Rain(forests) and Diving

 

Heather took us for a short walk through the local rainforest. Not many people know about this particular place so we only saw two other people whilst we were walking. The trees here grow very tall due to the sunshine, rainfall and humidity. We saw some very tall strangler figs which have overtaken their original host trees. Some of them had massive buttresses taller than we were. There are also some trees where the fruit grows directly on the trunks rather than the branches. Also lots of vines twining their way around other trees. Quite appropriately it started raining when we were about three quarters of the way round so we did the last bit whilst under umbrellas.

Umbrellas seem essential items here. For all it is known as sunny Queensland it has an awful lot of rain. Heather has been measuring the rain for the last few years and has asked us to continue doing it whilst she is away. If they have a storm it can exceed the capacity of the rain gauge which is 100cm. They had around 95cm during the recent cyclone. We’ve typically been getting 1-3cm over the last few days. It’s warm rain and soon dries out. The wet season has officially finished here but the rain is still coming down. The first week was hot, sunny and dry but the last few days have been very showery. It’s still warm – around 26 degrees – so it is very humid at times. Luckily we have aircon if necessary.

We have bought stinger suits so we can go snorkelling on our own.  Hopefully tomorrow up near Cape Gloucester depending upon the weather and the road as it has lots of floodways which may no longer be dry given recent rain.

Finally some proper diving as the ones we did previously were not very good. A 3 hour bumpy cruise to the Great Barrier Reef and Knuckle Reef. The shipping channel had 3 metre swells which are quite big when you are in a large catamaran and the waves are coming at you on the diagonal.

We had an excellent hour long dive off Knuckle Reef. Cruise Whitsundays have a pontoon moored there and the boat attaches to it and stays there all day so you can go between them. You go diving through a moonpool – down some steps under the pontoon and straight into the water. There’s an undersea viewing platform next to it so you can also see the fish without getting wet.  The fish are waiting for you as you descend. It’s a bit like James Bond…

A very relaxing amble alongside the reef whilst taking photographs. Lots of beautiful corals – there are over 150 types here both hard and soft. Plus loads of clams of brilliant turquoise, blue and other colours. The fish seemed a bonus on top of it. Lots of colourful little reef fish and a few larger ones. We both came out very happy and so did the dive guide as he had an easy dive with us.

Another 3 hour journey back and again through the bumpy shipping channel for about 45 minutes. Getting dark by the time we docked at 6pm so home for supper and an early night before 9pm as were both knackered both from diving and sea sickness tablets. I’ve uploaded some photos to Flickr but will put some more on later.

Whitsundays

 

Here in the Whitsundays the weather is rather changeable at this time of year. It’s the end of the ‘wet’ season and getting colder. Colder is a relative term here it means temperatures under 25 degrees and sometimes even as low as 22 degrees. Some people may have to sleep under blankets.

I’m writing this whilst listening to a tropical rainstorm. It’s pretty impressive as the clouds have come right down and we can barely see any boats any more. The noise on the tin roof over the terrace is very loud. The waterfall at Cedar Creek should be flowing strongly after this.

Yesterday we went up to Cape Gloucester, an eco resort about 45 minutes away. Most of the road is paved but the last bit is a gravel road with lots of crossing points for water. Some of the earlier floodways have level markers on them some of them going up to 2 metres. That’s a lot of flooding!

Cape Gloucester is very pretty with crystal clear seas and a lovely sandy beach. We had lunch overlooking the gardens with a butcher bird singing nearby. After a walk on the beach we decided to have another drink before leaving. Both of us opted for coca cola and sat down on bar stools to drink it. No sooner had we sat down and taken a few sips than we were joined by a pretty rainbow lorikeet. Green, blue and orange in colour and very tame. It jumped around our glasses and then jumped onto mine and proceeded to drink from it. It was after the sugar, I’m not sure that the caffeine was any good for it though.  It hopped onto my finger and then up my arm and onto the glass again when I tried to take it off. Then it hopped towards Chris’s glass and landed on his tummy! The chef fed two of them on his fingers. They love anything sweet. Apparently the cleaner feeds them first thing in the morning and it’s not unusual to see 17 or so.

Heather and I went to an aqua aerobics class this morning. Eleven of us in a pool overlooking the sea wearing sunscreen, hats and sunglasses. Beats an indoor pool in the UK. Wally sitting tonight whilst they took Guinness for a walk.  I also fed both of them through tiny little tubes. They only have a small quantity at present.

An evening picnic with Heather and Sheena of fish and chips next to the beach. Very civilised with tablecloth and glasses and beers. We discovered we had all stayed in the same resort in Fiji at different times and even in the same bure (room)! It’s a very small world.

Australia – Brisbane and the Whitsundays

After an easy flight from Christchurch we found ourselves in Brisbane.

Central Westend apartments are very conveniently located for the South Bank which has its own lagoon and beach set just back from the river complete with lifeguards and surfboards.

Lunch with Virginia who I used to work with from London in a cafe overlooking the river. Lots of suggestions on places to visit. There’s also a good view from the Goodwill foot/cycle bridge over the river. Another bridge is beautifully lit up at night.

A good introduction to Brisbane is to take a trip on the river. We went on the City Cat which zigzags its way across the river. The weather was a bit of a change after NZ. About 28 degrees with lots of humidity. The river trip was a welcome excursion with a lovely breeze.

Back to the airport again and off to Proserpine which serves the Whitsunday coast. A tiny little airport where they bring out the baggage on trucks and you help yourself. As it was just after Easter the flight was full.

Heather, an old friend of my mother’s, collected us from the airport. Air conditioned cars are wonderful as the humidity was even higher.  Heather is letting us stay in her ‘unit’ which is a one bedroom apartment on their property. Fantastic views over the Whitsunday Islands – beautiful blue seas and skies. Apparently green turtles are common here and dugongs (like manatees) like the local bays. As do the crocodiles we were told. There is a ‘saltie’ in the next bay along so no swimming there. Also at this time of year there are box jellyfish in the water which can be most unpleasant if they sting you. Stinger suits are the order of the day if you go into the water unless it is an area netted off against them.

Cyclone Ului hit Airlie Beach about 3 weeks ago. Luckily it came at it from the land side so the damage wasn’t too bad. It was (only!) a category 3 (it goes up to 5) but enough to mean that power, telephones and internet were all out for a few days. Lots of trees damaged as well. Heather’s property in Cannonvale was protected by the hill behind it but still lots of clearing up to do afterwards.

Heather’s sister Sheena is a ‘Wally sitter’. What may you ask is that? Adult wallabies are sometimes  hit by cars and killed but their joeys survive and need someone to help look after them until they can be released into the wild at about 1 year old. Sheena has two of them which she is looking after for someone else for two weeks. They require 4 feeds a day at around every 5 hours so it is quite a commitment. She brought them round to Heather’s house and we went out on a walk on our first evening. Heather, Sheena, Chris  and I accompanied by Guinness the dog (half greyhound and half Staffordshire bull terrier) and one of the wallies which I carried around in a cloth bag. It was very curious about everything and kept putting its head out of the bag to see what was going on.

Cedar Creek Falls are a well known local attraction. A lovely waterfall and a deep pool in which you can swim. It’s great swimming in freshwater as you don’t have to worry about showering off the salt afterwards. Our little Sunday afternoon expedition included all of the people and animals mentioned in my previous paragraph plus the second Wally. Sheena and I sharing the backseat of the car with the dog and the wallies was very cosy. Guinness took up most of it.

The first few days up here were lovely weather and very hot. A shopping trip to buy some lighter clothes and haircuts helped sort us out.

We booked a day cruise on Reefjet – a jet powered boat which only needs 0.6m of water to be able to move. A couple of short dives (in stinger suits rather than wetsuits) off Cateran Bay showed the damage the cyclone had wrought – sand everywhere and very poor visibility – only about 3 metres. It was like being in the English channel but in warmer water as the sea temperature was 27 degrees. Lots of lovely corals and some fish but no good for taking photographs. Our guide pointed out a glass shrimp which is quite rare. A tiny creature smaller than my fingernail.

Hill Inlet has lovely views across to Whitehaven Beach and on a sunny day the beach looks pure white as it is almost pure silica. When we visited it was rather cloudy and didn’t seem that much different from other beaches although the sand was finer when we walked on it.

Nelson and Canterbury

The weather forecast wasn’t brilliant so we chose to go north again to the top of the south island.

Back to the Abel Tasman national park.  Spent one night at the bottom end and the other at the top end. With a trip to a couple of beaches in between.  Fording rivers and driving along lots (!) of very narrow roads.

Lots of sunshine to start with and then the weather turned a bit colder.

Drove along to the Marlborough Sounds and lots more winding roads.
Spent the night in Okiwi Bay (nothing there but the campsite and a restaurant that opened 3 days a week none of them whilst we were there). More windy roads and several photo stops took us to French Pass. There’s an impressive tidal race there as there is an island very near to the mainland. Beautiful weather and then drove back through the clouds and forests down to Blenheim.

Felt like summer had returned again here and also in Kaikoura. Dolphins jumping out of the water and lots of seals basking on the beaches.

Down to Lyttelton near Christchurch and I think it was around 26 degrees. Spent a couple of evenings catching chickens. Adam got 5 new chickens and they decided to make a bid for freedom into the next door garden. On the first evening we went out after dark with torches and climbed over the fence and went on a chicken hunt.  Found 3 in a tree and managed to catch two but the third one didn’t like the commotion and escaped whilst Adam was holding it. Left the others until the next night and found two more roosting in a tree. Caught them relatively easily. The last one has been left to its freedom for the moment. Today Adam clipped the wings on the four we caught so they shouldn’t disappear again.

It’s our last night in NZ as we are off to Brisbane tomorrow. We have to return the can on the way to the airport so have been busy cleaning it. Liam and Finn earned some pocket money vacuuming and polishing it. They especially enjoyed the hose and cleaning the outside. So much so that they cleaned their parents cars as well.

Sad to be leaving NZ after 8 weeks but looking forward to spending time in Australia.