Day 61 - A Goanna By Any Other Name

When I arrived in Australia and saw all the beautiful beaches I knew there was one thing I had to do before I left but up to this point the right opportunity had not presented itself.....until today.

Day 60 - A Day in the Daintree

After a good night's sleep I woke to the sounds of countless birds all around.  One thing I have loved about Australia are all the "exotic" (different from the US) birds and their unique sounds and this (as you can imagine) was intensified in the rainforest.  I just laid in my bed and listened to the birds for 10-15 minutes.....it was a great way to start the day!

Day 59 - Welcome to the Jungle

Ok, I know I've said this several times in other posts but my day today did begin very early....and not just my definition of early.  :-)

Day 58 - Found Him

I started my last day at sea with a good breakfast and a cup of coffee on the upper deck looking out over the ocean.  I "missed" the 6:30 dive again (darn :-), but was planning to do the other 2 dives before lunch and then heading back to Cairns mid-afternoon.

Day 57 - Where's Nemo

My day started early (well, early for me), but not as early as it could have.  Breakfast was served at 7:30 so I woke up at 7:27. :-)   There was an early morning dive at 6:30 (wake time 5:45) but anyone who knows me well would know...."Homie don't play dat" (ok, who remembers that show?).....

Day 56 - Out to Sea

After a restless night of sleep I woke early this morning.  I packed up, ate breakfast and was out front waiting for the dive bus by 7:30.  The bus arrived at 7:45, I climbed aboard and we took off for the dive center.

Day 55 - Cairns

Today was another transition day.  After a week of rest and recovery from my marathon trip around New Zealand I traveled to Cairns Australia to dive the Great Barrier Reef and explore the Daintree Rainforest.

Day 54 - He has Risen

Today was Easter Sunday.  I woke early, ate breakfast, got ready and headed out....

Day 53 - ....And More Decisions

It was another good day in Oz.....much the same as the last two....

Day 52 - Decisions....Decisions....

Today was much the same as yesterday. Alaska and I sat on the deck writing blogs, getting information for next week and bird watching....

Day 51 - Mr. Mom

I woke today with no place I had to go and no place I had to be.....and it was pretty cool.  So I took some time to catch up on emails, FB and read some US news...

Day 50 - Sharks, Koalas and Gandhi....Gandhi?

The first week I arrived in Australia I visited Sydney (Day 8) and purchased a multi-pass that included 5 attractions around the Sydney area.  There was so much to see that first day that I only made it to one of the attractions (Sydney Tower) so I planned to return later in my trip.  Well, today was that day.....

Day 49 - Come and Get It

For most of the day today I picked up right where I left off yesterday.....just chillin'.  :-)  Alaska and I sat up a little "office" on the deck and (I) began working to try and catch up on my blog posts....

Day 48 - Just Chillin'

Today was a get "somewhat" back to "normal" day (my "normal" for Australia).  I took care of a few things back in the states during the early morning (before everything closed in the US and everyone went to sleep), ate lunch, did some reading/research for my trip to Cairns next week and took a run.

Day 47 - A Day of Rest

It's Sunday and the only thing I had planned for today was to attend church in the morning and rest and relax around the house in the afternoon. And that's just what I did....

Day 46 - Where'd Everyone Go

While I was in New Zealand Rick told me that he and the family would be going out of town the weekend I returned.  They were traveling about 6 hours south to attend a birthday celebration for a lifelong friend so I tried not to take it personally that they left the day after I returned :-).....

Day 28 - ....GO!

Today began very early (for me anyway).  I woke up at 6, made and ate breakfast and finished packing the clothes that were still drying when I went to bed 5 1/2 hours earlier.  When I checked in last night they said that passengers with checked luggage needed to be at the airport 90 minutes before boarding and no checked luggage 60 minutes before boarding.  I was a little surprised by this since it was an international flight and I had luggage to check (I expected 2 hours) but it said 90 minutes, so there you go.

Day 27 - .....Set......

Today was strictly a "prepare to leave....again" day. And as usual, I was stressing...again.  :-)  It's funny because I was thinking today, as I was running around crazy, "why am I stressing...I should have this down by now" and then the thought hit me....I just returned from a 12 day trip and after 2 days I'm leaving for an 18 day trip and all while I am on a 3 month trip. If I was "at home" I would certainly stress over any of these trips singularly.  So, I cut myself a break (just a little one) and went on with my preparation....while continuing to run around crazy. ha ha

Day 26 - Ready....

Today and tomorrow are basically rest/preparation days for my upcoming trip to New Zealand.  Of course, I'm not exactly sure how rest and preparation are going to harmonize in just 2 days but I plan to give them both my best effort.  :-)

Day 24 - Some Unexpected Friends

My day began with a huge, delicious breakfast prepared by my host Sommai. I ate quickly, jumped in the car and headed South to catch the ferry for Bruny Island (more below).  I had read it was about a 45 minute drive but had been told you can make it in 35.  I left a little before 9 so I assumed I probably would not make the 9:30 ferry but would have to wait for the 10.  However, I arrived at the entrance at 9:27 and they were just getting ready to start loading the ferry...score (or so I thought).