Return to Oz

Bob and I survived our 5 states in a week trip to America. We got to visit our family, friends, and our cat Dingo. Bob's sister Kristy graduated from medical school on a Sunday, my twin brother Jonathan graduated from a different medical school on a Saturday. 

We now have 2 doctors in the family, and as I'm a natural klutz, I'm sure that will come in handy.

After our whirlwind U.S.A. trip, and after a previous 7 weeks with family visitors here in Australia, Bob and I took this weekend to do absolutely nothing. It was fantastic. We slept in, cleaned our hovel of an apartment, Bob cooked elaborate meals, I ate and cleaned up after said elaborate meals, we played frisbee in the park, it was - in an oddly domestic way- lovely.

Now the work week has started once again but Bob and I finally feel we're on solid ground. We are no longer tour guides, our apartment is no longer a hotel, we are appreciating our clean and empty home. Until next week, when my Mom comes to a visit.

Round One

I'm currently running around 6 American states in a week but will post my next story soon. Jetlag and I are having a boxing match and right now it looks like I'm not winning.

Birds from the Wrong Side of the Tracks

To further submerge Jonathan in the wilds of Far North Queensland, I took him to Harvey's Creek Wildlife Park. The park focuses mainly on crocodiles, it even has a crocodile farm on premises... which I guess keeps the unruly crocs in line. 

But the elderly yet chipper receptionist told us to go straight to the cassowary feeding, so we headed down a swampy boardwalk to the enclosure. Now three years ago Bob and I were unknowingly charged by one of these massive birds during a night hike in the rainforest - I know, it was a dumb idea. But the fact that the park let people feed these animals had me slightly concerned. 

You see, the cassowary is a large bird about the size of an ostrich, but more solid and more deadly. They have very thick and powerful legs that conveniently contain three razor sharp claws. When threatened or protecting young, cassowaries have been known to jump in the air and gut people from neck to groin - not a fun way to end a day in the woods. On top of that, their bright blue heads are topped with a horny helmet and instead of normal wings they have creepy needle like fingers. They are a very visually intimidating bird, but in a strange way beautiful...like a freaky Picasso painting.

Unfortunately in the wild, cassowaries are very endangered, which is a shame. I am quite fond of them, because when I worked at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, the resident cassowaries would follow me around (with a fence separating us of course). 

Anyway, Jonathan and I got to the enclosure at feeding time where the keeper actually encouraged us to feed the birds. I thought this wasn't a wise idea, but as usual my twin egged me on and so I fed a female a piece of fruit, and somehow still have all my fingers. 

Friends of the Forest

For Jonathan's first foray into Australia's wet tropics, we drove up the windy Macalister Range that cradles the town of Cairns in a voraciously green bear hug. The mountains' steep ascent took us from sea level to 1,200 feet in just a few kilometers.

Nestled within the heights are the Atherton Tablelands. 

Here, a unique blend of altitude and weather create a farmer's haven high above the ocean's sharp reef. Rolling plains, stately oak trees, and content bovines are more reminiscent of the English countryside than rugged Australia. Yet the Tablelands are very much a part of  Oz. 

Jonathan and I were driving through the area to see Barron Falls, where the Barron River plunges from the fertile soil of the Tablelands to the costal plain around Cairns. 

Now, as a rule, whenever my twin and I travel together the weather gets up to mischief. So naturally, when we finally made it to Barron Falls the clear sky instantly flooded with clouds and released a torrent of rain. Which would have been ok, if we didn't have to hike through a forest to get back to our rental car.

While plodding through the dense forest, Jonathan came to 3 realizations. In the tropics there are:

1) Big plants

2) Big spider webs 

3) And, consequently, big freakin spiders

The spider is on the top right, incase you're having trouble spotting it (it's about the size of Jonathan's head).

The arrival of a twin

My brother Jonathan is here for 5 weeks on a medical rotation. On the morning he arrived in Sydney, he had completed 18 hours of flying. So, being a considerate sister, I decided we'd fly an additional 3 hours that night, to visit Port Douglas in the northern state of Queensland. He wasn't too happy with me.

Still, we had 11 hours to spend in Sydney before our flight, so I walked him to his limits. We went to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, The Rocks, and over the Harbour Bridge. By the time I got him on the plane that evening he was out cold, even through a rough landing. 

We emerged from the plane near midnight, and were greeted by the heat, humidity, and odd noises of the tropics - boy had I missed it. Cairns is the main town for trips to the Great Barrier Reef. While this means it has a lot of adventure trips to offer, it also means things are expensive, and the town is a tad overrun with tacky shops. 

My favorite place around there is Port Douglas, a quiet town an hour's drive north of Cairns. Jonathan and I had a week to spend in this humid tropical paradise, and the best part was we got to stay with my friends Linda and John, whom Bob and I had worked for and lived with 3 years ago. Linda and John are fantastic and have the craziest stories from living in the wet tropics. It was their stories of diving on the reef that transformed Bob from a clean-cut engineer, to an ocean hunting, shark loving eco-boy. I was curious to see what would happen to Jonathan. 

Tardy

I know I've been tardy with my blog posts, but I've had a lot of visitors, took a vacation, and just started a new job. So once my head stops spinning I'll be back. I promise. Sorry to anyone that may actually read this site.

Company and Rediscovery

I've started writing weekly articles about Australia for the Triblocal of Oak Park, IL. You can find my postings on the Oak Park Entertainment section: http://www.triblocal.com/Oak_Park_&_River_Forest 

(just incase you're really bored). But for now: 

Moving far from loved ones is often hard and stressful. You miss them, they sometimes resent you, you miss them, they occasionally miss you, you miss them, they finally admit they miss you a bit, you find out your new town doesn't carry your quirky favorite snacks (like Kraft mac and cheese spirals), and guess what, you then also miss Kraft mac and cheese spirals and strawberry frosted poptarts.

The upside is that your loved ones have a cool new place to visit. Bob and I have a month ahead with visitors a plenty. After having nary a soul for months, we are to be swamped with 5 guests in a month. April shall be the month of craziness and fun!

Dennis, my sister-in-law's boyfriend arrived on Saturday. As Bob and I have been in Sydney for eight months, many of the daily sights and sounds have become normal, and unfortunately overlooked.

It's been great having Dennis around. Not only can he whip up an awesome pizza, but he gives a new sense of appreciation for where we are.

On his first day, we did what we do to any new arrival - walk their ass off. If you land after your 14.5 hr flight and go to sleep - you are in a world of trouble as jetlag will hit you like the fist of a boxing kangaroo. Walking through the Royal Botanic Gardens, Bob and I got a fresh appreciation for Australia's great plants, the glistening Opera House, massive Harbour Bridge, the local pubs, and even the haunting bird call of a currawong.

So we're looking forward to the month ahead, with many days of great rediscoveries, of why we moved here in the first place.