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!

 

 

 

 

A Little Gem

There were two opportunities for NP visits on our way to Airlie Beach. The one where we may have seen platypuses was unfortunately just a bit too far, especially given the long drives over the last couple of days, so we plumped for Cape Hillsborough, a small one on the coast. Beautiful beaches and cliff top views again, with the selfish plus that it was deserted! The real treat here though were the swarms of butterflies. I have to say swarms as I realize I said "loads" for the park at Noosa! A lot of them seemed to be having a party on the road into the park! We had to slow right down to avoid sad deaths. They were mostly "blue tigers" but there were others around too; some lovely bright colours. More turtles from the cliff top too.

 

 

There's gold on them there beaches!

 

 

Hot, hot, hot

 The sun cream is properly back out of its bag now as we head north. A pretty walk around the headlands at des-res Noosa, which is a small national park. No koalas spotted but we did see two turtles in a wild bit of surf and some dolphins, both nearby, which was a bit of a treat. There were LOADS of butterflies here too. Managed to avoid the nudists on one of the beaches on the way round!

It's ANZAC Day and the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings today too. We caught the last post near the marina here this morning.

 

From Blue to Green

Mountains that is, in Lamington N.P.

Another beautiful park with rainforest walks, and some old volcanoes, ridges and valleys- "the Green Mountains". We stayed at an historical, family- run "retreat" and it really did feel like one. The grounds were teeming with parrots and pademelons (a subspecies of wallaby which we'd never heard of). We did an early morning bird walk and got to see one of the Bower birds that David Attenborough filmed here (remember the one that makes a bower to attract the female and fills it with all the blue objects he gathers). He had straws, plastic spoons, bottle lids.... We also were lucky to catch a glimpse of a lyrebird, he was on one of A's programmes too; The one that can imitate just about anything, chainsaws as well as other bird calls! More walks here, but less challenging, with gentle slopes down into the forest. Some amazingly corkscrewed branches, natural swings, lots of the strangler figs and trees with huge buttresses. We got covered in caterpillars at one point and followed a snake along the path a bit later!

It's a foodie area here too. I've been enjoying the macadamias.

On the way out this morning we called in to an alpaca farm. Who knew that they enjoy a good spitting session?!! Usually while you're feeding them and all over your face.
 

 

 

 

 

It's raining in Byron Bay

Comparing very unfavourably with the weather at home today.

We manfully put on our waterproofs and walked along what would be a beautiful beach on a sunny day and uphill to the lighthouse and the easternmost point of Australia. Rewarded with dolphin fins out at sea, some kookaburras (common as muck now!) and a Domino's pizza for £3!

The grey misty photo would only make you feel sorry for us!!!! Xx

Saw our first kangaroo on the drive this morning.

Koala Hospital

To guarantee seeing at least one koala we visited a hospital in Port MacQuarie. They treat about 250 koalas a year here and the main problems koalas have are conjunctivitis, curvature of the spine and "wet bottom" ! ( a nasty infection). A couple more facts the volunteer on the tour told us- koala babies are called joeys too and of the over 700 species of eucalyptus trees in Oz koalas only eat from 60. Apparently the best way to find a koala is to look for their poo on the ground, so it looks like more walks for us!

 

 

They were very cute!

The Beautiful Blue Mountains and beyond

Blue because of the haze that forms when the sunlight reflects off the oily eucalyptus leaves.

Three nights here and so glad we did. There were lots of great walks in a truly beautiful setting. I wasn't expecting anything this special as I hadn't seen any pictures so it was all a lovely surprise! We walked two longish walks, one where the path went along a ledge halfway down the mountains with a tall, veil-like waterfall and another called "the grand canyon". You get the gist!

Stayed in a nice B&B with the best breakfast yet. A big thunderstorm last night cleared for a lovely day today as we drove into the Hunter valley. Called into an award winning winery and came away with a bottle of Chardonnay. Not like me and especially strange as their awards were for Shiraz which I am usually pretty fond of! Followed this up with a bit of local cheese tasting which was delicious too. A pretty good day for me! Neil had an ice cream and was happy!!
 

 

Cockatoos being fed at the B&B

Sydney

Stayed in a really well situated hotel here in "The Rocks" area, 3 minutes from the harbour and the sights there. We enjoyed a wander round the historic area (with a great craft fair!), harbour areas and through the park (with white cockatoos and rainbow parakeets). A ferry trip to Manley the next day took us up to North Head for great views of Sydney centre and the cliffs along the coast. Walking round here we're noticing already the different plants around in the bush. Looking forward to seeing more animals here than in NZ. Eyes peeled for marsupials!

 

Just one of the many "Banksia"

 

 

Last days with the Kiwis

I tried a whitebait "pattie" on your behalf T and E! Very nice it was too. From the Westland area, the place to indulge in whitebait. We've visited two glaciers here, Fox and Franz Josef. On the walks to get as close as we were allowed to get there were lots of signs of glacier activity! Rivers and streams, waterfalls, interesting rocks of different sizes, moraines and this time some notable areas of smooth rock that really looked like a glacier and its melt water had been this way! We managed to dodge the threatening rain this morning but got very quickly soaked in a proper downpour on our way back through the rainforest! Noticed lots of different kinds of ferns here again, I am quite attached to them now, they're a real symbol of NZ. We are definitely sad to leave, but also looking forward to seeing what Australia brings.

 

Near Wanaka, Lake Hawea

 

 

 

 

Fox Glacier

 

 

 

Queenstown and Wanaka

It definitely feels like autumn down here with some lovely leaf colours about. Arrived in Queenstown a couple of days ago on a beautiful day so decided to do the scenic drive to Glenorchy, as the forecast was not looking so good for the next day. No sandflies here which is great because the females are bloodsucking terrors! A moment on a beach or by a lake can leave you suffering. We had a walk around the area. The river Dart which flows into Lake Wakatipu is sacred for the Maori as this is one of the places where you can find greenstone or nephrite jade. The stone was used by the first settlers for making tools, as a status symbol and for adornment and lots of myths and legends are associated with it. Lots of greenstone jewellery in the shops. Proud to say I have resisted, but was not so successful with the paua shell!

Big Scottish influence down here. The locals say "wee" a lot! (I know, first I can't spell, then I'm being rude!)

Then it was on to Wanaka, about an hour up and down some big hills. We would call them mountains! We hired bikes here as they have a lot of tracks for bikes and walkers, and headed around a promontory, admiring the views. Some posh houses here with beautiful outlooks. They have the best of both worlds here with a serious ski season too.

This morning we walked up Rocky Mountain. It was quite a hard slog, but had wonderful 360° degree views at the top. Very friendly English hostesses at our B&B here, with a big shared kitchen and lounge area, so we are spreading out and relaxing in it!

 

It's autumn!

 

View from Rocky Mountain

 

 

 

 

On the way to Glenorchy

 

 

 

 

View of "The Remarkables" from our apartment in Queenstown. Not bad eh?!