mike's travel blog

Why aren't you here?

Last stop on my OZ tour and probably the last post of this trip as I am not sure I will have phone/internet in Fiji. I am flying out first thing in the morning. I have only seen Manly during the day on a previous trip and was very impressed. This time I stayed 2 nights and still have to say this probably would be my place of choice to live in the Southern Hemisphere. Overall the trip has brought so many new impressions and experiences that it will take some time to digest. I am glad I have 2 weeks of beach vacation at the end to get some time to reflect before going home and facing reality again. Job search will be high on the agenda I guess, even though continuing the travels in the states is tempting as well. Thanks for sharing this trip with me - it was nice to see all the public and private responses during my travels - it certainly made me feel more connected with home and less lonely. Hope to see you all in the next few weeks. I have taken about 3000 pictures and will...

This little guy wanted to cuddle a bit :-) Picture taken at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary just south of Brisbane. Thursday was a major driving day. I made just over 1100 km from Cairns to Rockhampton. Friday I drove to Noosa, about 100km north of Brisbane where I spent the night in the Sheraton. From all the resorts I visited Noosa seems the most exlusive and beautiful. After a solid 2 months in backpackers and hostels it felt nice to sleep in a good bed again. I wish I had more time there. Tonight I will be in Byron Bay and the last 2 nights I booked into a backpacker in Manly before heading over to Fiji.

The Daintree area is largely rainforest. There are some nice walks to enjoy the diversity. One hectar here can have more tree species than all of Europe or North America. I also visited Daintree village for lunch, Hatley's croq farm and Barron Falls. The 2 major stops on the drive back to Sydney will be Brisbane and Byron Bay.

I just returned from a fantastic 4 day 3 night sailing excursion of the Whitsunday islands and the Barrier Reef (Fri thru Mon). The 25 meter Maxi was nice and fast and made for a great ride. The boat spent one night out at the reef and we got a lot of snorkeling and diving in. I had PADI fax my registration so I could do a dive as well. The size of the reef and its diversity is incredible. We unfortunately had to wear stinger suits as the jelly fish are still around. The weather has been great and the waves on the reef were small which allowed great visibility. It just cleared up a week ago after Queensland had a rough wet season this summer. I managed to drive to Mission Beach last night and spend the morning there before driving to Cairns for lunch. I will spent the next 2 days north of here at Port Douglas/Daintree/ Cape Tribulation.

Whitsunday Bay is truly beautiful with a tropical feel to it. The picture doesn't capture the real scenery but you can see the Islands in the background. Weather is excellent, sunny and 30C. And supposed to stay this nice the next week. I am on stand-by (deep last minute discount) for a 4 day sail on a Alan Bond built Super Maxi leaving Friday that also goes beyond the Whitsundays to the Barrier Reef. This will make the end of the trip a bit stressful if I want to get Cairns and Daintree in, but well worth it. Will skip Sydney completely it seems on this trip.