Cairns - No Rain !!!

What is the right description for a feeling that has excitement for what's next and trepidation for the unknown and then sprinkled with a little melancholic sadness for departing ?  I don't know either, but I'm sure both Teresa and I felt it as we said goodbye to Mya and then Brian dropped us at the ferry to continue or journey.  We had a wonderful yet productive almost 2 weeks on Magnetic Island with Brian and Mya.  We also spent a fair amount of time ( always at meal time, go figure ) with their scholarly neighbor Scotty.  Thank you Brian and Mya for the wonderful food and experience while staying with you.

Not to pick on Teresa but the picture of the book and the view of the ocean exemplifies most of her non-work time activities.  She loved it !!!

We fed the Lorikeets, colorful little buggars.

We made it up to Cairns about 5.30 on Monday.  No rain the whole way.  We had a message on our phone to contact our roomie Ronan, but with my non-existent French and his broken English we had a tough time hooking up.  But we eventually made it.

So we're here now.  We're staying at the Mantra Amphora resort.  One of the Boutique Collection properties.  Really nice.  We are on the third floor overlooking the sign, looking directly at the ocean.

It never gets old does it Brian ?  We even heard a Curlew last night.  No wallabies eating the plants here though.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

By now everyone should have had their evening snack, from California to Oklahoma and Illinois.  Our chore today was to clean the big house in preparation for guests arriving next week.

What would life be if we can't laugh at ourselves once in awhile.  So here are a couple of laughs and such...

Monday we will be headed to Cairns (pronounced Cannes here).

Teresa dumped enough stuff to eliminate one carry bag so we're one lighter.

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone.  Time for a swim in the ocean.

Bungalow Bay Koala Park

This morning we went to Bungalow Bay Koala Park.  They serve a buffet breakfast and bring out all of the indigenous animals.  Good fun and great food, we had a wonderful time.

Mya forced us to take a day off.  I cheated and got a few things done this morning.  Shhh, don' t tell her.

Another Day in Paradise

One of my oft used lines is "Another Day in Paradise."  This is the real thing !
Brian and Mya have made us feel real welcome.  The funny thing is we're in the big house (rental) and they are in the little house where they live.  We're going to be moving on either Friday or next Monday.  So sad, I may have to drag Teresa out.

Mya even makes the yard work fun.  Trimming and transplanting her "little babies."  She knows all of them and there are hundreds.

We hiked over the mountain to Balding Bay (nude beach).  A little disappointing to me...  And Mya hiked with us on the Forts walk.  We did find one sleeping Koala.  I whistled and woke him up.  After the Forts hike we fed the Wallabies.

Magnetic Island

We had a great stay with Jean in Mackay.  A little work, a lotta play, good food and sightseeing.
Also got the IPad screen fixed by the lady at the "The Laptop Man" store.  Nice folks.  Now Teresa is restricted from it.  Hah!!!

Jean dropped us about 6:30 Thursday morning to catch the bus to Townsville.  Almost 7 hours to cover 180 miles.  We still liked it.  Then we caught the ferry over to Magnetic Island, about 9 miles.

We are now staying with Brian and Mya at their "On The Beach" paradise.  I mean really a paradise.  I almost have to pinch Teresa to break her out of her reverie.  Not sure yet how long we're staying but we're doing yard clean up in preparation for the upcoming summer rental season (Christmas).  Teresa even got into it, but I have to watch her with the clippers.

In addition to the beach as the front yard we have a pool outside our room.

You can see Brian's pictures of their paradise on YouTube, search for OTB4819.

There is no road !!  Serious.  They park about 300 yards away and take this ATV to the house.  It even has a boat motor on it for use during high tide.

Local Tourist

That title sounds mutually exclusive, doesn't it ?  Not really.  Teresa and I may be tourists but our Helpx hosts help us to be as local as possible.  We are now in Mackay staying with Jean.  She has been a wonderful host.  She has prepared several international meals; American, English, Morrocan, and Vietnamese.  All wonderful !!!  Jean has also been a wonderful tour guide.  We have been to all the local beaches, one of the largest coal ports in then world and had a picnic down on the river walk in downtown Mackay.  We've been fairly busy, but also have had time to take a break.  Oh, and once when we headed out we got caught in the traffic around a fire at the local Toys R Us.  It was leveled.

Thursday we're headed north to Townsville and taking the ferry out to Magnetic Island for our next stop.  Still planning one more stop north to Cairns.  No takers so far but we're hopeful.

Neat Stuff

Yes, I still say neat.  Dig it ???

Sunrise and sunset at Bungarribee.

Flying Foxes in Yeppoon.  Nasty, ugly buggers.

My new hat on the mighty Fitzroy River.

See what happens when you don't secure your scaffolding.

Koalas at the Rocky Zoo.

More Pics from Barmoya

We had lots of fun while staying with Jim and Bonnie.  Here are a few more pics during our stay there.
Bonnie mentioned we should stop at this little cathedral on the way to Emu Park.  Initially we thought  we would skip it, we have seen some amazing churches/cathedrals in our travels.  But we thought if our host mentioned it we should, and we were glad we did.  It was built by US soldiers in 1943.  It is very simple and thought provoking.  As a veteran it chokes me even now to think about the past and current wars and the loss of life.  Anyway the small chapel is one of a kind.