Diaries from Down Under
Chapter Four
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Anyone who’s done any degree of long distance running knows all too well the concept of hitting the wall. It’s that crucial moment in which the mind no longer functions with the body and your hamster inevitably falls off the wheel. For so many things, mind over matter is the ultimate deciding factor but, when you hit the wall, your ability to rationalize and see the light at the end of the tunnel minimizes drastically.
On the long distance, stamina requiring marathon that is our discovery of Australia, day ten was most definitely the moment in which I hit the wall. Our final day in the Outback took its toll on me and luckily (or perhaps unluckily) it did so for Steve as well. A certain degree of stress comes with any vacation but, in our case, this trip required a great deal of planning and organization. We’ve been really busy since our arrival in Australia in an attempt to see as much as possible during our short time here. With so much to do and not a lot of time to do it in, nearly every day here has been planned ahead of time. In our first two weeks, we’ve stayed at four different hotels, taken five different flights and changed time zones with each one. All this to say that by the time we left Central Australia, our stamina was running low and our mental health was depleting with it!
Fortunately (yes, there is a bright side here!), amongst our exceptional planning, we also anticipated this very set back!! Steve and I know each other and ourselves well enough to know that ten days is usually our limit before we start to feel a little homesick and worn out. This time, we took prevented measures…
A month ago, we booked ourselves into a beautiful resort in the small town of Port Douglas. We decided it was time to let someone take care of us for the day!! So, early on Saturday morning, we drove one hour along the coast from Cairns to Port Douglas to the very luxurious Sheraton Mirage Hotel Resort. Surrounded by seven acres of saltwater lagoons, this hotel is simply legendary! We proceeded to spend the entire day napping in the sun, swimming in the lagoons and walking along the beach. After a lovely dinner in town, we returned to our room for a rest in our Jacuzzi, watched Harry Potter and ate Australia’s 84% cream chocolate! It was just the rest that we needed after ten amazing days of adventure!!
With the break under our belt, we are now set for the last stretch before we head home. We took a train ride today to the small village of Kuranda, located high up in the rainforest and made our way back down via the rare commute of taking a cable car! Tomorrow, we are hoping that the weather will cooperate for our reef tour and our last day in Cairns. We are due to visit two areas of the reef and spend a good five hours of snorkeling. The clouds were rolling in tonight around dinner time but, we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will have one more day of adventure conducive weather.
Come Tuesday, it’s off to Canberra to spend our last week with the real reason that we came here in the first place…to see Jeff, Monica and the kids! After this huge Australian Adventure, I can’t think of any better way to finish it off than with four of our favourite people.
On the long distance, stamina requiring marathon that is our discovery of Australia, day ten was most definitely the moment in which I hit the wall. Our final day in the Outback took its toll on me and luckily (or perhaps unluckily) it did so for Steve as well. A certain degree of stress comes with any vacation but, in our case, this trip required a great deal of planning and organization. We’ve been really busy since our arrival in Australia in an attempt to see as much as possible during our short time here. With so much to do and not a lot of time to do it in, nearly every day here has been planned ahead of time. In our first two weeks, we’ve stayed at four different hotels, taken five different flights and changed time zones with each one. All this to say that by the time we left Central Australia, our stamina was running low and our mental health was depleting with it!
Fortunately (yes, there is a bright side here!), amongst our exceptional planning, we also anticipated this very set back!! Steve and I know each other and ourselves well enough to know that ten days is usually our limit before we start to feel a little homesick and worn out. This time, we took prevented measures…
A month ago, we booked ourselves into a beautiful resort in the small town of Port Douglas. We decided it was time to let someone take care of us for the day!! So, early on Saturday morning, we drove one hour along the coast from Cairns to Port Douglas to the very luxurious Sheraton Mirage Hotel Resort. Surrounded by seven acres of saltwater lagoons, this hotel is simply legendary! We proceeded to spend the entire day napping in the sun, swimming in the lagoons and walking along the beach. After a lovely dinner in town, we returned to our room for a rest in our Jacuzzi, watched Harry Potter and ate Australia’s 84% cream chocolate! It was just the rest that we needed after ten amazing days of adventure!!
With the break under our belt, we are now set for the last stretch before we head home. We took a train ride today to the small village of Kuranda, located high up in the rainforest and made our way back down via the rare commute of taking a cable car! Tomorrow, we are hoping that the weather will cooperate for our reef tour and our last day in Cairns. We are due to visit two areas of the reef and spend a good five hours of snorkeling. The clouds were rolling in tonight around dinner time but, we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will have one more day of adventure conducive weather.
Come Tuesday, it’s off to Canberra to spend our last week with the real reason that we came here in the first place…to see Jeff, Monica and the kids! After this huge Australian Adventure, I can’t think of any better way to finish it off than with four of our favourite people.
Monday, April 14th, 2008
I got to touch a sea turtle today! How incredible is that?!?! We were out snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef when I spotted the turtle. I swam over to him, reached my hand out and just then, he rose to the surface and the tips of my fingers grazed the outside of his shell. He barely even seemed to notice that I was there.
The ocean never fails to blow my mind! Seeing creatures like a sea turtle in the open sea is very humbling to me. It is a vivid reminder of an unseen world that that lies all around us. I love being in the ocean but, every now and then, I get awakened to its vastness and power, and startle myself into praying that it doesn’t eat me alive!!!
Our day on the Reef was fantastic! We woke up at the crack of dawn to head out for the pier. Our sailboat, the Passions of Paradise, took us two hours out into the ocean for the tiny destination of Michaelmas Island, a bird sanctuary and our first snorkeling site. The waters were rough and for a good chunk of the morning, we thought that the tail end of the Eastern Coast’s rainy season might unleash upon us but, sure enough, the clouds parted and left us with a spectacular day.
We had lunch on the boat, met new friends and headed out for our second site along the Reef. Being in deeper waters this time made for an entirely different perspective of the Reef and a different appreciation for how fierce the ocean can be. While Michaelmas Island was very shallow and easy to manage…the open water of our second site was similar to the continental shelf; once the you reached the edge of the Reef, you also felt like you had reached the edge of the earth!!! The vast darkness that loomed beyond the Reef was haunting and while I admire the scuba divers that braved its elements, you would never find me venturing off the edge of that cliff!
By the end of the day, we were exhausted yet energized. Exhausted for the sun and the swimming and the all the excitement of the day. Energized from having seen one of the most beautiful natural wonders of the world and gaining a new appreciation for the need to protect it.
Someone asked me today what I would remember most about my trip here and I told them, “the colours”. Every time I look at something, it seems to have the most vivid of colours; the birds, the fish, the sky…they all have a vibrancy that I’ve never experienced before and may never see again. Perhaps it’s the more observant side of me having the time to notice or perhaps it’s genuinely the various elements that make up this phenomenal place but, either way, I have found that when I close my eyes at night, not only have I seen the world a bit differently, but the colours have seeped into my dreams as well. I can’t possibly think of a better souvenir than that!
The ocean never fails to blow my mind! Seeing creatures like a sea turtle in the open sea is very humbling to me. It is a vivid reminder of an unseen world that that lies all around us. I love being in the ocean but, every now and then, I get awakened to its vastness and power, and startle myself into praying that it doesn’t eat me alive!!!
Our day on the Reef was fantastic! We woke up at the crack of dawn to head out for the pier. Our sailboat, the Passions of Paradise, took us two hours out into the ocean for the tiny destination of Michaelmas Island, a bird sanctuary and our first snorkeling site. The waters were rough and for a good chunk of the morning, we thought that the tail end of the Eastern Coast’s rainy season might unleash upon us but, sure enough, the clouds parted and left us with a spectacular day.
We had lunch on the boat, met new friends and headed out for our second site along the Reef. Being in deeper waters this time made for an entirely different perspective of the Reef and a different appreciation for how fierce the ocean can be. While Michaelmas Island was very shallow and easy to manage…the open water of our second site was similar to the continental shelf; once the you reached the edge of the Reef, you also felt like you had reached the edge of the earth!!! The vast darkness that loomed beyond the Reef was haunting and while I admire the scuba divers that braved its elements, you would never find me venturing off the edge of that cliff!
By the end of the day, we were exhausted yet energized. Exhausted for the sun and the swimming and the all the excitement of the day. Energized from having seen one of the most beautiful natural wonders of the world and gaining a new appreciation for the need to protect it.
Someone asked me today what I would remember most about my trip here and I told them, “the colours”. Every time I look at something, it seems to have the most vivid of colours; the birds, the fish, the sky…they all have a vibrancy that I’ve never experienced before and may never see again. Perhaps it’s the more observant side of me having the time to notice or perhaps it’s genuinely the various elements that make up this phenomenal place but, either way, I have found that when I close my eyes at night, not only have I seen the world a bit differently, but the colours have seeped into my dreams as well. I can’t possibly think of a better souvenir than that!
Good Night and Sweet Dreams…
For more pictures from Port Douglas and Cairns, click here.
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