Tropical Rainforests of Northern Queensland

My final activity day in Australia began with a rainforest lecture by Brian Clarke, our local Field Guide. Brian has lived in the rainforest for many years. He started one of the region's first interpretative tropical rainforest companies. We've had some bright, knowledgeable lecturers during the past two weeks, but Brian was by far the best. Not only did he know his stuff, he excelled at making the rainforest come alive with his human metaphors about animal behavior in the rainforest.

The rainforest around Kuranda in Queensland are the wettest part of Australia and quite different from the arid conditions we experienced in the Outback. This is the oldest tropical rainforest on earth, estimated to be over 100 million years old. Because of Australia's isolation from other land masses, this rainforest has some plant species that exist nowhere else in the world. More than 800 species of trees can be found here compared to five in the US rainforest. It has far more tropical species per square mile than similar regions elsewhere. It covers 0.1% of the continent and has an extremely rich plant and animal life diversity.

After the lecture we rode the bus into the rainforest. Our exploration began with a short walk along a river on the edge of this World Heritage Site. 

Then we took a ride on one of the world's longest gondolas gliding high above the rainforest canopy. 

We stopped along the way where Brian told us more about the plant life of the forest. 

In this multi-story tree, you see an example of how various plants coexist halfway between the canopy and the floor of the rainforest.

Our next stop was the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. The rainforest around Kuranda has been the home of the Djabugay aboriginal people for more than 10,000 years. At the center we saw a cultural performance that included tribal dancing, body art worn by tribal member depicting different types of animals and starting a fire with a stick and dry plant life. The musical performance included tribal singing accompanied by the didgeridoo. 

Then we had a sing-a-long in the local language followed by dancing with audience participation. 

After dancing we heard a discussion by a local tribal man about the different types of boomerangs. There are more than five different types used to hunt flying and ground animals. That was followed by a discussion about the nuts, seeds, leaves, and other forest items and how they are used for food and medicinal purposes. We all got a chance to try our hand at throwing a boomerang and spears, two tools traditionally used by the native people to hunt and killed their food. Based our results we would soon starve in the rainforest. It was fun never less.

Our last activity at the cultural center was to view a film about the creation story that  still guides Aboriginal people after thousands of years.

In the evening we had an official celebration of our time together with everyone speaking about how special this trip was. It certainly was for me. Both New Zealand and Australia are now real places to me, not just some far off destination that I've read about in guide books.

Tomorrow we fly to Sydney staying overnight before beginning our long journey home.

The Great Barrier Reef

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

After wide expanses of skinny leafed trees and grasses superbly adapted to the arid conditions of the Outback, it was nice to see the palm trees and other plants that thrive in the humidity of Cairns (pronounced "cans").

Cairns is one of the largest towns in Queensland, Australia's self-styled sunshine state. Read that to mean the city itself  is a bit touristy. It is the launching point for the two million tourists who visit the Great Barrier Reef each year.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef eco-system with 3,000 reefs ranging in size from one hectare to more than 10,000 hectares.

Our itinerary included spending nearly a full day on the reef. Seeing the fishes and coral by snorkeling, diving or via the glass sided semi-submersible boat were the options. As a non-swimmer, I had already decided that I would choose the dry semi-submersible option. But that's not what happened.

 Yes, for the first time in my life, I went snorkeling. At the Great Barrier Reef. Most long time snorkelers never get to do that. What a thrill!

Dave, a Marine Biologist, was our Field Guide for the visit. He told me that approximately one third of the reef visitors are non-swimmers who do just fine wearing the floatation vests (life jackets). Well, I'm really into new experiences, so I decided to give it a go.

Dave was a patient and encouraging coach, gently guiding me around the designated snorkeling area and pointing out many of the coral types and fish he had discussed at the previous night's lecture.

Water temps were about 80 degrees so very comfortable. With the warm water and bright sunshine, we had been encouraged to wear a Lycra sun suits as protection from the sun and jellyfish, a common marine stinger.

In no time, I was feeling reasonably comfortable and truly enjoying the experience. After lunch on the floating platoon permanently moored in the reef, I went on the 20 minute semi-submersible ride. I saw even more coral and types of fish.

This might well have been the best experience of the trip.

Uluru & Kata Tjuta

Immediately after breakfast at the Uluru Cultural Centre we took a field trip along one of the paths around Uluru. This was the trip scheduled for yesterday but was  wisely cancelled due to the extreme heat. This morning's temps were probably in the low 80s but with higher humidity. Nevertheless, it was more tolerable.

Uluru is a sacred site for the Aboriginal people. It is where they have traditionally held tribal ceremonies and continue to do so. It is believed that the original Aboriginals walked to the Australian continent from Indonesia thousands of years ago. Their original settlement is now thought to be under water. They lived off the land and continue to feel that they must maintain strong links to the land.

When the giant monolith was discovered by Europeans, they claimed it and named it Ayers Rock. It continued to be called that until recent years when the Aboriginals began to assert their rights. Today all rights to Uluru have been returned to the  rightful owners and the Australian government leases the land for tourism.

Uluru is the tip of a huge sandstone slab of rock that continues well below the ground surface. The circumference is about six miles. Uluru and the surrounding area is eroded rock with a strong iron content. Hence, the iconic red color we all identify with the middle of the country.

On our field trip we visited the Mutitjula Waterhole and heard an Aboriginal tribe creation story about two ancestral beings - Kunija, the woma python woman and Liru, the poisonous snake man. In part the story teaches about women's intuition and that a woman may use force to protect her children. Here you see the snake on the side of Uluru.

We also visited the Kulpi Mutitjula where families gathered around campfires. The elders told stories to teach children about this place and the paintings on the rock. The age of the cave markings, or rock art, is undetermined but thought to be at least 100 years old. This piece drawn with white clay is the modesty apron worn by Aboriginal ladies

We heard more about the desert flowers and trees and how they adapt to the area's arid conditions. Again the temps soared and we were encouraged to drink water.

Our next stop was Kata Tjuta, an expansive collection of 36 domed rocks. The uneven pathway toward the two peaks we visited were lined with rock pieces that had broken off the domes.

The traditional tribal culture is gender specific. While we know some of the stories associated with Uluru, Kata Tjuta stories are all related to the men. Those stories are only shared among the tribal men so our guide had no stories to tell us about this site.

The tallest of the domes is Mt. Olga at 1,050 feet above sea level. Total circumference is 14 miles. Kata means head and Tjuta means many. Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta are in the Uluru-kata Tjuta National Park.

After lunch, we headed to the airport for our flight to Cairns. With all the sweating I did this morning and no opportunity for a shower, I'm hoping to get an empty seat beside me on the plane.

Alice Springs to Uluru

We had an early departure for the 5+ hour drive from Alice Springs to Uluru. We had several stops along the way. A very English tea awaited us at the first stop where we were served tea, of course, and scones with jam, butter and cuttle cream. With one pinky finger aloft, I must say it was quite delicious.

At another stop we had an opportunity for a camel ride for only $7.00. For those who elected to take a jaunt around the lot, it was great fun and a good deal. There were more bird photo opportunities as well.

Along the way we got more information about the dry, parched landscape and heard about the challenges of cattle ranching in this part of the country. We also watched a video about the Building of Australia. It showed the strength and determination of Charles Stuart who blazed a path through central Australia from Adelaide north to Darwin in the 1860s and 1870s. The harsh conditions suffered by Stuart and his men laid the groundwork for the overland telegraph line which connected Australia to the rest of the world.

The temps today were the hottest yet topping out at 40 degrees C - that's on the north side of 100 degrees F. No one wasted time getting back on the bus at rest stops. We are constantly being encouraged by our guides to drink plenty of water. The bus has a huge barrel of ice water in the lower carriage compartment for topping off our bottles.

 We arrived at Uluru in time for lunch. As luck would have it, the air conditioning at the restaurant was not working but we persevered through a light midday meal. A short walk around the base of Uluru was on the itinerary, but because of the potentially unsafe heat conditions for us northerners, we rode around the monolith in our air conditioned coach, stopping once for photos.

After checking into our hotel, getting a swim, a shower and a short rest, we headed back to Uluru for sunset. Sunset visitors are traditionally served wine, juice and light snacks while waiting the hour or so for the sun to show the color palette of the monolith.

In addition to seeing the colors change on Uluru, the sun setting over the horizon created fantastic photos.

Day Two - Alice Springs

Our first stop today was Alice Springs Desert Park. Martin, our guide, lived in The Alice for more than 20 years and really knows his stuff. During our guided walk Martin talked about the desert landscape, flora and fauna of central Australia.  Here are pictures of some of what we saw during our visit.

Our next stop was a visit to one of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. With 63 airplanes operating out of 21 bases, the service provides 24 hour  emergency service to residents in remote areas of the Australian Outback. The doctors are appointed and paid by the government. While doctors are not on all flights, they are available to diagnose and consult with the nurses who can stabilize and work with the pilot to transport the patients.

Pilots use 180 landing strips throughout the Outback, highways, airports, and anywhere else to reach patients. And they're busy, treating one patient every two minutes. Here's an electronic board which tracks all of the services aircraft and shows which ones are in the air.

Dinner began with a sampling of indegenous foods including bush tomatoes, bread with acacia seeds, feta cheese with lemon myrtle, quandong jam, and kangaroo. Even though the bush tomatoes are a delicacy, I didn't really like it.

Melbourne to Alice Springs

After waking up to a cold damp day in Melbourne, I was ready for the warmer climate of our next stop Alice Springs. I'd been following the weather forecasts in Alice Springs, located in the dead center of Australia, and heard that expected highs would be in the low 90's so I was looking forward to it.

During our flight to the middle of the country, there were no clouds to obstruct my view of the ground. According to our guide, Alice Springs has 300 days of sunshine each year. From 30,000 feet up, I could see the perfectly straight surveyed property lines below and the brown straw colored parched landscape.

Less than half way through the three hour trip, the color palette changed turning into red expanses occasionally separated by dry river beds. The landscape was dotted with stubby acacia trees and natives grasses. Occasionally I saw small isolated population centers but they were few and far between. The landscape from my vantage point was absolutely forbidding.

We arrived in Alice Springs in time for lunch. Continuing with the emphasis on education, lunch was followed by a lecture about the aboriginal  culture of central Australia. Road Scholar wants its clients to know something about the place they visit, not just see it. And they do a fantastic job of providing knowledgeable subject matter experts and guides.

The lecture and subsequent discussion focused on how the indigenous people relate to the land, their kinship systems, social behavior, shelter, food, art and more.

We then took a field trip to the Alice Springs School of the Air. With children remotely located throughout the Outback, the school now serves 140 students over 521,000 sq. miles in "the largest classroom in the world". With the help of tutors (oftentimes a parent), teachers use cameras, a white board and computers provided to each student to meet face to face with their student about 1 1/2 hours each day. The students then continues their studies using workbooks that have been sent to them via airmail.

Students must live at least 30 miles from the school to qualify. Some live hundreds of miles away. They come together three times each year to meet their classmates and their teacher. Students in the School of the Air rank in the top 10% in the Northern Territory.

Our dinner was at a nearby lodge eaten outdoors with entertainment by a local musician. The evening ended with another mini lecture about the constellations while we sat under the dark skies of the Outback.

It was a long information packed day. I loved it.