Tag Archives: Australia

Australia and PNG pics

Posted on 15 March 2011 by -J

I have finally finished wading through something like 3000 photos from our trip last year, and have whittled them down to a mere 150 or so. I put them in more or less chronological order so they’re a fairly accurate representation of our journey, though some poetic license was taken so that the gallery images and captions made more sense. They’re posted in three sections in the Gallery. Enjoy!

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Morning in the Rainforest

Posted on 28 October 2010 by -J

A three-quarter moon and a cacophony of sound woke me this morning. I haven’t seen most of these birds – birding in a rain forest is damned difficult to say the least – but at least a dozen different species are singing, cawing, squawking and booming right outside our cabin. And last night after dinner I heard and felt giant bats winging by me – we saw them in Cairns as well and they’re quite large, about the size of a ground squirrel with an 18″ wing span!

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Great Barrier Reef Diving

Posted on 27 October 2010 by -J

I’m still out on the boat right now so this won’t get sent for a couple of days yet but things are going well. We missed our last flight and so ended up with a full day in Sydney before flying to Cairns – neat city – but caught our liveaboard View of the GBRwithout issue (we had generously padded our travel arrangements to account for this). The morning before boarding we took a very long sky tram over the rainforest, in the rain so as to have the most realistic exposure to the environment, and explored the area for most of the day before going to the port. Our weather still left a bit to be desired and we headed out in what we would call snotty weather back home. Fortunately I’m not prone to seasickness but the same couldn’t be said for all our comrades! After an overnight steam we anchored in the lee of the Grest Barrier Reef and started diving.

Wow. Warm, clear, blue water. Okay, a bit rough on the surface at times as the winds have kept up a fairly steady 25-35 knots, but it stopped raining after the second day so still… Wow. We’ve seen loads if sharks, which for me has been the highlight (so far, since we still have two days of diving as I write this).  The Reef is amazing – the color change makes it stand out for miles, especially from the top deck of the boat. It’s a beautiful sight!

Update – we’re off the boat and on our way to Cooktown – will post again with pics ASAP!

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Tropical North Queensland

Posted on 20 October 2010 by -J

It’s hot. It’s humid. I’m loving it. Brandon’s dying already and we haven’t even made it to PNG. Gigantic fruit bats are hanging in every tree outside our hotel room, pied pigeons on steroids keep up a constant chorus in the predawn hours and it’s been raining constantly since we arrived late last night. We board the Spoilsport today and by this time tomorrow should be starting our second dive!

Our flight attendant last night was fascinated to find we’re from Unalaska – apparently there are Deadliest Catch fans even in the land Down Under! Hope to have some pics to include next time – stay tuned.

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