Travels with The Rayman

Alert, alert. The guy with the sticks just told us that they left snorkeler behind the other day on the Great Barrier Reef. We’re going to have to pay strict attention on our day in the water!!

So…here we are post-reef as it were. What a day. We met the bus at 8:00 a.m. just outside the time share condo place we’re at…we just rented a 2 bedroom apt. and it happened to be at a time share property. Nice. Clean. Fans in every room. A kitchen. But who the heck has time to cook. There are places to go and people and fish to see.

But I digress. The bus ride to Port Douglas where we met the catamaran took about an hour plus 30 minutes. Since we were the first to be fetched, we saw the outside of many resorts as we were on a full-sized bus and it stopped at least 6 times. One time we waited 10 minutes as the passengers had gone missing. We finally pulled away and at the next stop down the street about a block, a woman was almost crushed by the closing bus door as she beseeched the driver to allow her and her brood to board. There were 5 in her tribe. All in their seats, we continued toward to Port Douglas. The driver gave us a bit of history. The lower plains are home to crops of sugar cane. Port Douglas was named after a fellow named Douglas who hiked there and said, “this looks like a place to settle”. Today, it is a cute little berg that is getting bigger. Cairns (pronounced Cans) is bigger and less quaint and it’s beaches are mud flats, really. Because Cairns is on flat land, the international airport is located in Cairns and actually has been here quite a long time. The entire area is supported by tourist and sugar cane. We passed a paddock(fence bit of property?) of wallabies today. Don’t know why they were all together in one place…but there they were (small kangaroos is what they look like).

It rains here from Oct. thru Dec. generally. It gets hot and muggy in a month or so. We came at a very good time. And today in particular was glorious. Very little wind, copious sun…perfect. The water was cold. That surprised me but we were glad because with the warming ocean come the jelly fish and they can kill you here. So…just as well, mate.

Speaking of Australian english, it is a hoot. To go food is called take away, auto body shops are called smash repairs. Need some limb lopping on that tree in the front yard? There was a classified listing in the yellow pages…Slivering snake removal…any snake, any time. The Aussies have a keen sense of humor and we have had a great time visiting with them. As an example, today we sat down facing David and Julie from the Gold Coast (Brisbane). They were taking the trip for their granddaughter, age 11. He was recovering from knee surgery so he couldn’t do anything so he volunteered to watch our stuff while we frolicked in the reef. The trip out took 90 minutes…going fast. It was quite a distance to the outer reef so there was plenty of time to visit with David and Julie. What are the chances we would meet someone that had been in the Oval Office? yes, THAT oval office. He worked for the gov’t down here and was involved in planning head of states visits. Had some great stories but I had a hard time hearing him, understanding his accent when I did hear him…and I couldn’t keep my eyes off his lower teeth. There was one or two that stuck up funny and while I was attempting to lip-read, I kept being distracted by those teeth. Such is the life of a hard-to-hear person. I mean, were his teeth always like that? Did he get kidded at school or work? Does he have a dentist? I say all of this in jest. He was a great guy.

But I digress. Does and arm and a leg have any meaning to you? The outfitter for this adventure charged an arm and a leg. And everything was extra. Just for the transportation (bus and boat), it was almost $300 a head. Then there was the swim with the marine biologist, $47/each. And then the “hire” for the digital underwater camera, $67. VERY expensive. However, we figured this was it. Our one and only trip here so why hold back? In a word it was fabulous. The colors of the coral was much better than the pictures. The fish were pretty but the coral was fabulous. The clams were enormous. The tour with the marine biologist was informative if you could hear him. He kept diving down as seen below.
So I tried to dive down too. The third time I got kicked in the head by one of my compatriots…so after seeing stars finally stop circling…from then on I lagged behind taking pictures. We all looked alike in our lycra body suit and wetsuits. And the wetsuit made it impossible to go down and stay down…you couldn’t drown if you wanted to. So, it went like this. I would head down, kick the air with my glamorous flippers, struggle to get my feet underwater, take on sea water in my snorkel and then resurface after achieving a depth of about 2 feet. No Esther Williams here. So, I asked the guide and he explained the flotation tendencies of the wetsuit and so I gave up. Ray as far as I know never tried. Not sure about Bernie either. There were about 8 or 9 of us on the “tour”. Luckily we went from some deep water to really shallow water that allowed me to snap some of these pictures.

 

 

 
This is a giant clam…about 4 feet long…Below is Ray showing you a piece of dead coral. And below that our guide diving down…he was not wearing a wetsuit. Then Ray in his lycra. My feet.

 

 

 

 

Above this fish is Ray not drowning. There were fish everywhere but they were extremely hart to photograph as they actually SWIM.

 

The catamaran delivered us to the “station”. A big platform in the reef. It had closed screen TVs, a bar, a full buffet. You could take a submarine ride, a helicopter ride, you could don big helmets and walk down an underwater plank to see fish without losing your hair-do or your make-up. There was an underwater observatory. Scuba diving was also offered. Many, many ways to spend a delightful day on the reef, stimulate the Aussie economy and meet people who had been to the Oval Office. Too many people? We understand, no, they only brought one catamaran full of people…high season they bring two. Yikes. An observation. The travel pictures on their http://www.quicksilver-cruises.com/wavepiercer.htm website show about a maximum of 3 people in the water. As you can see from the pictures…that was a big sales pitch. It was a zoo but very fun anyway.

 

In order for us to snorkel away from the platform, we had to fill out out a medical questionnaire. Because of Ray’s heart condition, red flags went up. And they suggested we take the beginners tour rather than the advanced tour. And they outfitted him with a snorkel with a red tip so they could keep a good eye on him. He was miffed. The IDEA. Happy to report there were no problems.

The only disappointment I had was that we didn’t see any manta rays, sharks, or other bigger fish…or turtles. On the flipper side, we didn’t see any jellyfish or great whites either. Soiling your lycra and wetsuit would not have been pleasant!!
The big fish up close and personal.

When we returned to base camp, it was after 6 p.m. So, we had some wine and appetizers and then headed out to Barnacle Bill’s where Ray and I had shrimp and bugs for dinner. The bug was like a lobster/crayfish thingie. Sweet and mild. Good. Fresh. Bernie had tempura and chips (fries). Dinner was picked up by Bernie. Thank you Bernie. And we picked up the cab rides which cost $30 round trip. Everything is expensive in Australia.

Tomorrow it’s the rain forest.

Found us a little fixer-upper!! We could move here!!

So, we’re jetting toward the Great Barrier Reef. It’s about a three hour flight from Sydney to Cairns and we’re on a fairly full flight on an AirStar 380 jet. I have the window seat and Ray is in the middle. He doesn’t like the fuselage as he is claustrophobic..I know, I don’t get it either but the middle seat doesn’t bother him because he says, “I can flail my arms”.

But I digress. He is seated next to an Aussie who is returning home today and may I say, he has very nice legs. An older jock, played professional cricket and I think it shows!! Wish I could take a picture but that would probably be considered rude. So…I’d better change the subject.

Below should have been up above. It’s an article I wanted you to see re: real estate. Don’t know how to move it….so here it is.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/gallery-fn6njxlr-1226135729572?page=39

 

Actually, if you click the back and forth buttons, you can view other real estate for fun!! And for some more viewing. Then below this is a link I came across on my day off.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/grandparents-lesson-on-webcam-launches-internets-latest-stars/story-e6frg6so-1226138984989 we find two seniors trying to work their new webcam. In OR. What a stitch. truly a small world. I’ve been there done that and am just happy it wasn’t being recorded.

So now…what have we been doing? Well, on my day off, Saturday, I almost didn’t get dressed. Color me tired. Didn’t want to do anything so basically, I didn’t. Other than dinner, I just lolligagged around all day. Then on Sunday, we went into to Sydney with no particular place to go…other than the Wildlife exhibit on Darling Bay because we had paid for it in advance and felt we should do it. Let me preface my remarks by saying that it is not a good idea to go willy-nilly. Really. I left it to the mates to figure out stuff…so we were very busy all day going nowhere. Well, that’s not exactly accurate. We found out that the rail link between Wolli Station and the airport was closed for the weekend for track maintenance…so we thought we should, gasp, go to the airport for a dry run for today’s trip to see how it would work just in case the maintenance went into Monday. Well, how can I describe it? The authorities arranged for bus service from Wolli station in. On the rail, this would take about 5 minutes. On the bus…not so good. It took us…oh, wait, before I tell you let me digress…by giving the dear reader a blow by blow.

We got off the train and followed the signs to the bus stop but it was confusing. Ray followed one couple who had bags figuring they were going to airport. Just one problem. They didn’t know where they were going either. And then we gathered all together on the wrong street corner…but that didn’t matter too much because the bus must have only run once an hour and between the time we arrived at the wrong street corner and we chased lost people, we still had time to recover. So…we rode the bus to the domestic terminal and then exited the airport. We had to take the bus back. As we were approaching the bus, the door closed. I asked if we couldn’t get on board to a balding man with a clip board. He was also wearing a yellow jacket so he was the official in charge. “No, you can catch the next one”. Well…we were at the head of the line and so we waited the most and by the time the next bus came, he had an insurgency on his hands. That’s because buses were arriving every 5 minutes but they were only for intra-airport traffic. And the line kept getting longer. What a jerk. The bus he denied us was 1/3 full. By the time the bus we caught arrived, it could only accommodate 1/2 the waiting crowd. Oh, well. So what? Well, that sort of took the wind out of our sails. Our dry run took about 2 hours and our time to do other things was greatly reduced. But we soldiered on.

We jumped back on the CityRail at the place the bus dumped us and we were off to downtown. Here’s the thing. Ray thought he knew what he was doing and so we got lost. Plus the guys had this idea that we were going to walk across the bridge at Sydney harbor. Did I mention that the wind kicked up yesterday to the tune of about 25 mph? Well, I announced that I didn’t want to walk the bridge. And I was hungry. So, we had disembarked at Town Hall and then we walked back to Circular Quay (the station we had passed through on our way to Town Hall). We found a cafe on the wharf and ordered soup and a ham and cheese croissant to share which were surprisingly good. surprisinglyWho knew? Then we took off again. The plan was to take the ferry to Darling Harbor which is just around the bend from the Quay. Well, it would take 20 minutes and they guys thought it would better to take the CityRail…which we did. Only when we got there we discovered we went to the wrong station so had to backtrack again and then do some walking to arrive at the Wildlife place at 5:00 p.m. Luckily it was still open so we got to see some pretty interesting things…pictures to follow.

 

 
It took an hour to take in the exhibit…the good news was that we were so late on a Sunday afternoon that no one was there. We had the place to ourselves. Groovy.

By now, it was 6:00 p.m. We caught the ferry and I snapped this picture.

 
We migrated home via the grocery store, went to the base camp and fixed dinner. Sat down to eat at 8 p.m. And I fell asleep on the couch watching Groundhog Day.

So…our day could be summarized as “busy going somewhere we wanted and didn’t want to go”. And did I mention the steps. We must have climbed 10,000 steps with all that in and out business. Oh, well. Legs are strong. Although, they don’t look as good as the guy sitting next to Ray. Now, he has some sticks!!

We had a great time today. Partly I ascribe my enthusiam to the fact that we didn’t go to the airport. First day. Finally. Bernie’s here and there is no reason…although the lattes there are superb.

 
Here’s Bernie and me in downtown Sydney. We took the CityRail in to do a dry run. What, another dry run you ask? Well, we booked a bus tour to the Blue Mountains that leaves tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. from downtown…so we decided to time our trip in and find the spot that are to be at 8. So…according to our recent track record, this might be a challenge. And yes it was. Arriving downtown, I headed up the stairs. It almost killed us. We were about 3 stories down and we were the only people on the stairs. Everyone else was on the escalator. Opps. Emerging into the daylight, we were huffing and puffing. Anyway, Ray had talked with the guy that ran the tour and he got an address from him. Does round and round you go have any meaning to you? That was what we did!!

The police didn’t know Rawlins St. So we just kept walking around…until we stumbled on to it. Why didn’t we have a map? Because we’re HOPELESS? Probably. Anyway, it ended up that the place we were to be picked up was the place where you could go broke saving money. By this I mean, we could buy entrance to the aquarium, the Tower, and the Wildlife exhibit for a big discount. So we did. Then we left for the aquarium. Wow. It was great. Here’s some pictures.

 
While I was looking for the exotic fish, a hand came down into the tank!! Never seen that before in an aquarium. Here’s some others.

 

 
A blue starfish and an orange one too. How beautiful is this? And then there was this.

 
It’s me and the sharks. OMG.
Bernie and the shark.
Up close and personal. Jaws. Also a mantra ray.
Another view.

 
The octopus on the move.

 

And then we went to the top of the Sydney tower.

 

 

 

Oh, but the highlight was when we got lost. In a city of millions, Ray found this “shortcut” which gave us a bird’s eye view of the back of the convention center. Probably no one else in the universe has a picture like this.

And for the artsy tartsy…I snapped the picture below just because I found the scene interesting.

 

 
After walking from 12p.m. until 5:30, we jumped the train and came back to base camp to fix a salmon dinner with salad, potatoes and did I mention the gin martini and the wine. We were so tired and achey, we just had to have a stiff drink. And now that we’ve eaten, I’m blogging. Let me rephase, I’m closing the blog and hitting the hay…after all, we must be back downtown at 8 a.m in the morning and I hope we remember how to get to the spot!

Got up early and looked at my email. Found this article in the Australian, the newspaper. http://video.theaustralian.com.au/2130195670 Enjoy.

Now…on to the blogging. Yesterday morning we had to get to the train station and catch the 7:01 into the city center. We were off to the Blue Mountains in a GUIDED TOUR. I know, you probably wonder what got into us. Who knows. Oh, I know. Ray had gone on a guided tour before and thought it was swell so he recommended we do it. So. We booked it. As we were backing out of the garage, I exclaimed, “Wait, I forgot my sunglasses.” I dashed back into the house and grabbed the glasses. As soon as I was back in the car Ray said, “if we miss the train, it’s because of your glasses.” Gasp. Of course, I did not let that stand but I’ll spare you, dear reader, the details. So off we rushed to the train platform only to see the door close from a distance of a staircase. Oh, well, the next train was to arrive at 7:08 and I figured we were still okay to make it by 8 since it really only took us about 30 minutes to get into city center yesterday if you, of course, subtracted all the time we spent lost.

Ray was, shall I say, extremely concerned. I kept assuring him I had the phone and we could call or the guide could call us. Still. It was all about my glasses. The thing is…even if I hadn’t forgotten my glasses…we still would have missed the train…

But I digress. Ray was a nervous as a whore in church and Bernie and I were not. But then…an announcement came over the speaker…the 7:08 train was cancelled and something about a train hitting a truck. OMG. A few minutes later it was announced that the next train would arrive around 7:15 more or less since there was a delay due to the earlier trouble. That’s the train we caught. So…we got downtown with 10 minutes to spare. Only we jigged when we should have jagged and exited the wrong way. A man in a stand cooking bacon and eggs in the underground corridor gave us directions…he had heard of Rawlins, for heaven’s sake. So off we ran. Arriving huffing and puffing, there was no van/bus. “It’s because you forgot your glasses”, he said. We called. The tour guide was late. When he did show up, he ran to the back of the van and swept the floor. Then he popped out and we jumped on the van and it was a good thing because he had our reservation as two and we were three so there was one too many passengers. So, one lone passenger got driven to an undisclosed location to meet up with another van. As he exited the van, the door closed and the guide said, “just told him the van was up the street…I didn’t say it was arriving tomorrow. Just kidding.” The guide was a jokester and that made the entire adventure a kick.

There were 21 of us. We were from France, U.S., Canada, Vietnam, Australia. A diverse crowd which added to the enjoyment. And I must say, we were enjoying not being in charge as we headed to the Blue Mountain but then came to a screeching halt and wallowed in a traffic jam for the best part of an hour. Sydney, despite the trains, has traffic problems just like we do in our big cities. The observation I am required to point out at this juncture is that they don’t drive big SUVs as trucks like we do. Many more compact cars and mid-size even. Nice change of pace if you ask me.

But, I digress. Our guide, let’s call him Darrell, took us to Flat Mountain/lookout and then onto some other lookouts. See us below.

 

 

 

 

Tried to capture the size of the place…it’s hard to do. In the picture below, you see the three sisters rock formation.

 
This is a swell time to visit Australia. The place is not overrun with tourist…you know, people like us!!

There were several different activities to engage in at the Blue Mountains and most involved walking or climbing. The only flat rock was the one we stopped at first. Every other rock involved a sheer drop. So, Bernie, latched onto two young women and they elected to take the scariest stairs down. Ray and I took another way down that involved very steep stairs, walkway etc. When we got down part way there was a train that took us back up for $11/head. I figure it would have taken us the rest of the day to walk back up…at which point, Darrell, would have had to throw us on the floor of the van so that we could complete the act of dying lying down. I’m just saying.

Below is a pic of me mid-journey.
See the waterfall?
Rayman at the “train”.
Sign at the train.

 
Ray on the train before “take off”…almost horizontal.
So, did I mention that Darrell lost the French people? They couldn’t communicate with each other. Where did they go? They were to be back at the van in 15 minutes. OMG. In the end they were found but it was a hoot. The other group dynamic that was observed is that Darrell stressed how important it was to be on time returning from lunch in a small village called Koumbba or something like that…and then he showed up late. Well…for the rest of the trip…it was like herding cats…no one was ever on time again. He was a good sport about it though…and many laughs were heard emanating from our van.

On the way back, he did a detour and we saw some kangaroos hanging out in shade of trees. Then he drove us through the Olympic Village…OMG…it was enormous. At that point we bid them fond adieu, avoir, etc. and jumped off the van and headed into the train at Olympic Village to start our migration back to Oatley, our home away from home. We knew we would be stuck in traffic and so we opted for the rail. Theoretically, it would be, say, moving!!

Some other interesting things happened too. Getting back involved numerous changes of trains. There are trains everywhere. And so there are platforms on various levels everywhere. A change always involves finding the next platform. So, you can go from platform 3, let’s say, to platform 12. This involves stairs, lifts, or elevators. We mostly chose stairs…so why haven’t I lost weight?

But I digress. After a change of trains and platforms, Ray wanted to sit near the door. So we did. Then a fellow got on who greeted us and then launched into a lively hymn with made-up lyrics and completely out of tune. And he kept this up, it seemed, without taking a breath. So, we moved to the seats on top…but we continued to be serenaded for about 15 minutes…you could hear him everywhere in the car…Here’s the Mormon Tab Choir’s rendition:

 

 

Did I mention that the reason we met up with the next- act -you- will-never- see on American Idol is because I left my sunglasses?

But I digress. By the time we arrived in Mortdale station (near Oatley), we decided to go to the pub across the street for a much needed drink. There were people sitting outside having appetizers and drink. Looked good enough. Besides, we met a local the night before that recommended the place. She was a 50-something woman originally from Scotland. So, we went inside. The place was smoke-filled, full of men…smoking, gambling and tipping a cocktail waitress who was teetering on high heels and who was “wearing” bra and panties…nothing more. Ray kept say, “look at the waitress”, while cocking his head to one side (afraid to point?) OMG. The bra did not fit. She needs a private fitting at Nordstroms. And the panties were just shy of a thong. OMG. Well does the term, “get the hell out of here” having any meaning to you?

Back out on the street we decided to drive to Oatley and get some pizza. So, we stopped in front of a place that was busy, parked illegally and stepped inside. The nice man at the door told us they were booked until after 8 p.m. It was 7:00 p.m. We were way too desperate for that. “Could we get a pizza to go (they say “take away”)? “Sure you can but the pizza oven broke down, it’s been repaired and is heating up again. The reheating part will take 20 minutes and then it will take a 20 minutes to cook the pizza.” Exit stage right. We thanked him but told him we’d come another time…armed with reservations. So we drove down the street to the Mugla Cafe and the place was near deserted. We entered and I asked if we could eat there. Well, actually, all the tables were waiting for their occupants…but there was one table right by the front door…we could have that one. So, we jumped on it. Then Ray left to go buy a bottle of wine. They weren’t licensed for selling wine and so the Aussie’s have a great practice. It’s called BYO. And then they charge you $1.50/glass…think of it as a glass usage fee!! Very clever and cheaper than a corkage. I’m not sure how many places operate with this rule…but we really liked it. So, Ray came back with brown bag which had inside it a bottle of AU wine and we settled down for dinner. Finally. At last.

The rest of the evening involved getting home…this involved going thru a few roundabouts. And it is confusing. Also a few right turns which are confusing. At one point…he waited and waited and I said something like, “Ray you can go now”…he said something like, “I’m not going to go until I’m darn good and ready. I don’t want to make a move until all the traffic is gone, okay? Do you get it?”… and with that he stepped on the gas as he was looking left and while Bernie and I were looking at the car on the right speeding toward us…the car which Ray somehow did not see. I personally think the hot air was blocking his vision. He said, “Where the hell did that car come from as he went from 2 mph to 40 mph in a nano second to avoid what certainly could have been a collision. Bernie and I howled. After the peels of laughter subsided I injected, “I think it is because I forgot my sunglasses!”

We had a great time today. Partly I ascribe my enthusiam to the fact that we didn’t go to the airport. First day. Finally. Bernie’s here and there is no reason…although the lattes there are superb.

 
Here’s Bernie and me in downtown Sydney. We took the CityRail in to do a dry run. What, another dry run you ask? Well, we booked a bus tour to the Blue Mountains that leaves tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. from downtown…so we decided to time our trip in and find the spot that are to be at 8. So…according to our recent track record, this might be a challenge. And yes it was. Arriving downtown, I headed up the stairs. It almost killed us. We were about 3 stories down and we were the only people on the stairs. Everyone else was on the escalator. Opps. Emerging into the daylight, we were huffing and puffing. Anyway, Ray had talked with the guy that ran the tour and he got an address from him. Does round and round you go have any meaning to you? That was what we did!!

The police didn’t know Rawlins St. So we just kept walking around…until we stumbled on to it. Why didn’t we have a map? Because we’re HOPELESS? Probably. Anyway, it ended up that the place we were to be picked up was the place where you could go broke saving money. By this I mean, we could buy entrance to the aquarium, the Tower, and the Wildlife exhibit for a big discount. So we did. Then we left for the aquarium. Wow. It was great. Here’s some pictures.

 
While I was looking for the exotic fish, a hand came down into the tank!! Never seen that before in an aquarium. Here’s some others.

 

 
A blue starfish and an orange one too. How beautiful is this? And then there was this.

 
It’s me and the sharks. OMG.
Bernie and the shark.
Up close and personal. Jaws. Also a mantra ray.
Another view.

 
The octopus on the move.

 

And then we went to the top of the Sydney tower.

 

 

 

Oh, but the highlight was when we got lost. In a city of millions, Ray found this “shortcut” which gave us a bird’s eye view of the back of the convention center. Probably no one else in the universe has a picture like this.

And for the artsy tartsy…I snapped the picture below just because I found the scene interesting.

 

 
After walking from 12p.m. until 5:30, we jumped the train and came back to base camp to fix a salmon dinner with salad, potatoes and did I mention the gin martini and the wine. We were so tired and achey, we just had to have a stiff drink. And now that we’ve eaten, I’m blogging. Let me rephase, I’m closing the blog and hitting the hay…after all, we must be back downtown at 8 a.m in the morning and I hope we remember how to get to the spot!

Hi again,

To the airport again and this time, success. Bernie is here!!

He buys a CityRail pass and we return to the house to drop off his stuff. Then we head back to downtown Sydney. What a spectacular day. Warmer.

Today we head to Manly beach. This involves long walks, climbing stiars, dipping our toes in the Tasman Sea (cold but not quite as cold as home). To get to Manly beach, we elected to catch the ferry. Wow. It was a beautiful ride. Right by the Opera House. Fabulous. And Manly beach was great too. Had a great time.

 

Returned home at the height of rush hour. Fixed dinner. Oh, I forgot. On our walk along Manly Bay, we met an Aussie that asked what we were planning to do while in AU. We mentioned the Great Barrier Reef. He mentioned that we should do the Night Zoo. So, as soon as dinner was over and we were relaxing, I booked us two tickets to the Night Zoo. Bernie was sleeping so we did not assume he would want to do this. We’ll check tomorrow.

Here’s the info.http://www.cairnsnightzoo.com/home.htm

Doesn’t that sound fabulous? Can’t wait!!