In Australia school is in session for four terms. Each term lasts about 10 weeks and in between terms 1, 2 and 3 there is a two week break (April for the fall break, July for the winter break and October for the spring break). After term 4, schools are closed for about 6 weeks from mid December to end of January. This is the summer holidays for Australians.
The school holiday system feels very different from Vancouver. We get approximately the same amount of time off here (12 weeks) as in Canada, but in Australia the school year is broken up so frequently that you know there is a break and a holiday around the corner. However, at home, I think teachers and students feel like that they get a really good, long period to relax and recover in the summer -- I think Fergus misses the 10 weeks off right about now!! Two weeks just doesn't seem enough.
For our two week winter break, we went up to Northern Queensland. We had a fantastic holiday. It was full, relaxing and we had some great diverse experiences. We LOVED it!
We left Northmead early Sunday morning -- the flight to Cairns was at 8:15 so we left here at about 6:30 am!!! Our wonderful neighbour Tony took us to the airport! We flew with Virgin Blue and the flight was just a little over 3 hrs. The girls watched some programs on their personal tv and the time went by fast!
We picked up our rental car from Cairns airport. It was an automatic (I drove!) toyota corolla -- very roomy! It felt great when we arrived in Cairns. Winter in the north is much hotter than down south (about 22 - 25 degrees with some overcast days, some rain, some sun). On arrival, the sun was shining and our toes were free in our flip flops!
There didn't seem to be much up in Cairns but we found a HUGE playground by the water and picked up some fish n chips. The beach was reclaimed mud flats and not at all attractive.
After lunch we drove an hour north to our rental house at Newell Beach. We passed Cairns northern beaches (26 km stretch), which were all quite beautiful - Trinity, Palm Cove, Yorkeys Knob, etc. These were familiar names to me as I read them all on the internet when I was searching for accommodation! We decided the stay for our first week at Serendipity at Newell Beach.
Newell Beach is 5 minute drive from Mosmann, about 25 minute drive from Port Douglas and an hours drive from Cairns. Newell is mostly inhabited by locals but there are a few holiday homes. There isn't much there, maybe one take away shop and a few houses. The beach is 2.5 km long and very private. It was heavenly for us and we loved our stay at Serendipity! We shared the house with our Canadian friends from Nelson Bay (Al, Teresa, Maya and Tristan) for the week. There were four bedrooms - two at each end of the house, a great kitchen and deck, a pool, a couple of kayaks, and loads of coconut palm trees! It was perfect! We arrived and the girls immediately jumped into the salt water pool.
MANY, MANY hours were spent collecting coconuts, decorating the beach with coconuts, splitting coconuts, playing family with the coconuts! It was priceless fun and kept the kids happy and busy!!
On one of the days, we walked to the far end of the beach. We saw hardly anyone in those hours. It was fantastic! We met some retirees fishing at the end of the beach and they warned us of salt water crocs up the river! Yikes.
We did a trade with Al and Teresa, they went out one night and we did on another. On this night, Al and Teresa went to Salsa for dinner. We attempted a bonfire and roasted marshmallows with the kiddlets. We had lots of fun.
Fergus had trouble getting the fire going!
Yay for Mom -- I was successful! Don't mind the crazy hair - the humidity makes it a bad hair day EVERYday up north!!!
Dancing with the lights on.
Dancing with the lights off. The kids are wearing their fluorescent bracelets.
Kayaking at our beach was a hoot. Without big surf and body boards, we kayaked instead. The waves gave us a good ride!
Now you see Fergus...
...and now you don't!
Al and Maya
Tristan has big shoes to fill.
Port Douglas is where the rich and famous go.....apparently. PD was a laidback but busy little town with heaps of fancy restaurants, bars, shops and loads and loads of resorts. We went there only a few times, to do a grocery shop, for a massage and for a night out. Al and Teresa babysat the girls; Fergus and I went to Zinc for a cocktail and then Nautilus for an unforgettable six-course meal and wine paring to celebrate our 40th year and anniversary (both the 10th - we didn't do much last year and the upcoming 11th) ! Thanks Sharon!!
Four mile Beach
An impressive floor to ceiling aquarium in the bathroom at Zinc!
The path to the unique outdoor Nautilus restaurant. The path up to the restaurant was lined with dense forest and lit by fire. It looked a bit like a Survivor set.
Imagine Bill and Hilary in these seats. They ate at Nautilus once!
Don't have photos for everything but this was the Soft Basil Cake. It was followed by the Sauteed Prawns (my favourite) , Tuna Tataki, and Crispy Quail.
The main was roast lamb cutlet and pumpkin.
Finally, we had pistachio and peach shortbread. The sherbet was lychee. All in all it was fantastic evening! The food, the wine, the atmosphere, the service. Wow!
Huge fig trees in Port Douglas.
On one of our days, we went up to the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. It was a BIG day out but worth the trek. The only way to cross the Daintree river is by ferry. The ferry operates by cable system and is capable of taking only 16 vehicles each time. Although it only takes 5 minutes to cross the river, it was a bit of a long wait.
Mangroves along the Daintree River
We did not come across a Cassowary the entire trip! This statue was as close to it as we came. The Southern Cassowary is the largest bird in Australia; it is flightless and can weigh up to 85 kg.
We enjoyed a walk through the Daintree Rainforest Discovery Centre. The diversity in this region is unbelievable. The Daintree Rainforest encompasses approx. 1200 square km - from the Daintree river north to Cooktown and west to the Great Divisde. This area represents about 0.1% of Australia but contains 30% of Australia's frog, marsupial and reptile species, 65% of of Australia's bat an butterfly species and 20% of the bird species!
We stopped at the Daintree Ice-Cream shop -- $5 for four flavours - coconut, passionfruit, blueberry and coffee. The fruit for the ice-cream is all grown in the gardens. It was very beautiful but the most memorable thing were the green ants that crawled up our pants!! Ahhhhh -- it was freaky!!
Cape Tribulation is 'where the beach meets the rainforest'. This is where the road ends. North of Cape Tribulation is a non-sealed road to Cooktown and you can only go by 4wd. The cape was named by James Cook after his ship hit a reef nearby and also because this is where all his troubles began. There wasn't much here but the scenery was beautiful and different.
The Great Barrier Reef! This is why we came to Northern Queensland. The GBR! It's a MUST for anyone who visits Australia and well it really is IMPRESSIVE! It is the world's largest coral reef system stretching 2600kms!
We knew we wanted to go snorkeling on the reef but we were unsure which company to go with as there are hundreds of companies running snorkeling, diving, reef tours. The bigger ones like Quicksilver takes hundreds of people out to the reef. We wanted a more intimate experience so after some internet research we picked Wavelength. There were less than 30 of us on the boat and we were to visit three sites at one of the outer reefs, Opal Reef, off Port Douglas.
It was a brilliant experience but not without some minor issues. We were guided by skipper Steve (who turns out to be the pioneer of the company 25 yrs back), and two wonderful
marine biologists Dan and Dan. After we boarded the boat, we were given seasick tablets and were warned of the rough waves out there. It was an hour and a half to get to the outer reef!! We hadn't anticipated the roughness of the waters, having only snorkeled in Indonesia and California in tranquil conditions. The swells at the Great Barrier Reef were about 1 1/2 metres and it was ROUGH!
We gave Margot 1/2 of the gravol tablet and she was fine. Fiona, we didn't give her anything as the recommended dosage on the package was for 8 years and up. Well poor Fiona didn't exactly enjoy the experience! She complained of a sore tummy, threw up a bit and spent pretty much the entire day sleeping! It took Margot a few attempts before she picked up the breathing and the use of the snorkel. She was cold, scared and was not a happy camper. At the second site, I thought to myself, what a MISTAKE!!! This is a nightmare. We have one daughter sleeping, and the other freaking out in the middle of the ocean!
Well, Fergus was VERY patient! By the third site, Margot was a SUPERSTAR and was swimming all over the place! Fergus and I rotated so that we could both snorkel. Teresa was also on the tour so it was also nice to share the experience with her.
The other unfortunate issue was that Wavelength didn't have an underwater camera as it was broken earlier in the week. We bought the 'cd of the day' instead. It was better than no photos.
Aside from these minor items, the trip was fun and BRILLIANT. The guides were great, the other snorkelers were nice, the food was yummy, the coral, the sealife and the whole experience was just out of this world!
Happy and ready to go...
Fergus braved the first site without a wetsuit.
Fergus and Margot
Fiona for most of the day.
We got Fiona in a suit for 30 seconds when she heard that Margot saw Nemo. But then she quickly changed her mind!
Wavelength photos -
The journey from the reef back to Port Douglas was long, wet and rough. Don't think we want to be on another boat for some time. When we arrived in Port Douglas, the sun was shining, the water was c-a-l-m. What a contrast to the hours before.
Aside from the midges, mossies, or sandflies - whatever it is that was brutally attacking us!, sugar cane crops are also everywhere in Northern Queensland.
A 5 minute drive from our beach house is the township of Mosman. It was a small wee town with a few shops, banks, and that's about all. You would only stop there on your way to the Mosman Gorge. We did a 3 km walk in the bush with the girls and we crossed a small suspension bridge. There were beautiful ancient trees and the walk was very pleasant.
Check out Fiona's new supermodel pose! You can't miss it!
Fiona chasing a bush turkey!
Relaxevous!
