Hello,
We have returned to Canada and I have started a new food related blog. Check it out:
The Food On My Shirt
Thanks!
Jeff
The Inescapable Us:
Two Canadians quest to see, taste and enjoy the world from Canada to Australia and back again...
Sunday, 20 October 2013
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Return Home: a Visit to Vancouver Island
With our return to Canada after 18 months abroad we will be
winding down the Blog and moving on to other adventures. After 24 straight
hours of airplanes and airports we touched down in Nanaimo
on Vancouver Island to acclimate to Canada with a visit with my family.
There were a few misty eyes as we walked off the tarmac and were very happy to
see my parents in person.
Me and my mom having a loving moment.
Being the super hosts that they are we had 10 days of feasting and mostly beautiful weather. We had a bit of a family reunion at my uncles and visited with my Grandma.
An adorable miniature pony we named Archie. From a distance
we thought he was a misguided puppy, but were pleasantly surprised when he
galloped up to the fence.
We hiked around Qualicum and set a new course record on the golf course for the highest scoring family to set foot on the greens, bushes, and sand traps.
We got wet on mothers day but made up for it with Jess' (now famous) homemade strawberry and rhubarb pie. It was great times but we eventually had to move on back to Calgary .
Friday, 10 May 2013
Final Stay in Melbourne
Our final visit to Neal and Laura in Melbourne was bitter sweet. We were visiting
good friends for the last time, and we were ready to head home and see our
families and friends on Canadian soil.
We arrived on a weekend so Neal and Laura took us out to the
Yarra Valley. It was only a short
drive outside of
We made a few vineyard stops as well as a dairy stop for
some delicious cheese. The large bottle of wine Laura and I are sitting with
was the exact wine that Prince Harry gifted to Will and Kate for their wedding
after party – 60 bottles to be exact!
The sunset view from Neal and Laura’s apartment.
Jeff and I went out for lunch on our last day and enjoyed
some great food before emptying out our Australian bank account…the final task
of our travelling days.
We sure are going to miss this amazing country.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Fitzroy Island
Our last booked tour of the trip was maybe the
best. We took a ferry to Fitzroy Island 40 min off the coast of Cairns and then went for a guided kayak
snorkel trip. The kayaking part of the tour was an entertaining disaster. We
were issued some sexy stinger suits and snorkel gear then jumped in the kayaks
and started to paddle towards Little Fitzroy.
The “entertaining disaster” was another couple
on the tour that couldn’t follow instructions, paddle or think about what they
were doing. In some of the photos you can see them drifting around in the
background. They eventually flipped their kayak on flat water losing their
camera in the process. They were so useless they only made it half way and the
guide ended up towing them back while we continued on.
The exciting part of the trip was when we hit
the water for some self guided snorkelling. On the kayak I had seen a Green
Turtle surface for air and figured it would be a good place to start if we were
hoping to see some turtles in the water. Visibility was mixed but got better as
we stretched a little further from shore. After cruising along for 20 min Jess
looked to the side and found that a turtle was cruising along with us. We found
four different turtles and they kept to themselves and would only swim away if
you tried to get in front of it for a photo. We also found some beautiful reef
coral and fish to entertain us.
It was a surreal experience that we will never forget. To
celebrate our successful touring we stayed in a real hotel with a rooftop pool
on our last night.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Cape Tribulation
After a couple days in Cairns
we headed even further north to the tropical Cape Tribulation.
It was hard to leave but we knew we would be back in Cairns
after a couple days so we were excited to see what we could find in the Daintree Rain Forest.
This region is famous in Australia
for its Daintree Tea… tastes no different than regular tea according to Jess.
Our tour started with a river cruise looking for salt water
crocodiles. We came across three but only close enough to get decent pictures
of two. The first was a two meter croc that was known to the guide. The second
was a juvenile that was on the shore and surprised us by charging towards the
boat and jumping in the water. Crocs are pretty cool creatures but they are not
very exciting as they lay on the shore basking in the sun. I wish we had some
food to get it jumping like at the Australia Zoo.
We stayed right in the heart of the rainforest in a quiet
little cabin. It was surrounded by giant spiders and was only a short walk to
the beach.
On our last day we went to Mossman Gorge and had an “Aboriginal Experience” to learn about
some of the culture and weapons used by the native people. Although didgeridoos
were not an instrument used by rainforest aboriginals our host had one and
demonstrated its sound.
We would have preferred a day trip overall, but it was a
great little overnight trip through the lush and humid far north.
Friday, 3 May 2013
Cairns & the Great Barrier Reef
As our trip was coming to an end we made our way to Cairns
(pronounced “cans” by Aussies), and our last major destination. We had over a
week to enjoy Cairns and we really liked the food,
nightlife and, of course, the proximity to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR).
Our first tour to the GBR was through Down Under Dive on the Osprey V. The boat was perfectly setup for
the trips to the reef and the crew was genuinely excited to take us out and let
people explore. There was a huge mix of people on the tour, ranging from
trained divers to seniors. We had booked a deal that included a helicopter
flight over the reef. We visited two outer reef locations at Saxon Reef and Hastings Reef.
Pictures really do not capture how beautiful and full of
life the reef is. It seemed that every time we turned around we discovered a
new creature or saw a breathtaking view of the coral. We were the first in the
water and last out. The highlight creatures for us were the clown fish, tuna,
Maori Wrasse, giant clams, hump headed parrot fish, squid and a white tipped
reef shark (not pictured).
The Giant Clams were fun to dive down and touch –
they closed right up every time I did this.
The Tuna appeared out of nowhere stopped for a
photo then blasted away. It was the fasted moving creature that we came across.
After the novelty of seeing the clown fish as
the stars of “Finding Nemo” wears off we found them to be totally captivating
because they are very photogenic and fiercely protect their homes. They would
race out and challenge you then retreat back and do it all over again –
unfortunately they do not realize how adorable they are and they think they are
tough.
The hump headed parrot fish were probably the
ugliest fish we saw. The school that passed us could be heard chomping on the
coral and stone, then they would crap a dusting of white powder – this is where
white sand beaches come from.
Jess had been dreaming of coming across a Maori
wrasse after we heard about them as we moved up the coast. They are massive
fish that are fairly friendly with people. Being the first off the boat was
advantageous because the wrasse came right up to me and let me pet it. Jess was
so shocked at the sight of it she froze and didn’t get a picture. The detail on
the fish and colors are really pretty if you can get over the initial ugliness.
The squid were even more alien looking than the
rest of the creatures and just hovered in a pack until they were startled and
rocketed off. The shark was maybe a meter long and just cruised by without
paying any attention us.
We starting chasing it to get a photo and then came to
our senses and decided maybe chasing a shark isn’t the best use of our time or
lives.
By the time we were loaded on the helicopter our
camera was on the last bars of battery so we could only snap a couple photos.
From the chopper we saw 6 dugongs/sea cows and got to see how huge the reef
actually is. If we could have we would have done this tour every day!
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