March 12th
Greetings from a hammock in Atherton! I have arrived safely into Cairns and getting closer to the Great Barrier Reef. It was wonderful to see Laura again and we fell into an easy routine as if no time had passed since we had last seen each other. It was strange to get into a car with her and have her driving but all of our road trips in the past had had her on the left side of the car and me on the right, so somehow it still felt right.
Greetings from a hammock in Atherton! I have arrived safely into Cairns and getting closer to the Great Barrier Reef. It was wonderful to see Laura again and we fell into an easy routine as if no time had passed since we had last seen each other. It was strange to get into a car with her and have her driving but all of our road trips in the past had had her on the left side of the car and me on the right, so somehow it still felt right.
We spend the afternoon running around Cairns and soaking up the humidity. We stopped at a local brewery and tried some of the local fare. It was wonderful to be in the tropics and warm warm weather again.
We headed into Atherton stopping along the way to look at the Barron Fall; a river that flows through the area and has some very impressive waterfalls. Laura had taken a swim in it during the dry season. It was much fuller than Laura had ever seen it. In order to get to the waterfall we had to walk through a bit of the rain forest. Laura talked plants and more plants and I got to see exactly what her thesis and PhD was about. It made much more sense when I could look at the plants and areas she has been studying.
We finished off the afternoon with a lovely swim in the crater lake as the sun was setting and a light rain started to fall. The water was crystal clear and drinkable. It helped to sooth any tired calves and feet I had from running around Sydney the last few days.
It was strange falling asleep last night. I am definitely in the tropics. Sounds of birds and geckos lulled me to sleep. That was till 5 am when an annoying bird decided to do his wake up call. He sounds exactly like an alarm clock, and stays just long enough to make sure you are awake. It was different to go to sleep hearing animals moving around and not fire or garage trucks or noisy neighbors.
Today we are taking it easy as Laura has work she needs to do and I am enjoying the chance to sit in her front lawn in a hammock and catch up on reading and writing. The plan is to head up to Cairns tomorrow to meet up with Cameron and then up to the rain forest north of Cairns then coming back to spend a few days in Port Douglas and doing some diving. More to follow!
Study Break!
Laura needed to take a break from the leaves and we were both hungry so we headed to Yungaburra, just east of Atherton for lunch. It was small town in the truest sense of the word. We had a lovely breakfast and wandered around one of the coolest bookstores I have ever been to. The owner of the shop was happy to help me find a book on Antarctica and talk about the fate of bookstores. Laura and I did some platypus hunting (with no success) buts still saw a turtle or two and a lot of birds. We also stopped at the Curtain Fig Tree. And came back for dinner and Smithwicks. She was all too happy to drink.
We headed into Atherton stopping along the way to look at the Barron Fall; a river that flows through the area and has some very impressive waterfalls. Laura had taken a swim in it during the dry season. It was much fuller than Laura had ever seen it. In order to get to the waterfall we had to walk through a bit of the rain forest. Laura talked plants and more plants and I got to see exactly what her thesis and PhD was about. It made much more sense when I could look at the plants and areas she has been studying.
We finished off the afternoon with a lovely swim in the crater lake as the sun was setting and a light rain started to fall. The water was crystal clear and drinkable. It helped to sooth any tired calves and feet I had from running around Sydney the last few days.
It was strange falling asleep last night. I am definitely in the tropics. Sounds of birds and geckos lulled me to sleep. That was till 5 am when an annoying bird decided to do his wake up call. He sounds exactly like an alarm clock, and stays just long enough to make sure you are awake. It was different to go to sleep hearing animals moving around and not fire or garage trucks or noisy neighbors.
Today we are taking it easy as Laura has work she needs to do and I am enjoying the chance to sit in her front lawn in a hammock and catch up on reading and writing. The plan is to head up to Cairns tomorrow to meet up with Cameron and then up to the rain forest north of Cairns then coming back to spend a few days in Port Douglas and doing some diving. More to follow!
Study Break!
Laura needed to take a break from the leaves and we were both hungry so we headed to Yungaburra, just east of Atherton for lunch. It was small town in the truest sense of the word. We had a lovely breakfast and wandered around one of the coolest bookstores I have ever been to. The owner of the shop was happy to help me find a book on Antarctica and talk about the fate of bookstores. Laura and I did some platypus hunting (with no success) buts still saw a turtle or two and a lot of birds. We also stopped at the Curtain Fig Tree. And came back for dinner and Smithwicks. She was all too happy to drink.
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