Wonderland Down Under.

We left in the rain and headed out 40km to Norman Reef, one of the 2900 reefs making up the 5000km long Great Barrier Reef network. Our boat took us to a large platform where we could experience the reef in three ways: snorkel, a semi-submarine and an underwater observatory.

The dangerous jellies/ stingers generally stay close to land and are extremely rare at the outer reef but because it is peak stinger season, we all got gussied up in stinger suits that cover you from head to toe. We didn't see the feared box jelly on this excursion, but from what we hear, the sting is not worth the risk. The water was as warm and as flat as bathwater, making for easy swimming.

We started in the semi-sub which was pretty cool and gave us a neat preview of what was to come. Although water clarity was not great (by reef standards) due to the rains, we were able to see lots of fish and corals. It was also a cool primer for Addi who was thrilled to be in a submarine, was amazed that we were seeing these things in "the real ocean" (vs the aquarium) and couldn't get over the prospect of swimming with them.

Yes. You are drawing the right conclusion. Addi snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. Like a pro...for two hours. Mask, snorkel breathing, head underwater, the whole thing! Without trepidation (although not without the occasional sputtering user error and with the support of a life jacket and parental arm) she plopped her face in the water to test her mask, popped in the mouth piece and started chasing fish! At one point she started to sing to the fish through the snorkel tube! It was so fun to experience this with her and is a testament to the power of excitement to overcome fear! Speaking of fear, Jim got bit on the neck by a tiny fish and keeps looking for blood.

I wish I had some pictures of the underwater odyssey, but we don't have an underwater camera. Imagine sea cucumbers, parrot fish, stag antler coral, brain coral; fish and corals in blues and yellows and reds and purples. Vibrant and alive and swimming all around you. The real treat for us was that Addi learned to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. This opens up new possibilities for the SE Asia leg of this adventure!!

We made a short video of Addi after the snorkel....we will try to upload it shortly.

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...can you hear, can you hear the thunder, yeah....

Better run, better take cover! Men at Work. Embrace it.

Palm Cove is a tropical paradise currently in the off-season (read: wet season) so it is eerily quiet here. The weather is actually fine with a thunder storm every afternoon, but otherwise hot and humid- perfect swimming weather. The rainforest meets the beach here with lush green mountains rolling to white sand leading to turquoise blue waters. The downside is that summer (now) is "stinger season" so you can't wade into the water unless inside of stinger nets to keep the Box Jellies and their 30 foot tentacles out. A bustling Aussie winter vacation getaway, it is slow and low in summer, just what we need before leaving for SE Asia. We are boating to and snorkeling on the outer Great Barrier Reef tomorrow and will do an aboriginal tour of the Daintree Rainforest on Monday...otherwise we won't be doing much more than relaxing and reflecting!

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Addi's Day

Today was Addi's Choice Day in Gleneg (20min outside of Adelaide on a gorgeous white sand beach). So we spent the morning at Beach House which has a merry-go-round, a train, a giant climbing gym...you get the gist, the afternoon at the beach digging holes and making castles followed by a nice long bath and buttered noodle dinner. Photo attached is for the grandparents in the audience.

Mollydooker Vineyards (my screen name namesake) was too ridged with their tasting times so we didn't make it to MacLaren Vale today. Oh well- guess we will have to do that tasting by the bottle at home!

Tomorrow we go to "the far north" to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef for a week. Palm Cove is north of Cairnes and is far from the Queensland flooding. So, nothing to worry about- well, except for the box jellyfish with 30 foot tentacles and a wicked sting that demand swimmers swim in netted areas and wear a "stinger suit" ...if they dare go in the ocean at the beach at all! We will gage risk v rumor when we get there, but expect to make good use of the hotel pool!

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Finger Wave, Kangaroo Island.

We had our final day at Kangaroo Island yesterday and I don't want to forget to write about the KI Finger Wave! This wave, done by lifting the right hand pointer finger from the steering wheel, is done by every driver to every driver- kind of like the Jeep Wrangler wave at home, but indiscriminating. I think it is because you pass so few cars on this island that every car is in the club! We felt like locals, mate!

After many a finger wave, we explored Flinders Chase National Park on the west end. We went to a stone formation called The Arches and I think this is the first time I have truly seen the ocean "boil". It was the roughest, angriest ocean I have ever seen. There was a colony of New Zealand Seals speckled all over the rocks as they got battered by the crashing waves and forceful winds. I can't imagine why they liked that spot, but they seemed happy! We went from there to The Remarkable Rocks. This formation, as seen in the movie December Boys, was wild with the boulders taking on all sorts of crazy shapes.

As we packed up the hotel, Jim said goodbye to one of his many tropical offices and tried to pick up a piece of dust that turned out to be a scorpion!

Finally, we bought the Men At Work Greatest Hits album. Yup. That just happened.

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Kangaroo Frenzy

Today we explored the interior and north coast of Kangaroo Island. Tomorrow is the west end. I love love it here. They say the place is overrun with wildlife at dawn and at dusk, but we have not managed to be out at either time. So, we went to Parndana Wildlife Reserve and got an experience.

We saw all sorts of native Australian wildlife, but of greatest interest was the kangaroo field where we were allowed to go in and hand feed them! These little kangas were adorable in soft chocolate brown; about as tall as Addi when not 'standing up' and up to my shoulders when on hind feet; and as aggressive as geese who knew there was food to be had. Addi and I were a bit nervous at first, but enjoyed ourselves once we figured out how to manage the swarm (how? You wonder? Let Jim hold the food bag!). We had great fun petting, feeding and watching them hop around until one little quick guy decided to play with Addi (read: tackle...or as we told Addi: hug). She was fine- just startled, and the kangaroo was really only playing with her the way they were playing with each other, but we took the queue and left. Once outside the gate, Addi told the kangaroos that it was ok; she knew they were just playing. Here's to hoping this doesn't come up later in therapy!

The other animal worth mentioning is the talking cockatoo who said "hello! Hello!"....with an aussie accent!!

From there we took the red dirt roads north through endless wild bush to Stokes Bay. We trekked through volcanic rock and caves which suddenly opened up to an amazing little coral beach. Although the waters were exceptionally rough, there was a small protected lagoon that Jim could snorkel and swim with Addi in. The water was a bit cold for me so I observed from the sand.

We stopped at Sunset Vineyards on the way home for a tasting and bought some delicious wines for enjoyment tonight. Among others, we tasted a sparkling Shiraz. Served chilled, it is a very popular Aussie trend that I forgot to mention when writing about the Barossa valley tour. It is a treat...and one that I had not seen in the US. Keep your eyes open for it. Greg and Bonnye, we are bringing a bottle to enjoy with you in Bangkok.

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KI day 1: Sea Lions, Spelunking and Sand Castles.

It was only a 30 minute flight from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island, so we were here and rolling by 7:30AM. The island is 30% conservation land but remains more than 50% old growth native bush. In other words, it is very very sparsely built upon. It is a nature and wildlife sanctuary- densely populated with kangaroo, koala, wallaby, echidna, penguins and sea lions.

We explored the south side of the island with a first stop at Seal Bay; home to a huge Australian Sea Lion colony where we were able to walk the beach amongst hundreds of them. Addi was less enthralled than I had predicted, but I guess that's what a dozen trips to the Mystic Sea Lion show will do! There was a hump back whale skeleton on the same beach that held the little adventurer's attention so all was not lost!

We went from there to Kelly Hill Cave- Addi's first spelunking experience! She was a bit intrepid as we descended below the Earth, but I later heard her whispering "I love this...its so beautiful". An average cave by comparison purposes, but a fun hour and a half!

Then we spent the late afternoon relaxing and building sand castles on Vivionne Bay Beach. Rated among Australia's most beautiful, it lived up. Truthfully though, I don't know how one Aussie beach ranks above another...they all seem to be ruggedly picturesque, pristine, unspoiled, turquoise blue..... stunning.

Unfortunately, I really don't think Addi is retaining very much. Don't get me wrong, I know the experiences are shaping her and I am sure she remembers more than she let's on, but when asked, her "favorite part of the day" is usually whatever she did last. (Eg: her favorite part of today was dipping her feet in the pool before supper) and she doesn't recall some of our earlier activities (eg: climbing the dunes in Tassie). Then again, I can't usually remember what I had for breakfast so who am I....

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The Botanist

We started early at Central Market which is like a huge grocery store where each department is independently owned by multiple vendors (like Fanuel Hall in Boston). Hundreds of stalls. We had breakfast in there at a well renowned spot called The Big Table. Servings were huge and food was amazing. I had a warm raspberry pear oatloaf with melted butter. Divine.

Jim had a work day while Addi and I hit the Royal Botanical Gardens and Adelaide Zoo.

We literally spent four hours wandering the gardens with Addi picking up fallen petals and leaves so we could tape them into her sketchbook. I attached a photo and am hoping the tape will preserve the colors for posterity. She told me what to write next to each...I don't know if you can read in the photo, but the names are adorable. "Heart shaped leaves", "butterfly skirt", "rainbow flower", "duck flower", "minute flower", "I love I love I love" etc. It was really fun and she is so excited about it.

From there we went to the zoo and saw some animals our zoos don't have. Tassie Devils, meerkats, some crazy birds and bears and creatures that I don't remember the names of, yadda yadda yadda. They have a new panda exhibit that was pretty great.

We leave super early for Kangaroo Island tomorrow and we can't wait. My final assessment of Adelaide is that while there are nice points, its strongest points are outside of it- the beaches, wine valleys, etc. If I could do it again I'd have rented a car to spend more time outside of the city. With that said, we have had a great run here!

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