awoke.
This is a city, but it has many parks and seems to have a host of wildlife all around. There are many birdwatchers with their telescopes and binoculars along the shore. I saw mud skippers there as well and while I had always thought they were small (less than 6 inches long), these are well over a foot long. There is a zoo within walking distance and I may go there for a visit. There are also many many little art galleries with beautiful photography and various art forms produced by people from the area. But the prices are shocking. Luckily I do not need to buy very much in the way of art on this trip.
I did succumb and buy one t-shirt. Now I need to get in touch with Gabe and find out how his back recovery is going and decide if I need to extend my time in Australia or how we proceed. There seems to be an overwhelming array of things to do in and around this part of Australia. Trying to pick a tour company will be a challenge in itself. I had dinner at a place five blocks from the hostel and it was a good portion of vegetarian spaghetti. Onwards to July.....
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