Tag: bats

Rainforest and Wallibies (and Cyclone)

February 4, 2011

We survived Cyclone Yasi and are back on track! We ended up being awakened at 6:45am and told to pack up and leave asap as the beachfront was being evacuated. It was kind of tough deciding what to do next; evacuation center or time share high rise for $220 night. We ended up at the time share because we heard the evacuation centers were filling up, and we were told that they had aluminum roofs vs the cement and steel construction of the time share. Safety was definitely the first priority, and also the thought of a very crowded place, sleeping on the hard floor, eating ‘who knows what’, vs a very nice, clean, comfy 2 bedroom time share with three balconies to keep an eye on the storm and an ocean view (it was two blocks away so wasn’t evacuated). We stocked up on food, cooked what we could before losing power (which never happened!), got comfy and lived in luxury for 24 hours! At times during the storm we would go out onto a balcony and the last time, the wind was so strong that we had to duck down and hang on for dear life! There were Magnolia Trees across the street with hundreds of the giant bats swarming around and screeching. I don’t know if that was their normal behavior or if they were confused due to the storm. Very cool to observe! The kids got pics and videos of them. Next morning we decided to rent a car, pack it up with all of our stuff and go driving to the Daintree Rain Forest.

The Daintree Rainforest is a World Heritage Site and this area contains the highest number of plant and animal species that are rare, or threatened with extinction, anywhere in the world. It is said to be the first place for plants to flower and is the oldest rain forest in the world. World Heritage Sites are actual “places” that are endangered and protected by the United Nations. The road getting there was a bit of a mess but the drive was beautiful. Australia is much more scenic than I expected. We got there, took a ferry over the Daintree River, and drove along the windy beach road that goes through the Rain Forest. It is also home to the endangered “Cassowary” and there are 86 of them that live there. The Cassowary is the largest land animal in Australia and is actually a bird. We were the only people we saw that day in the forest. We found a place to hike. The trails were covered with debris from the storm. It was our first “outback” sort of experience and we weren’t sure what to expect! Because of all the talk of poisonous insects, snakes, and so on, we were feeling rather daring. It was very damp, due to being a “Rainforest” and the weather conditions from the Cyclone. We heard birds of every nature and insects. We had numerous “panic” moments when someone would be covered with hundreds of funny looking ants and doing the “ant dance” while knocking them off. There was a vine that was very thin and covered with spiky thorns that both Sadie and I got trapped in and of course we panicked to the point where you would have thought we were being strangled! Lol! With each panic moment we would all end up laughing to the point of tears!

On the way back to Cairns from the Rain Forest we saw Wallabies all along the fields off the road! Wallabies are like small kangaroos and live in Australia. We called them kangaroos because they look just like them and were 3-4 feet tall! We saw so many of them! For Australia it seems as common to see Wallabies as to see Deer in the country in the north in America. That was a real treat! So, Wallabies and giant bats are the two most unusual animals we have seen so far! More to come, I am sure!

We got back to town and checked back in to the hostel. We’ll be here for the next 3 or 4 nights and then we will head south. We’re ready for a real “out back experience”!

Great Barrier Reef

February 1, 2011

Today we went on a boat to the Great Barrier Reef. It was an all day excursion. We took the introductory scuba diving class and were able to scuba dive. We also did hours of snorkeling. It was beautiful and basically looked the same as any other reef I have ever snorkeled on. The crew was entertaining, the buffet lunch was nice, and the wine and cheese and crackers at the end were delightful!

There is a category four cyclone (same as our “hurricane”) expected to make land fall tomorrow! We have been advised to pack everything up before we go to bed tonight as if we were leaving in the morning. We are directly across the street from the beach and may need to be evacuated. Julian thinks we should consider renting our car if we get evacuated and just driving north, out of range of the storm. We’ll have one or our regular “meetings” (lol!) in the morning and decide what to do. It’s interesting being on the “tourist” end of a storm coming. We’re just loving life and relaxing while the residents are in a little bit of a panic about being flooded and having their roofs blown off!

So far, we haven’t seen any dangerous or scary insects or animals in Australia. Before coming here, everyone in New Zealand said things like “why would you want to go there? There are insects everywhere and some that can kill you and it’s so noisy with all their sounds!”. The gigantic bats, which are called “flying squirrels” are the only thing out of the ordinary at this point. It seems that there may be some competitive spirit between the New Zealanders and Australians and whose country is best. The Australians joke about the wimpy country of New Zealand! I think New Zealand is a pristine, peaceful, beautiful country and I do hope to go back some day.

Australia Bound

AUSTRALIA

January 31, 2011

I’m on a flight from Sydney to Cairns, watched the sunrise from the plane at 6:00am and am listening to my “Travel’ CD (thank you Michele and Jordan!)! Life is good! I love traveling and seeing the world and all it’s charm!

We arrived in Sydney yesterday morning and met up with Nick at the airport. Once again, we arrived in a foreign country, with no reservations for travel, no map, or plan of how to get to the hostel. We checked costs of public transportation and it turned out that it was cheaper to rent a car for the night; we were leaving again at 6:00 this morning. We drove straight to the hostel; checked in, and took the free bus around the city. What a cool city! Old, character, charm, artsy, café’s, bars, people everywhere. The waterfront was happening and looks like a great place to be. In the evening, at the park across from our Hostel we saw bats everywhere with a wingspan of about 15 inches! There were three large Magnolia trees in a row and they were flying all around them and feeding on the seed pods; sometimes fighting over one. They were very cool to observe. One would land on a branch, and use the little hand like things to grab hold and pull itself around the branch. We will be back here at the end of the trip and have time to tour around.

This morning we’re flying to Cairns, which is at the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. From Cairns we’ll visit the Rain Forest and have an Outback experience. We’ve heard a lot about this part of Australia and are looking forward to being there! Our plan is to rent a car In Cairns, spend time there and then take our time visiting little towns along the coast as we work our way back to Sydney; we’ll have 30 days to do it in.