Always Didgeradoo, Never Didgeradon't

Cairns (Cans) is surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef in the ocean and rain forest inland. The city is in the northeast part of Australia thriving on tourism. Many Aborigines lived in the area and the didgeridoo is the musical instrument used in ceremonies. It comes from a tree that has had their interiors hollowed out by termites (naturally). The barrier reef is one of the natural wonders of the world. The reef is host to 1500 species of fish, 4000 types of mollusk and 200 species of birds.

This reminded me of Lord of The Rings; the Fellowship, of course.

No, that's not Michael Phelps.

Ugh.

The Young and the Restless in Brisbane

Brisbane was home to Britain’s “worst” offenders. Free settlers came in 1842; it became the capitol of Queensland in 1859 which joined the commonwealth in 1901. Brisbane is home to 1.6 mil people and Queensland is known as Australia’s "Sunshine State." Attractions include tropical rain forest, mountain ranges, dusty outback, fertile fields and the Great Barrier Reef. A modern clean city and that strives to play a good host to its visitors. Avg age is 33 years and 21% of pop is under 15 years.

Another examples in the bizarro overlapping with the U.S., Queensland is Australia's own "Sunshine State."

Since we are on a cruise, so many of the cities that we visit are beautiful ports.

Sydney, Voting Is Not A Right, It's An Expectation

The attitude is a “don’t fret it will get done” approach or as they put it “no worries mate.” However, the Australians take great pride in their country. Everyone votes in elections if you are eligible to vote. If you don't, you pay a fine. Sydney like many Australian cities started out as a British Penal colony. Today, a bustling city in excess of 4 mil people, boasts a very modern downtown of skyscrapers and motorways. As with other cities the old has been preserved or converted to new uses. 

There are lots of similarities in topography and monikers (that's a lot of syllables) between the US and Australia. These are Australia's Blue Mountains.

The Wilds of Tasmania

Tasmania is an island and one of the seven states of Australia. Hobart originally served as a penal colony for England to rid herself of unwanted criminals. Original inhabitants were Aboriginals from Australia arriving across a land bridge during one of the ice ages. Burnie is an industrial center and a large container port. Tasmania once boasted the richest tin mine in the world. Much of the area remains unchanged from the time when the Aborigines roamed the land thousands of years ago.

Some may have thought that this was a "Tasmanian Devil," but it is actually my old friend, Mike. He has put on some weight, so I wanted to be descreat in taking the photo.

Falls like these offer great bathing opportunities for me, whether it's Tuesday or not.

I paused for a while to show this young man how counter sitting is done back in the West.

Aukland, New Zealand (not the home of the Raiders)

Auckland, New Zealand is a modern city with over one million in population. The city is the host to the Americas Cup Yacht races. The city is known as the city of sails with 5 out of 6 households owning a boat of some sort. We are a day ahead of you at this point having just celebrated Valentine’s Day. It is a clean city which has preserved the old Victorian buildings and merged them with the modern designs. The Sky Tower is the tallest building in Auckland and offers a 600+ foot bungi jump.

You can see that Sue tans the best out of our group.

I just just a tad dizzy from the excitement of climbing that high. Obviously, I'm not scared of heights or anything. Maybe it was some cold medicine...

Luckily, this is a guided tour. Although, I imagine that Dick could ignore these signs just as well as the ones back in the states.

Going back in time at Cook's Island

The Cook Islands are a territory of New Zealand with a Pop of 16,000-10,000 of whom live in Rarotonga. The main Island is mountainous with jungles and is surrounded by a coral reef. There is one waterfall, an International Airport and a hospital. The coconut-tree-lined white sand beaches are plentiful and inviting. The island is clean, filled with friendly down to earth people and probably 30 years behind most places trying to keep up with the Jones. No one should ever go there (except me). :>)

I felt very "Jurassic" riding in this Jeep-like truck.

Coconuts, coconuts and more coconuts. It takes a guy with a big hatchet to keep up with my appetite.

We've seen a lot of the ocean on this trip, and yet, it looks different from each beach.

Tee Hee in Tahiti

Tahiti–part of French Polynesia is a 400 sq mi island with 170,000 islanders. A volcanic island with mostly black sand beaches. The caldera of the volcano supports a rain forest receiving 500 inches of rain a year producing many waterfalls large and small. French culture is apparent in language, buildings and mixed with Polynesian traditions of dress, fishing and canoeing. The mystic of the island and culture is apparent among the traditionalists, but the young are caught up in modern ways. 

Take photo. Climb tree. Climb again.

Yes, that is a very long waterfall.

Is there a Pun for Pitcairn?

Pitcairn Island is inhabited by decedents from the mutineers of the ship Bounty and you must be a decedent to live here no visitors allowed for disease control. A territory of the U K under the cloak of New Zealand. Population - 48 with an elementary teacher and doctor provided by the state. 8 to 10 ships a year stop and share some of their provisions with the islanders. Fuel and law enforcement provided by New Zealand. Island size–18 sq mi and very rugged which well describes the islanders. 

Did this island just move? There was a bright flash of light and it seemed to move a couple of feet to the right.

Folks on this island "get by with a little help from their friends."