Australia

October 22 - November 5, 2005

Click on each picture for larger versions.

After dealing with some health problems, I decided that I needed to get far, far away from here and have an adventure. I signed up to do an REI Australia Reef and Rainforest trip. I scored a free ticket with my air miles and jetted off to the other side of the planet. The trip turned out to be an amazing adventure with a group of incredibly cool people. I couldn't have gotten any luckier.

Here is a map of Australia. Queensland is the northeast part of the country/continent.

Marty and Shawn were our guides. They are native Australians and took very good care of us.

There were four of us from the Bay area - Todd, Selvi, Suzie and me

Cutter and Stacey were on their honeymoon and Amy and Jon were celebrating their 5th anniversary.

Mike, Gary, Kris and Ursula were from various places around the country.

Here's a map of our Queensland activities:

White Water Rafting

Our first day out started bright and early, but it was a gorgeous, sunny day so all was well. We boarded an enormous bus and drove south of Cairns to the Tully River to raft down class IV rapids. We split into 2 boats and set out. We immediately began boat wars and much splashing and excitement ensued - including a kidnapping of one of our boat crew.

Leslie and Gary prepare to board the rafts

Coming down the river

Boat war!

Our team won that one

Rainforest Hike

Next day we departed the hotel early to drive to Mount Bartle Frere and begin our hike through the rainforest in the Mulgrave Valley. We carried fairly heavy packs with our gear and food and hiked for about 5 hours into the rainforest. It got more and more dense as we made our way further in and I was thankful for our guides. There's no way I would have made my way out of there on my own. We set up camp in a partial clearing. This consisted of hanging hammocks between trees for our sleeping pleasure. The reason we did this was because of the leeches that coat the forest floor. We had to position ourselves high above the ground so they didn't suck the blood out of us as slept. As Marty and Shawn prepared dinner, we all hiked down the path to the waterfall for a swim. We went to bed fairly early because there's not much to do in a pitch black rainforest with leeches all over the ground. I woke up in the middle of the night and was awed by the view. Through pockets in the trees, I could see the beautiful starry sky. It took my breath away.

After a morning skinny dip in the waterfall pond and a delicious pancake breakfast, we headed back out. The drive down the curvy road was the most problematic part of the journey and we were all thankful to stop in Lake Eacham for the night.

Packing our gear for the trek

The gang piles in a 700 year old tree

Leslie in the stream

Trees don't grow on rocks

Playing in the waterfall

Rainforest

Glowing rocks in the stream bed

Marty on-hand to help Todd and Selvi across the stream

Cool trees

Ursula relaxes in her hammock

Moutain Biking

We spent the next couple days based in the Lake Eacham Hotel and exploring the area on mountain bikes. We kept trying to spot the duck billed platypus but finally decided that it was just a hoax the Aussies cooked up for tourists.

Getting to know our bikes before the big ride

Always water along the way

Our home away from home

A stop off to see Australia's oldest strangler fig

Taking turns on the rope swing

Pit stop

The gang at the bar, as usual

Sunset in Cairns

Wallabies

Jackaranda tree (really fun to say with an Australian accent)

SCUBA Diving

SCUBA diving on the Great Barrier Reef was the highlight of the trip for me. Our group joined about 20 other people aboard teh Scubapro boat. We stayed out there for 3 days and had a blast. The water was so clear and warm. The coral was gorgeous and so close to the surface that you could see a lot just by snorkeling around.

Each night got progressively rowdier and we hit the apex on Halloween night. Kris, Suzie and Selvi brought Halloween to the Aussies by dressing up and kicking off the party. We did some interesting game-playing with snorkels, toilet paper and broom sticks and just really had a fantastic time.

Gorgeous colors, perfect water

Group celebration

Kris under water

Cutter and Megan won the game

Hanging out on the top deck

Cutter, Mike, Jon and Amy

Beautiful movement and color

Suzie, Kris and Selvi bring Halloween to the Aussies

Amy, Stacey, Leslie

Todd knows where you are

Arrrg matie

Marty screwing around with the marine life

Leslie and Kris prepare for competition

Suzie and Kris

Under the sea

Ben and Leslie win round one

Cutter and Mike's first dive

Sunset on the water

Kayaking

The kayaking part of the trip was one of the coolest, most unique things I've ever done. We paddled out from Kurrimine Beach and kayaked for about 3 hours until we reach the North Barnard Islands. We landed on a deserted island and set up camp right on the beach. We swam, snorkeled, chased clams and just relaxed after a long, adventurous week. We ate great meals, drank lots of wine and Passed the Pigs for nighttime enjoyment. It was very cool being where no one else was and the view from my tent was absolutely amazing.

We all got cleaned up for the first time in two and a half weeks and went out to celebrate our adventure together. This group was really tight and it was hard to say goodbye to everyone. I feel so lucky that we had a such an excellent time together and got to share in this amazing adventure.

Selvi and Todd paddling