The Outback - Savannah Way to the Top End

another curtain fig

To experience the outback we took the road less traveled..... the Savannah Hwy. To leave the coast and the rainforest the road winds its way up to the Atherton Tablelands where you suddenly emerge from the rainforest onto a plateau .......sprawling farmland where they grow coffee, tea, peanuts, hay, sugar cane, bananas etc. They did dam a river to control the flooding and build an irrigation system that without which they probably wouldn't be able to grow half the crops that they do. Slowly this turns into endless grasslands and grazing lands leased by the ranchers. Traffic became less, braham herds became more..... sometimes on the road with us. These roads seem to be traveled by less tourists and more Australians headed for the rich fishing grounds in the north.......checkout barramundi, the fish of choice for most Australians, similar to our halibut. Or “gray nomads” as they like to call themselves......retired folks that now have time to explore their country and of course they're seeking warmer weather trying to escape the southern winter. Australians understand camping gear , we've never seen such elaborate camp set ups, that pack up so small and are so versatile. Most drive 4wds with snorkels for when they have to ford flooded roads and lets them access all the national parks......lots of dirt tracks to some incredible places..... reminds me of the north west territories. We are not driving a four wheel drive. In general Australians are very welcoming and friendly but we found the further we got into the outback the friendlier the people... it can be a very lonely place.... we had days where we met no more than five vehicles on the road. But invariably when we arrived at the roadhouse (most roadhouses have a campground attached to it) there would be lots of friendly, chatty travellers. These folks have been a great resource and of course we've invited them all to come visit us in Canada. We've also met an interesting array of international students and backpackers who find employment at these isolated roadhouses. There must be some network.... what happens is they commit to 4 months work and then continue their travels.

Termite mounds “castles” have been a constant in our travels. The construction has somewhat changed over the 2400kms but they've consistently dotted every landscape excepting the wetlands. Apparently every so often there will be an unusually wet year......like this last year was...... and the termites know when it's coming. So if the meterologists would have watched the termite mounds they would have noticed a special cap being built to prepare for the flooding...... the aboriginals knew this.

It's hard to believe how much water flows this land during the wet season but the evidence is on the trees where you can see the high water mark and on the roads and bridges that they're busy repairing and rebuilding.

three trailers full of stock

The birds continue to be a very interesting aspect. We've traveled through beautiful wetlands watched tall cranes dance away from us.....possibly a mating dance. Birds of prey that are so numerous..... eagles, hawks, falcons, kites.......because of the abundance of food. Herons, ducks and kingfishers.... different from what we're used to but identifiable all the same. Black and white cockatoos, colourful green parakoots.... but unfortunately my wildlife photography has not improved and often when you're driving by the time you stop and focus the camera the moment has passed.

The helicopter seems central to the Australian outback. There is one stationed at every roadhouse to take tourists for an arieal view of the landcape. The ranchers use them for checking on their stock and to muster their herds. We saw a lone bull being rounded up by helicopter. They use them to monitor grassland burns and wildfires. Helicopters everywhere.

We welcomed the cooler nights of the outback although the daytime temperatures still reached mid thirties now we're back to the sweltering humidty of the top end of the Northern Territory and the termite mounds have gotten even bigger and magnetic....... yes magnetic but also magnificent. In case you thought the brain was melting away. The Sometimes Lonesome Wanderers Darwin, Tuesday May 31,2011

The Tropics

Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes and Mothers Day wishes....... my family is the best.... you make me feel loved and connected which to me is so important while wandering so far from home.

We finally made it out onto the Great Barrier Reef. All somewhat surreal to say the least..... us at a World Heritage site that stretches 2300km and is so big it can be seen from the moon. On my birthday we were at the southern end of it and because we weren't able to go out from there. We started checking out every access point while heading north up the coast......there are 2900 separate reefs we of course would only be visiting 2 at the most. In Townsville we visited Reef Central Headquarters which is an amazing aquarium where they have brought together absolutely everything that can be seen from one end of the reef to the other including a sea turtle rescue centre. And they have constructed it so that you walk through plexiglass tunnels through the reef. What a wonderful way of making the reef accessible to the masses. Despite this incredible exhibit we were still set on getting out to the Great Barrier Reef. It became a bit of a dilema. Every tour company of course claimed they had the best access. In the end it didn't really matter ...... to be able to swim in an underwater landscape that is so vibrant and full of life. .... how lucky we are to be able to experience this at all. We wore lycra bodysuits to protect ourselves against the toxic box jellyfish but we didn't see any. And they are becoming less frequent as the water temperature cools off. I don't think anywhere else you would see so many people happily put on lycra bodysuits.... they are not very flattering. On every beach they have signs posted warning swimmers about jellyfish and on the more popular beaches they have designated enclosed swimming areas so you don't see to many lycra bodysuits on the beaches. As we've moved further into the tropics the signs also warn of the presence of crocodiles and how to avoid crocodile encounters...... river mangrove esturaries are they're favourite lounging spots. Although we've spent sometime croc watching we haven't encountered one yet..... and we're not so sure we want to encounter one in the wild. They conduct an annual count in Australia between the crocs and the sharks.. last year the sharks won 5 – 3........we're talking fatalities.

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The rainforest is really incredible how everything grows on top of one another. The fig trees are particularly impressive. There are at least 37 varieties of tropical fig trees. The strangler fig or the curtain fig take over other trees and grow incredibly big. We've seen the devastation of the recent cyclone (February) that devastated the coastline just south of Cairns. The rainforest looks like a giant comb has been pulled through it and of course the coastline has been dramatically altered. Where there were once lawns and oceanside promenade there are tree roots and rubble. Despite the devastation people are carrying on and rebuilding and we are told the rainforest regenerates quickly.

Our turn around point was Cape Tribulation where Captain James Cook ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef two hundred and forty years ago........ but the monument is in Agnes Water, 1400 km to the south.....confusing. What a beautiful place to get stranded where the rainforest meets the reef. Another 200km and we would have run out of pavement so this was as good a place as any to spend a few nights and turn around.

Tourism is big business here with both the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. The dry season has just begun so tourism will pick up in the months to come. Unbelievable how many tour companies operate here offering everything from surfing the rainforest canopy, crocodile cruises to sleeping out on the reef. It is hard to believe they are all able to survive but it is evident this is a tourist destination year round. We stayed in the spa capital of Australia (Palm Cove) and didn't even go to one spa. There are so many ways you can drain the wallet. We've decided its time to head into the outback, taking the Savannah Hwy to to Darwin to see what we can find in the more remote corners of the country.

Easter Holidays Australia

 

Beaches, beaches and more beaches.

We arrived here just before the Easter weekend and school holidays, so a busy time for Australian families.... poor planning on our part. Everybody is heading out to the beach for the holiday quite understandable when surrounded by so many white sand beaches. Whether swimming, surfing, fishing or the hundred other things you can do at the beach....beach culture is eveywhere on the east coast which we've been traveling north along since we arrived.

We arrived in Sydney and thought it might take us up to week to get organized but we managed to do it in a couple of days. So we had a few days to explore Sydney and the surrounding area. Sydney is a sophisticated city with beautifully developed urban spaces downtown.....which of course includes the Sydney opera house. Hoopla Festival (aerial acrobatics, like Cirque duSoliel) was going on and there were venues all over the downtown core and in the parks. The city felt vibrant and happening. Our only complaint would be that it is an expensive city for accomodation and food. We toured the Sydney Wildlife park, thought we'd take the opportunity to familarize ourselves with the creatures we might come across in the outback. By Firday we'd had enough of the city and took the train to Brisbane where we picked up our camper van and we've been heading up the coast ever since. We've seen the evidence of the recent flooding at some of the camp grounds we've stayed at and along the roads where they have markers for the vehicles to make them aware of the water level before they decide to attempt it with their vehicles.....marked up to 2m in some spots......hard to believe. We've also seen the evidence of wildfires having driven through grove after grove of charred gum trees. The grasslands are beautiful and the sea of sugar cane fields endless.

On my birthday we were in Agnes Water and 1770 where Captain Cook landed in 1770.....thought this was a strange name for a place but nonetheless very beautiful. From here we had hoped to do a Barrier Reef tour but due to a windwarning (south easterlies blowing up 90k) they had canceled all tours until Friday so we decided to carry on up the coast and see what other options there are to get out to the reef.

Internet access has become a little more difficult. For one because we're camping and campsites rarely have free wi-fi and the other is they just don't have the internet cafes that offer free wi-fi. So I'm not able to use our computer as often and am checking e-mail in the mall or shops where you can pay to use their computers.

Dave became a grandpa this week, Aiden was born April 25^th at 9:00 am of course it was the 26^th here. I can one day tell him about the year we celebrated our birthday on the same day.

Arrived in Carins, in the tropics yesterday, very humid. Love the sweaty happy wanderers