Sad news

It is with extreme sorrow that we must share the announcement of the accidental death of our beloved cat, Picabo - adventurer, entertainer and friend. Many thanks to Irene and her neighbours for taking such good care of her over the last two months.

Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays

We left Townsville and headed south along the Bruce Highway. The winds were strong and our little campa, with its high top and short wheel base, was blown all over the road. Both the driver and the passenger were feeling a little frazzled. These vehicles are not at all aerodynamic. We were wishing we had rented the Kea camper van with the pop up (therefore pop down) top instead. After a quick lunch on King's Beach in Bowen and a photograph at the giant mango, we decided to press on to Airlie Beach which was a mere 45 minutes away.

We were rather disappointed to find out that Airlie Beach's beach is only 200 feet long. There is a beautiful marina filled with expensive boats and a giant man-made swimming lagoon, but the beach itself is minimal. Airlie Beach's claim to fame is that it is the gateway to the Whitsunday islands. The only way to access the Whitsundays is by boat. We had not factored a sailing expedition into our travel plans, but we quickly realized that we would be making a big mistake if we cheaped out and kept on going. So on Thursday we went shopping ("Here we go again," says Craig) for a sailing trip. There are dozens of companies on the main street selling dozens of sailing trips. Our options were limited by the fact that we were booking at the last minute, but by noon, we had secured ourselves passage on the Whitsunday Drifter for 3 days and 2 nights. Our biggest fears were backpackers and bed bugs. Backpackers because the town is full of them and they are all going on sailing trips, and bed bugs because the literature on the boat informed us that we weren't allowed to bring bags with zippers aboard because that's where the pesky creatures hide. ("Great," says Lynda. "I've been eaten alive by sand flies and now I have to worry about bed bugs.")

At 9:00 am Friday morning we headed down to the marina to board our sailing vessel. The Whitsunday Drifter is a 54 foot schooner made from Fijian timber. The crew consisted of our captain, Nathan, and our first mate/cook/scuba instructor, Liz. Once the correct passenger manifest materialized, the paying passengers included Irene and Riccard from Spain, Ben and Susie from Melbourne, brothers Peter and Mark from Brisbane and Sydney respectively and Julie and Raap (Oops, I mean Craig and Lynda) from Canada. We are happy to report that it was a group of "normal" people. There was not a backpacker in sight. An added note: it seems that Lynda (the rule follower) was the only one reading the rules about the zippers because we were the only ones who brought bags without them.

So, off we sailed. Craig was in his glory. He quickly shed his pluggers and was put to work pulling ropes, tying knots and hoisting sails. His dream of being a deckhand in Australia had come to life. We sailed directly out to the islands and our first stop was the world famous Whitehaven Beach. It is remarkable because the beach is made up not of sand or coral, but white silica, a mineral that comes out of crevasses under the water that are several hundred metres deep. This sand is so pure that it was used to make the mirror of the Hubbel telescope. It is truly a gorgeous sight. We spent our first night anchored in a passage between Hook island and Whitsunday island.
After breakfast on day 2 we sailed to the windward side of Hook Island to some secluded beaches with coral reefs where we had the opportunity to snorkel. Craig was the only one brave (or medically fit) enough to try his hand at scuba diving. Craig and Liz started diving just off the beach and worked their way out to bigger and more amazing coral formations. The deeper they went, the bigger the fish got. In the end they made it down to 12 metres.

After a lunch of sausage sangers, no one was energetic enough to snorkel. Nathan, Liz and Craig provided some free entertainment. Nathan, in the dinghy, and Craig and Liz in the water, swam and fed two large Maori Wrasse and a couple of Travalis. They are very gentle fish, but when they open their mouths and take your whole hand inside, it can be startling.We stayed on the north side of Hook Island that night and were able to watch an amazing sunset. Lynda was more interested in the 15 million dollar yacht that was anchored beside us

Early on the morning of day 3 we anchored off a beach on the exclusive (a.k.a. expensive) Hayman Island where we spent several hours snorkelling. We returned to the ship for lunch and then summoned all our new learned sailing skills, trimmed our sails for maximum spead and headed back to Airlie Beach. Even with our best efforts the backpackers in thier sleek racing yachts had a four or five knot advantage. We were all very sad to see the trip come to an end, even those of us who were anxious to return to our accommodation and take a long, hot shower.

Later that evening, we all met up

for a delicious dinner at Fish Divine. We must have been a tolerable group because even our Captain, Nathan, joined us.

Since the end of the sailing trip we have been slowly making our way to McKay to see another one of Lynda's cousins. We spent Monday night at a campground in Conway Beach and are currently at a campground in Midge Point. It took four weeks, but Lynda has discovered that 30 sunscreen really does work and failing to apply it does result in sunburn. Luckily her lips have returned to their normal size and she no longer looks like someone who has had an overdose of Botox. Craig, on the other hand, is waiting for the water to drain out of his sinuses so he can hear again. Perhaps he was not that medically fit after all.
Ahhh, life is an adventure. Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!

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Townsville: Beaches to Bushland

We can't imagine ever being tired of the beautiful beaches in Australia. Craig is especially enamored. He frequently mentions the fact that we should be taking more beach days. It doesn't take much to convince me, but now that I have Diana Gabaldon's latest book in my possession we will be spending a lot more time at the beach.
After driving past field after field of sugar cane "we" decided to take a tour of the sugar mill in Tully. Craig was very keen. Lynda decided to be the "good wife" and support her husband's interests. This is no light weight tour. It actually takes you through a working sugar mill. Things became substantially more interesting when our tour guide handed out the hard hats, safety goggles and ear plugs. In the end, the sugar mill was enjoyed by all,
even Lynda.
Next stop: Townsville. We have enjoyed six wonderful days here. The hottest day being 37 degrees Celcius (eek)! Tanny and Graham are engaging hosts. We have learned many new Australian words and expressions, some of which are not mentionable here. Their residence is like a nature reserve. They are avid birdwatchers. Between all the bird species (bull finches, rainbow lorakeets, goshawks, ibis and those bully cockatoos) and the resident wallabies (Missy and 6-Pack), there is non-stop action. Graham's tours have taken us away from the coast and off the bitumen (Craig's new, favourite word) to mining towns, cattle country and airstrips, big and small. Lynda was happy about finally seeing a "living" kangaroo. It is difficult to say goodbye, but there is still so much traveling to do. Many thanks to Tanny and Graham, especially for their parting gift, our very own billy. For all you sticky beaks, go look that one up!

The Townsville Clan

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Daintree Rainforest

For those of you that have been checking for updates, we do apologize. The first part of our Australian journey took us north to the Daintree rainforest and completely out of internet range, but we're back! The best part is that we are now armed with a Telstra Wireless Broadband device so keeping in touch will be a breeze (it sounds too good to be true, even to us!)

So, let's backtrack. It has not been hard for either of us to adjust to our new vagabond lifestyle. After picking up our Apollo campa van we spent the first few days shopping to fill in gaps in the supplies. Craig is learning that Lynda does not really like grocery shopping. It is a chore that is meant to be accomplished as quickly as possible even if the store is air conditioned. "Yes, there is a lot to choose from dear, but just look at the choices and pick what you feel like eating." Craig has done a bang up job of organizing our belongings. Thanks to the produce department at Woolworths, we have free organizers and very little rattling behind us when we are driving.
Craig has adjusted to driving on the "wrong" side of the road while Lynda has not. Sitting on the "wrong" side of the vehicle combined with gusting wind creates the illusion that we are drifting into the oncoming lane. On one particular occasion Craig lost ten years off his life as Lynda shouted "move over, move over, move over." After a moment of panic, he realized he was doing everything correctly and it was just his passenger panicking again.

What is there not to like about Australia?

...The beaches at Cairns, Yorkey's Knob, Port Douglas, Wonga Beach, and Cape Tribulation. The water is as warm as bath water. You know it is warm when Lynda is in the water first.
...The weather. Apparently, they are having an unusually warm spring with temperatures between 25-30 degrees Celcius. We are loving it now, but that could mean extremely hot temperatures when summer comes.
...The food. We are eating and drinking our way through the country. Exotic fruit at the Cape Tribulation Exotic fruit farm, cheese at the Mungali Creek Biodynamic Dairy farm, coffee at Maloberti's NQ Gold coffee plantation. Everywhere you go there are food tours: bananas, mangoes, limes, macadamia nuts etc.
...The people. Aussies are so friendly and welcoming. We have met some wonderful people in just a short period of time. Some of them are intrigued by our accents while others are fishmen. Craig is drawn to them like a magnet. Just last night at Lake Tinaroo we met a family from Townsville at the campsite. Within 30 minutes, the husband had invited Craig to go fishing with him when we go there next week. That Craig, he's a fast worker. (Never mind Lynda, the teachers still outnumber the electricians by about ten to one.)

For those of you who want to know about the wildlife, we haven't had any close encounters yet. Unless, of course, you count the baby stick bug that found its way into Lynda's shirt on day two. (Yes, she screamed and people looked at her.) On our 7 km hike through the rainforest to the top of Mount Sorrow in Cape Tribulation, we had the distinct feeling that we were being watched (snakes, spiders, lizards, cassowaries?) but we were too absorbed with the 680 metre ascent and descent to care. It isn't called Mt. Sorrow for no reason.

We are heading to Townsville to see Lynda's cousins tomorrow. We are going to do a much better job of keeping on top of this blog. We promise!

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We've arrived Down Under!

It's half past noon, 7:30 pm back home, 25 hours since we left Kathy and Glenn's place,and we're here. The flight was smooth, but long. The first thing we did was dive in the pool, so much better than stuffy planes. We get our campa van tommorrow, so we took a room where we can stretch out and sleep, maybe after one more dip in the pool.

Los Angeles California

After years of anticipation we have finally started our round the world journey. First stop, Los Angeles, California. Luckily we arrived at the airport early. Who knew that Craig would not only be selected for a Nexus secondary examination, but an enhanced security search? Was it his new shirt? His new haircut? Or should he just have listened to Irene who told him it was bad luck to change his shirt when he was wearing it inside out the day before? Oh well, it was all good as we still had time for a Starbuck's coffee before our plane departed.

Kathy and Glenn met us upon our arrival at LAX. Within seconds of leaving the terminal, we had our first Hollywood experience. Walking beside us was a very petite young lady wearing a floppy hat. She looked like any other traveller, but the paparazzi wasn't fooled. They followed her all the way to her waiting SUV. Who was it? Who knows? We checked out people.com and tmz.com to no avail. Her identity remains a mystery.

More importantly, it was a beautiful sunny day and we were off to lunch at a French cafe in Venice. The rest of the afternoon was spent touring around Santa Monica and later we stopped to quench our thirst on a patio in Marina del Rey before heading home for dinner.

On Monday we braved the big hills and cycled down to the beach and along an excellent bike path through Playa del Rey and Marina del Rey to Venice beach. It took us several hours, but we were entertained by the scenery and all the interesting characters we saw along the way. On Tuesday, Glenn arranged a city tour for us during the day. After many hours sitting on a bus we were thrilled to have an opportunity to get some exercise that night. Kathy took Lynda to her workout class at "Easy Fitness" in Venice beach. There was nothing easy about it. Who knew that Kathy's trainer, Kevin, would be as evil as our trainer, Judith? Glenn took Craig on a 45 minute run up and down the hills of Playa del Rey, along the beach, and back up and down those hills. Wow, you can certainly build up a sweat in this climate.

On Wednesday, we hopped on the Disneyland Express Bus at the airport and made the journey to the "happiest place on earth." What more can we say? Another hot, sunny day in California. Note to self: next time we go on Splash Mountain, ask for the seats in the back of the ride. It isn't called "Splash Mountain" for nothing.

There have been a few bumps along the way. Somehow one of us deleted all of our pictures from the first two days here. Very disappointing, but we can always take some more. Maybe not. The charger with the extra battery is in Vancouver. Many thanks to Peggy as both items are on their way here via UPS courier. Good thing we found this out before we left North America.

We are very grateful to our hosts and wonderful friends, Kathy and Glenn. With so many years of hotel and hospitality experience between them, they really know how to make their guests feel welcome. Our own floor of the house, flowers in the room, a fridge full of food, maps of the area and use of their bicycles. We also have the company of "the girls," better known as E.T. and Speckles. Although we are leaving on Friday, our visit has been too short and we wish we were staying longer. Our goal now is to convince them to come and visit us somewhere along this journey so we can all be on holiday together.

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Homeless and off to Pender

We have packed our bags and rented out our house and now that we are homeless, we are off to Borden's Lazy Acres in Pender Harbour for a little break.

After several weeks of moving and cleaning and more cleaning to get out of our home, Craig, Lynda, and Kristin were very happy to take it easy and do just nothing, ie. "read a book".

Kristin took us on many adventures, collecting everything from shells to crabs to starfish. She also spent many hours as everyone's or anyone's personal chaffeur in the Gator, while she practised her driving skills.

Doug took us out to his favourite spot to try our luck at prawning. It's a tradition for the girls

aboard to kiss the "buoys" for good luck. Kristin took her turn.

Bye for now......Paddle harder Dad!

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