singapore sling!

May 31-June 3, 2010

We have made it to our first Asian destination! We arrived in Singapore in the evening to a lot of heat and humidity! Claudio, whom we met in Australia, generously allowed us to stay at his place. We made our way to his condo, which is close to the CBD. We had a beautiful view of Singapore, the CBD and the botanical gardens from his balcony. We also took advantage of the wonderful pool at Claudio's condo and went swimming everyday!

We bought the hop on, hop off city bus tour which included two bus tours to different parts of the city and a river cruise. We got to see some of the major sites this way. The botanical gardens were beautiful and amazingly well maintained. The orchid garden was especially spectacular!

We had some really nice meals in Singapore, some for really cheap! Tina and I ate at a couple of hawker spots, which were super cheap but good! One evening, we met Keli, Mike Ryan's niece for supper. Claudio joined us and we had lots of interesting discussions. Claudio and his co-worker met us for lunch one day in Little India where we ate at the "Banana Leaf". It was so good!

Singapore is a really clean city with many big, spectacular buildings. It is really busy, with people bustling everywhere. Being two blonde,white girls, we are defintely now the minority an stand out. We get lots of stares and questions.

Excited to head to melaka in southern malaysia in a few days!

1st photo is view from our balcony

2nd photo is me at clarke quay (river tour port)

erin

our final 2 weeks in oz! =(

e and i arrived in cairns sat afternoon; isaac met us at station and we walked along esplanade to our cheap and lovely 2-bdrm apt in cairns north.

cairns is a neat little city! 120,000 people and a v popular tourist destination. mainly b/c the climate is so great. 2 seasons: hot/wet, and hot/dry. it's now hot/dry season. and it's lovely! finally we're warm! even at night when sun goes down. and it's so humid. yay! won't be needing my toque here =). city is right on ocean, so when tide is out it's miles of mudflat and thus awesome birding (and saltwater croc!) ops.

first night went for yum thai food at the banana leaf on the esplanade. next morn i went birding along water front. first time for shorebirds in a few months. saw the gorgeous red-capped plover here! and mangrove heron, great knot, and common greenshank.

spent the day buying dresses and chillaxing at the park listening to live hillbilly bands. delivery pizza for dinner and early to bed.

picked up hired car (christened by isaac as 'harry') at noon, headed north to port douglas. dougie is one of my fave towns yet! closest town to the great barrier reef and flanked by gorgeous daintree rainforest to the west and four mile beach and the Reef to the east. stayed 3 nights at lychee tree apts with the funny owner, rod.

hung out first evening and had tapas for dinnner. next day we spent the day snorkeling the Reef! booked tour with poseidon adventures, steamed 1.5 hr to agincourt ribbon reefs at the reef's edge (40 km from land). snorkeled 3 diff reefs. WOW. colours and diversity of corals and fishes was truly spectacular. mostly saw butterfly fishes, damselfishes, wrasses, parrotfish, and angelfish. saw small sharks (dogfish, i think) and green turtles. crazy. and a beauty beauty day, too. the crew said it was prob the nicest day of the year so far. usually windy and overcast in the arvo, but we had flat-ass calm and sun splitting the reef the whole day. definitely rivals the outback as one of the most stunning things i've ever seen. capped the day off with delish mexican dinner.

next day was another hot and sunny one. drove to mossman gorge in daintree nat'l park - the oldest rainforest on earth. mossman river was beauty and clear. gorge trails were under repairs, so unfortunately we didn't get to see much. harry felt like exploring northward, so we carried on to newell beach and lay in the sun for a while. back to dougie in late afternoon, went to lookout on hill in town, and had bbq salmon and salad for dinner. yum!

i went back to mossman early next morning for more birdwatching. overcast and showers, so not much to be seen.

we left port douglas for cape tribulation and the heart of daintree nat'l park. got to daintree visitor's centre at noon and spent few hours walking self-guided audio trails, incl canopy walk, 25 m high tower, and forest trails. good ops for seeing cassowaries! but none on this day. huge and gorgeous golden orb spiders everywhere! then drove north to cow bay beach and onto town of cape tribulation. lovely drive thru rainforest. still no cassowary sightings.

in daintree, we stayed 2 nights at the cow bay yha - our own huge private cabin on stilts in the rainforest. cool! first time been no cell reception or internet yet in aus. we're in the far north now baby! spent one morn on cape trib beach. had fancy dinner at whet resto in middle of jungle.

on return to cairns, made quick visit to mareeba, where outback meets eucalypt and rainforest. not much here, aboriginal community. hot hot here. had nina's kebabs and visited tichum creek coffee farm. had delish coffees in the garden. the owner, italian-aus mario, was so kind. picked ripe coffee beans for us to eat. v sweet and gooey. and gave us milk and dark choc-covered beans for free.

carried on to atherton, nice little town in heart of atherton tablelands. yummy khan's curries for dinner, e and isaac early run over in the park by intoxicated juv delinquent running (on foot) from the law. ha! nwatched the hilarious eurovision on tele - europe-wide star search featuring weird and varied acts. we voted for slovenia b/c of their rock accordion. they didn't make the cut.

next morning i drove to yungaburra and curtain fig nat'l park for last-ditch effort at seeing wompoo fruit dove. no luck =(. but the curtain fig was massive! and got 3 other lifers. realized while birding that our flight to singapore was actually the next day and not 2 days away like we had thought! e3on way back to cairns, we stopped at crater lakes nat'l park. few more lifers here, nice lake. cairns at noon. returned car, erin and i strolled around, byo thai for dinner, stayed at yha. morning flight to singapore!!!

can't believe our time in aus is over! we really love it here. 2 mths def not enough. so much more to see and do. and the people are so so lovely. we'll be back i think!!

1st photo is flying over far north queensland

2nd photo is croc warning signs, daintree np

3rd photo is clam and coral on great barrier reef

4th photo is fish at g.b.r.

east coast

been ages since we posted.

recap of the weeks from tasmania to great barrier reef:

- our few days in canberra were nice. picture ottawa but smaller. capital city so just as conservative. and cold! it was fall there - temps and colours. had one of our best meals here tho, at Three Mothers Thai. yum.

- bussed to sydney for mom and mara to catch their flight home. this time stayed downtown; a completely diff city! near chinatown so lots of markets and shopping. still chilly.

- e and i bought greyhound bus pass from syd to cairns. bussed northward along east coast, excited to see what all the fuss was about.

- over course of 2 weeks or so, bussed from syd to brisbane. hated east coast! just a bunch of surfer/young backpacker party towns. too much partying and hippy culture. and bus sched was crap (left at stupid times of the night). so i got frustrated (or practical, one could argue) and said eff the bus and bought a plane ticket from brisbane straight to cairns. haha. yay cheap flights!

- to be fair, port macquarie was nice. but byron bay sucked. and brisbane was a pretty city and very laid back feel. why does no one talk about brissie!? i liked it lots.

- we took ferry to magnetic island from townsville. half of maggie is a nat'l park. the coolest yha we've stayed in yet! our dorm is small rustic 3-bed cabin set right in rainforest. koalas, rock-wallabies, geckos, lorikeets, etc right in our front yard. beach here is nice! finally warm enuf to sit and watch sunset =). tons of lifers here! spent one day on walking tracks aross island. approx 10 km thru centre of island. shouldn't have walked it though - my ankles are now seriously toast from jogging in street shoes...

headed north to cairns from maggie to meet our friend isaac from sydney, hire a car, and check out cape tribulation in far north queensland.

1st photo is riding at byron bay

2nd photo is brisbane city

3rd photo is our hostel on magnetic island

t

tassie is the nfld of oz

on sat night, we flew into hobart on the se coast. hobart is the cap city of tas and 2nd-oldest city in oz. cute little city on the water. cold here! went for nice meal of fresh fish on harbour front. and
coffees at nice cafe at harbour next morning. and a chilly morning at that!

picked up hired car at 10.30 and strated drive north to coles bay, gateway to freycinet national park. was a varied drive thru framland, forest, and along the coast. i'm surprised at the amount of farmland here - didn't expect it at all.

coles bay is pretty little town on the water and the first plastic bag-free town in oz =). lucked into an awesome cottage near the water. had a jacuzzi tub! haha. luxury. drove into national park for evening walk around lighthouse track and then sleepy bay track. white-bellied sea eagle here!!! rounded out the evening relaxing in our own little home with wine, meet the fockers, and a game of monopoly.

next day did awesome hike in freycinet nat`l park - gorgeous 12-km circuit in to wineglass bay and hazards beach. wow. trail thru endemic silvertree peppermint (Eucalyptus sp.) forest, rocky outcrops, to gorgeous white sandy beaches, thru rainforest, marshland, and along coast. mom says it`s the nicest hike she's ever done. saw bennett`s wallabies! and mara and i got some good birds. yellow-throated honeyeater! and mara spotted a red-bellied black snake in front of me while i was looking up at birds. it's venomous and very pretty.

eft early next morning for 5-hr drive west to strahan and gordon river national park. midlands of tas all rural farmland, much like new zealansd. closer to strahan drove thru windy and mountainous state forest parks. rained most of the day. pretty rainforest, but queasy drive toward the end. i was ill by the time we got to strahan. spent night in huge 2-bdrm house.

next day drove 4 hr northeast thru cradle mountain national park to launceston to catch our flight to canberra. nice mountainous drive, then along coastline eastward to launceston. stayed at 'the stables', circa 1838; our room was a converted horse stable. so cool. early morning flight to canberra, the capital of the country.

photo 1 is wineglass bay, freycinet nat'l park

photo 2 is us at wineglass bay beach

photo 3 is red-bellied black snake

t

we love melbourne

of the cities we've been to in oz so far, melb is definitely the coolest. at first glance, it seemed like the others (high rises, suits, kinda dirty streets, etc), but after a day here we realized why all other travelers (and aussies, too) raved about melb.

lots of nice green space, trendy and hip people, and hundreds of cafes, restaurants, and nice bars in little alley ways throughout the CBD. cool arts and music scene, and the food is fabulous. reminds me a lot of montreal, actually. we all said we could live in melb for sure.

state lib in melbourne is gorgeous inside. like a museum/art gallery. e and m caught free trolley to meet me there on thur; it broke down en route. ha!

spent a few days hanging out with rachelle, our fun friend from calgary that we met in new zealand (a teacher in melb on a 2-yr working holiday visa). i went shopping, to st kilda beach, and the botanics with r. great bamboo garden here. e and m visited melb jail where ned kelly (aussie bush ranger who hid from the law and an icon in oz) was hanged.

m and i caught the train to toorak to meet rachelle for dinner at BYO thai resto, while e and mom went to a production of mamma mia!

on friday night, we 3 girls went to a footy (rugby) game (there are 3 leagues in oz)! st kilda saints vs western bulldogs at etihad stadium. lots of excited fans (i.e., frighteningly passionate bogans. ha!). didn't understand a thing, but the energy and beer were fun. left at half-time to meet rachelle and friends at the emerald peacock bar downtown. some dude hit on mara with the following exchange:

dude: hi. how are you?

mara: i'm well! how are you?

dude: i'm awesome. actually, if i was any more awesome, it would be illegal.

turns out that nearly-illegal dude had earlier in the eve told rachelle et al that he was roasting warm under the heatlamp and his breasts were like rotisserie chicken. HA! wow.

saturday was beginning of melb jazz fest, so met rachelle, jeanie, mike at the cool transport bar overlooking the river and near anzac square for free jazz concert. was also international zombie day. hundreds of people dressed as zombies and zombie hunters all over the city. hot day in the sun!

we left melb on sat eve to fly to tasmania. been wanting to go to taz since i was a kid. very excited!!

1st photo: clothing store doorway on flinders st

2nd photo: us with mike, rach, jeanie at jazz fest

3rd photo: creepy entry to luna park, st kilda beach

on the great ocean road, sans kerouac

i read kerouac's "on the road" a few weeks ago. hence the post title =).

after a fabulous 2-night stay, we left hall's gap for Port Fairy along the coast. arrived just after lunch to learn there was a mixup in the dates and we weren't booked in to the p fairy hostel. so continued on to the town of warrnambool (say WAR-num-bool), the official gateway to the Great Ocean Road. managed to find a room near the beach, and the 3 daughters went into town to get coffees. instead ended up at the pub for beers. ha! cooked dinner at the hostel, mom and i stayed in while e and m hit the town. verdict is that bars in warrnambool are sketch. bar #1 - equivalent to the padernac in corner brook. bar #2 - irish pub w/o irish music but full of young slinky/skanky things. bar #3 - death metal bar. bar #4 - dance bar full of really young, drunk warnamboolians...not quite e's and m's scene. but they got their cover paid by some old dude. yay old dude!

next day started the great ocean road drive toward apollo bay. we stopped at a number of

gorgeous sites, incl the bay of islands, the grotto, loch ard gorge, london arch, the 12 apostles (which are now 6), and gibson's steps. all beautiful and expansive sandstone cliffs, large swaths of beach, and awesome surf. but chilly and so so windy! got lots of wicked photos.

ended today's drive with a jaunt out to cape otway to look for koalas in the wild - and success!! saw 4 koalas! mom's highlight of the trip for sure.

in apollo bay, mom decided she was tired of hostels and wanted a bath tub and luxury. so we splurged on a really nice apartment-style hotel room with two floors, big bath, and seinfeld on tele! apollo bay is a gorgeous little tourist surf town, kinda like jasper or banff. one strip down the beachway was full of cafes, bars, and restaurants.

next day m and i went birding early, then we all explored town. it was mom's bday and so we went to great otway natl park to do the little aire falls hike. a gorgeous walk thru beauty tree fern and beech rainforest. wicked fungi everywhere! great way to spend a birthday. it was also anzac (aus-new zealand army corps) day, a nat'l holiday commemorating lives lost in all wars. saw the anzac parade march thru town. went for bday dinner at nice seafood/b.y.o. wine resto.

next morn i got up early, and drove along coast to watch early morning surfers. then all carried on eastward to lorne, antoher surfing town along the coast, similar to apollo bay. stayed in our own little trailer in a park by the river. e and m took afternoon drive to dean's marsh and winchelsea, which were crap towns. ha!

next day we drove to queenscliff, a village about 2 hr south of melbourne. it was cute, but mara hated it. haha. drove to geelong, a larger centre nearby to go to subway for dinner. haha.

next stop - melbourne!

1st photo is at the grotto along the g.o.r.

2nd photo is me, mara, mom at loch ard gorge

3rd photo is erin and a koala on otway penin

4th photo is mom hikin thru great otway natl park

t

finally some forest!

April 21

We decided to check out Grampians National Park. From Robe, we did a very scenic and windy drive to Halls Gap. Tina was very happy to finally be driving through forests. The YHA in Halls Gap was eco-friendly and very impressive. We did a walk to the Pinnacle, which was beautiful. The nealy 3 hour return walk took us through lovely forests and impressive rock formations until we reached the summit. At the top, you walked out to the edge of an overhang that was fenced off....we even got mom to walk a quarter of the way out.

From the view, we had a fabulous view of the lake, forest and mountains. There were a couple of ravens at the top that managed to steal our trail mix while we were attempting to get a group shot!

Halls Gap is also known for the kangaroos that always come out into the town at dusk and dawn to feed. We went to the baseball field at dusk to find 30-40 kangaroos there!

After two nights in Halls Gap, we decided to move on to begin our journey on the Great Ocean Road!

first photo is us at the top of the pinnacle hike, grampians natl park

2nd photo is all of the kangaroos in the soccer pitch in town