Singapore

We've enjoyed ourselves for our few days here. It's an attractive city and really easy to get around, with a tube system to rival Hong Kong's. Couldn't live here though, it's so humid, you start sweating as soon as you step outside the air-conditioning! We've shuffled round Chinatown, visited the pretty Malay quarter, taken in the views and buildings of the waterfronts and spent several hours at the Botanic Gardens which were really impressive. Thought these were much better than the Gardens by the Bay, which seem to get a lot of hype. Off out later to eat Belgian(!) and to try a Singapore Sling.

  

The Merlion, the national icon, half lion, half fish. Singapore means lion city. You hear "The Lion King" music played quite a lot.

 The Marina Bay Sands hotel

 

 

Animal magic 2

 

It's been a treat to get really close to these animals. Croc was from INSIDE the car! Not such a treat were the very annoying flies. The bat was among many in the grounds of where we were staying and the birds on an early morning boat trip.

 

 

 

 A flying fox

 

 A night heron

 

 A Jesus bird (walks on water, it has huge feet)

 

 

The Top End

That's the north part of the Northern Territories and where we've had a week travelling around three National Parks; Kakadu, Nitmiluk and Litchfield. Some lovely wetland areas and billabongs with lots of water-lilies, aboriginal rock art, rocky outcrops, gorges and rivers (we enjoyed two more boat trips) and waterfalls! It's climbed up to 35c here most days so we've not done any long walks and it's been great to cool off in some of the non-crocodile-infested rock pools in the parks. Just one ice cream was consumed here (you just want drink really) or in my case....almost consumed. N had finished his, I was about a third of the way through mine. He is always commenting about how long it takes me to eat one... when between us swoops a kite and makes off with it! That'll teach me. No photos of my face I'm afraid, it was all too flippin' quick.

 

We've seen a lot of bush fires. As it gets chillier overnight at the moment they stop burning by themselves. Above you can just about see all the kites hanging around for insects and animals fleeing the flames

 

A cathedral termite mound

 

 

Rainforest Hideaway

Another perfect description of where we are staying.  The owners throw their scraps out the back, (no walls here!) and so we've had fantastic views of the resident cassowaries and bandicoots.

We were involved in a bit of drama yesterday. The Dad of the cassowary family turned up at the house with his baby (the Dads incubate the egg and then do the looking after once it's hatched) and our host soon noticed that the baby was limping badly. He made several phone calls but everyone was passing the buck so he decided the best thing to do was to try to catch it and take it to the nearest vets, about an hour away.

 

We helped distract the Dad with some fruit and a waving tarpaulin and luckily it all went to plan. The baby sat in the box very calmly all the way to the vets. We're all waiting to hear whether he'll be able to be released into the wild again.

 

Talking of wild, here's N upside down, doing some "jungle surfing"!! The last slide was the fastest I've ever been! In the morning we'd been on a sea kayak. A beautiful kayak where they say, "two world heritage sites meet"; the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

 

 

Our host here has designed sculptures around the property. Here's a lace monitor bridge!

Billabong Sanctuary

An afternoon spent getting close to some Aussie animals was a nice surprise. We spotted it on the way into Townsville, heading for Port Douglas. Here we are feeling brave and soppy in equal measures. Also made a fuss of some dingoes (what a good looking animal they are!) wombats, turtles, cassowaries (bit like an emu), koalas and emus.
 

 

Sorry Mum!

 

 

 

She was called Puzzle. Aah!

 

 

 

Scared of these!

 

 

By the Sea (again, not that I'm complaining!)

It's the name of our hotel too!

Thank you to all those who said stay at Port Douglas and not Cairns! It's a great setting; all the hotels practically hidden behind trees, and a lovely 4 mile beach. Lazy day on the beach yesterday after another treat for N at the Sunday market! Today a snorkel at the reef proper which was wonderful. Amazing coral gardens and more varieties of fish here than at the inner reef. Lots of nemos and his cousins, butterfly fish pairs, lots of parrotfish, large Maori wrasse, trumpet fish to name a few (and to seem like I know what I'm talking about!). On the journey back we saw a beautiful sight; a big shoal of sardine-like fish jumping out of the water, catching the sun and looking like silver shards leaping across the sea!

Beach time at Airlie

We're staying in a resort here for three nights and very lovely and relaxing it is too. There's a pretty esplanade to wander along ( you have to wander because it is HOT) and an infinity pool and jacuzzi. A lazy day yesterday; found a good ice cream shop, swam in the pool and read some rubbishy magazines. Today we did a snorkelling trip in a big, zippy inflatable, calling into two bays in the Whitsunday islands to snorkel and then lunch on the beach and a walk to a view point of some gorgeous silica beaches. It was a bit special. Saw some amazing corals and some colourful fish. N saw a turtle that I missed because at that time the guide had called me over to see one and by the time I got there it had disappeared!! Damn it!
 

 

Our boat on the left!