Day 148 Yunguburra (On the Wallaby Eco Tour Day 2)

With it being the quiet season I was so lucky to have a one to one guided tour today with "Damo" who was also delighted when he discovered I'm a mountain biker. Damo competed when ninetenn at the Tour De France and even met Lance Armstrong. Damo contracted cancer after that and Lance was good enough to remember him and encourage him on the phone. Since then Damo has surfed the world and now has a property in the making in an isolated area of Costa Rica still to get electricity! He has told his girlfriend they have to live near a wave. His girlfriend is from Switzerland!

Damo took me out into the rainforest on a 21 kilometre mountain bike epic. Despite a puncture it was terrific. We went totally off track (and outwith public liability insurance protection areas) such as going past the fences into the rainforest to se a giant cedar which fell over after a recent cyclone.

In the afternoon we kayaked through the forest to see a rare tree wallaby lounging high up in the treees, a carpet python which almost fell into the kayak, turtles and eastern lizards. Australia is a fantastic country, so diverse, so much wildlife, so friendly and relaxed For me the "On the Wallaby Tour (which means getting on track) was a great way to leave it.

Day 147 Yungaburra (On the Wallaby Eco Tour Day 1)

Day one of an eco tour out into the rainforest West of Cairns. Firstly an introduction to the stinging leaf whose excrutiating pain if not bad enough can recur again and again at totally random times over the following twelve months. Our guide told us of the story of the owman who went to the toilet in the forest and used the leaf to clean up. I'll leave the rest to your imagination!

A stop to see a giant fig tree who arrives on anther tree through bird poo then takes over!

A swim in Lake Eacham. A volcanoe crater filled with rainwater. Refreshing!

Bit wary of the carpet python at the changing rooms.

Then a swim out to the Mila Mila falls where "Peter Andre" videoed the sonf "Mysterious Girl" and the "timotei woman" advert was filmed.

Then to the "on the Wallaby" hostel for the night and to go looking for the platypus at dusk. I saw the wee fella but he seemed in a hurry tonight. So was I with a couple of cold beers in the hostel fridge and some new folks to meet. Its the quiet season at the moment and I had my "Kookaburra" dorm to myself. Luxury!

Day 146 Great Barrier Reef (Scuba Diving Day 2)

(Thanks for theses pictures Martin)

An early start at 6am for the first of three dives today. You put a lot of trust in the person you are matched up with on a dive. They are called your buddy and you never leave your buddy. Well my buddy this morning was no buddy. At the outset they ignored the dive plan to swim to the bow of the boat and dive down an anchor line. Instead they dissaperaed in front of me and in poor visibility I searched to no avail and returned to the boat to report. The buddy should also have returned but did not so an emergency recall of all divers commenced. Continous knocking sound on the hull. After twenty minutes the buddy returned to an irate crew and was banned from the remaining dives.

With all the drama out of the way I went on my last two dives with good buddys this time. and some cool tunnels to dive through. My last dive was my best to date with a good Irishman Martin who had just completed his advanced course. The more dives I do the better it gets..... Southeast Asia awaits...

Day 145 Great Barrier Reef (Scuba Diving Day 1)

What a truly great day. Four of the seven dives were today and more than a bit a bit nervous to start with as conditions were very choppy. Visibility was reasonable and I came across sting rays, giant clams, trigger fish (need to stay clear as they are territorial), turtles and a white tip shark (sleeping on the seabed I ask you). (Thanks Tal for the pictures from your camera)

They feed you well between the dives and before I took to my cabin for a good sleep we went on a night dive which was exceptional. All the time I was sure something was following me in the darkness and as I panned my torch around there were a dopzen two foot long black fish things beside me. They wait till you shine your torch into the coral and if you light up a creature in there they go straight for it. I tried not to light up the coral too much!

Day 144 Cairns (Rafting Cancelled)

I should have been doing thsi out on the Tully River today but as our bus reached the half way point we were turned around as with the recent continuous rainfall the river was not raftable!!

I spent the rest of the day in the company of one of my dorm mates Tara who also goes to dive the barrier reef tomorrow. Tara is doing a six month voulenteer study of the coral on the reef by a government agency and explained the reef is becoming a victim of global warming. The coral is normally protected by a fungus which also gives it colour. However as the coral gets stressed it rejects the fungus and then deteriorates. We also chatted about sharks on the reef. Tara explained they get an unfair repurtation from the media. Only one person a year dies from a shark attack yet humans kill millions of sharks every year. Who should be most afraid.....

As I appraoch Asia the lightening of the rucksack becomes ever more important and today saw me post home my faithful camping mat and sleeping bag.

Tomorrow a true wonder of the world..diving the Great Barrier Reef. Now ...will I remember my scuba diving training or not? How do you switch the air on again?

Day 143 Cairns

A getting organised day today booking trips for the next few days that will see me white water raft the mighty Tully River and with all this rain it should be good. Two days out diving aboard a ship in the barrier reef and finally an eco tour to take in the rainforests West of Cairns.

With the organisation out of the way I took a wander in Cairns and a visit to the wharf where I will soon set sail.

Day 142 Cairns

Today was the flight from Alice Springs to tropical Caiarns. I say tropical as thats what its termed "The Wet Tropics" and boy was it rain like I'd never seen in my life. No worries the hostel was tropical too and difficult with all the ferns to tell when you were infoors or outdoors, Apropriately named "Dreamtime Traveller's Rest" its the best hostel I've stayed in to date.

My vist to Uluru was unforgettable and with agreat group of people. Now with a week ahead in Cairns before I head to Southeast Asia I wondered what next.............

Day 141 Uluru (Kings Canyon Trek)

We trekked the beautiful Kings Canyon today before the long drive back to Alice Springs. At one point our guide told us to prepare for photos of the "Pigmy Koala". a very small Koala only found in the canyon. It would turn out to be little toy stuffed Koalas placed in a tree only the Park Rangers had removed them.

A final barbecue on the way home and a swim before enduring the heat and lack of air conditioning in the standby van. I never did have that camel pie so on our return we all went for a meal and I tried it. Very tasty but not as good as kangaroo meat I'm told.

Day 140 Uluru (Uluru Sunrise and Kings Canyon Campsite)

Early start at 4.45am to see the sunrise at Uluru. Firstly the swags (canvas sacks with mattress inside them) had to be rolled up and put into the shed where the redback spider lives. I took a photo ut too much camera shake!

Than an eight kilometre walk around the base of Uluru. You can climb the 330 metre rock but after visiting the cultural centre this morning to learn about the spiritual significance of the place and out of respect to the aboriginal people it was not something I wanted to do. Essentially its a bit like the aboriginal people arriving at your church or home and climbing the roof. The rock close up has many features to it which all have aboriginal stories to explain the markings. One passer by commented the above rockface looked like Darth Vaders mask. Somehow I do not think Star Wars is an aboriginal story.

We then made the long long long drive through the outback to our Kings Canyon campsite. Typical Australian good humour shown by the campsite sign.

We waited for sunset before starting up the campfire and cooking our dinner.


Afterwards it was toasted marshmallows where Athena found a stick that toasted twelve at a time. We also found a scorpions nest and what a feisty thing he was. Out he would come like a bullet when we brushed a stick in the ground. Mr Scorpion did prey on my mind later as I slept outside again tonight but not as much as the dingo who tried to steal my trekking shoes from under my sleeping bag. At four in the morning it took me a few minutes to regsiter he was next to my head (shoes were under the swag to form a pillow) but only seconds to swish at him with my arm. He seemed most upset, ran off and howled back at me in that eery noise only a dingo can produce. Tomorrow is the might Kings Canyon trek....

Day 139 Uluru (Olgas and Uluru - Ayrs Rock)

Today I joined a group of seven other like minded adventurers to see the outback and learn more of the aboriginal culture including ther spiritual centre Uluru (Ayrs Rock). Our guide "Will" was delighted to have a small group but not so delighted when the van broke down in the middle of nowhere. Not to worry in the stifling heat we had a picnic by the side of the road.

After an hour we were back on track and first stop was a roadhouse where you could experience a camel ride and a camel burger. Camels were first introduced in the 1800s when twelve of the charming creatures arrived to help pioneers make there way across unexplored territory. Eventually as roads and railroads arrived the camels were no longer required and the Government instructed the owners to take them into the outback and shoot them. There is a stong bond between any camaleer and his animal so of course this was necer going to happen. The camels were simply realeased into the wild. There are now one million camels in Australia but nobody has taken the hump over it...(ouch sorry everyone).

We made our way out to see the "Olgas" a rock formation of fair size and the flies in the outback are everywhere. The females require protein to sustain breeding and human eyes and noses are a fine source. My midge net from home finally came out of the rucsac.

Before heading back to camp we were treated to an awseome sunset at Uluru along with champagne in plastic cups.

Back to the campsite to sleep under the stars but first a hearty barbecue. Being away out in the central depths of Australia without light pollution the view of the stars was second to none and as I lay there in my swag I counted five shooting stars and zero spiders....

Day 138 Alice Springs (Reptile Centre)

This is "Ollie" a python and this is me trying to look relaxed!! Today Melv kindly gave me a lift out to Melbourne airport where I caught the flight to the centre of Australia in Alice Springs to make ready for a three day adventure safari in the outback. The safari starts tomorrow sowith time to spare and keen to get out of the forty degree heat I took myself along to the reptile centre. The reptile centre keeper put on a great show and here you can see "Jaffa" the lizard. During the show the keeper lifts open a box of cockroaches (yes they really do run around at a hundred miles an hour like the movies) and places one on the floor for Jaffa to eat. However Jaffa can be a bit fussy (who can blame him) and the keeper has another standby lizard who not surprisingly is a bit fat. During the show I also received a kiss from a blue tongued lizard although it turns out he was tasting me to see if I was on the food chain

We also received a lecture on snake bite first aid. Basically gone are the days of the old tornoquet, lance and suck out the poison. All this does is cut of your circulation risking loss of limb and makes the poor soul who sucks the poison get in a bad way too. Worse it makes it almost impossible fr the hospital to identify what anti venom is required. Instead nowadays they recommend you sit down and let help come to you, wrap a bandage around the whole limb where the bite is a bit like strapping up a sprained ankle (this slows the poison moving through your skin lymph system as it does not actually get into the bloodstream) and put a mark on the bandage where the bite was. There are only two deaths a year in Australia from snakebites and usually due to poor first aid. Compare this to a hundred thousand in Asia where they do not have the medical resources to cover the widespread areas.

Last but not leasr I went to see "Terry" the saltwater crocodile. No amount of first aid is likely to save you from Terry.
Back to the dorm and I managed to get the lower bunk for a change. Tomorrow I will head deep into the outback surrounded by dingoes, scorpions, snakes and ........toasted marshmallows whilst sleeping under the stars.

Day 137 Melbourne (Village Get Together)

On returning the dentally interupted rental car to its city centre depot with the help of "Sat Melv" we met up with Kelly Stewart also from our home village. Kelly has been travelling for a year and her photos played a big part towards inspiring me to make the decision to travel around the world.


Before we headed into the city to meet Kelly I arranged for a group photo of Melvyn. his son Mathew and friend Shannon in the front garden. I blocked out various jests such as could the camera manage such handsomeness all in one go!!


Tomorrow I fly to Alice Springs in the centre of Australia to set out on a three day safari sleeping under the stars. The iconic Uluru awaits..........

Day 136 Melbourne (Friendly Dentist)

Need a dentist in Melbourne anyone? Well I'd recommend Mint Dental in Armadale. I was fitted in at short notice and convivial half Scots dentist David Casper joked "no problem for anyone with a good Scottish accent"!

A state of the art practice the interior of the building resembled a high ceiling modern art gallery at reception and the dentists surgery akin to a spaceship surrounded with futuristic technology. All at a reasonable price and I'm able to claim back of my travel insurance.

My elation was short lived as I returned to my car on Sutherland Road.....parking ticket!!

Day 135 Great Ocean Road (The 12 Apostles and Pitted Olives)

Be afraid...be very afraid...pitted olives are not, I repeat not always pitted. As I drove well out along the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne I stopped at the local supermarket to buy these works of satan along with cheese and sundried tomatoes.

Then stopping to feast on the nearby beach I heard and felt a filling in my tooth go crunch...yes there was still a stone in one of the olives...dentist in the middle of nowhere please! Not to worry I was only an hour from the twelve apostles and I was not going to miss it for the world..........

What a fantastic place the 12 apostles is. There are actually only about nine of the apostles remaining standing as the others found the coastal location a bit erosive. Further along the coast is a stone arch whose middle collapsed whilst tourists were standing on it. They had to be helicoptered out!

Earlier in the day the drive out of the city was a bit daunting but I found closing my eyes helped. Soon enough I was out into the country and a lot more settled stopped at the famous surf mecca Bells beach. I can see why the waves were so consistently good.


Now it was never part of the plan nor a good idea to drive in the dark in Australia (think wildlife, think roadkill, think excess payment on hired car) but circumstances were I fly into the outback in a few days and my broken tooth would have to be sorted by then. The drive home was torturous (nine hours in all today) and how I cursed those olives cutting my road trip short. Still before it got too dark I enjoyed the fantastic farmland scenery for a while.