Day 57: The Turtle
Today, a photo from the Whitsunday Islands in Australia.
This is me as a turtle. And below me is a real turtle all jellied out (turtles get a little stoned on all the yummy jellyfish).
4 0 2
402 days. 402 (plus or minus… mostly minus) posts.
January 19, 2013
Day 56: What We’ve Done
In only a few short days, here’s a smattering of things Ciara and I have done in Australia so far:
- Gone through two full bottles of SPF 70 sunscreen
- Gotten minor sunburns
- Met wonderful, funny, smart and welcoming people who laughed with us and made us feel right at home (especially the lovely folks on Maggie Island)
- Taken part in the first-ever dance party at the Marlin Bay restaurant
- Gotten lost and made our way out of the bush and back into Australian civilization
- Hiked until our hearts were happy and our calves were useless
- Swam in the prettiest water in the world
- Worn stinger suits in order to not get stung by deadly jellyfish in the prettiest water in the world
- Washed what I’m convinced was a tiny animal out of a cut on my toe (apparently it may have been seaweed)
- Awoke at 3 a.m. to the screams of the Curlew birds
- Quietly stalked a very easygoing Echidna outside his home in a large, knotted tree
- Tried to smash coconuts (impossible) while yelling, “WILSON!”
- Tripped (four times each) on that one funky stair at the Airlie Beach YHA hostel
- Eaten lots of pizza
- Consumed at least 60 liters of water between the two of us
- Referenced “rubbish” instead of “trash”
- Sweat (we continue to sweat)
- Planned a sailing trip, which we’ve been on for the last two days (more on that later!)
- Driven over 600 kilometers and seen landscapes from this (note the stinger suits drying in the tree):
To this:
More to come.
January 18, 2013
Day 55: The Forts
On our massive Wednesday hike, Ciara and I also wandered up through “The Forts,” a winding trek that gave us some insight into Australia’s role in WWII.
During the war, Maggie Island housed a command post, at which Australian soldiers stood watch over the water, looking for Japanese war ships. The guns kept there were precautionary and were never actually used. And little did we know that some of the boulders we hiked over were actually fake and were built as camouflage.
The ammunitions building felt a little more like a creepy jail. We took some photos and got the heck out of there.
The soldiers had panoramic views of the water from their watchtower.
The gun post seemed like an obvious place to take a senior picture.
One of the buildings was off-limits, but Ciara is pretty adventurous (we turned right around after this picture).
I saved the best for last. This is a wild koala taking a snooze in a tree near some of the fort buildings. You’re mostly seeing his cute little butt, wedged between the branches.
January 17, 2013
Day 54: The Raddest
Yesterday, Ciara and I went for a day-long hike around Maggie Island. We hiked up through the remains of a WWII fort (more on that tomorrow) and in and out of a series of incredible cove beaches. Each beach was unique and was an extremely welcome site to a couple of very sweaty hikers.
One of my favorites was Radical Bay. Out of seemingly nowhere, we emerged from a rocky, winding path to a open field of wildflowers. Just over the wildflower ridge was a perfect, smooth-sanded beach. So rad.
As soon as we saw it, I reverted to my 20-year-old self and proudly proclaimed that Radical Bay would be the new site of my future wedding. But unless all of my future guests feel like going for a few-hour pre-wedding hike, I’ll have to figure out a creative way to transport everyone there. I’m thinking helicopter.
A note: Ciara and I will be sailing through the Whitsunday Islands for the next few days (on a boat!), so I’m trying to schedule some posts before we go. If I accidentally miss a day, don’t worry—I’m probably fine. (Mom, that was specifically for you.)
January 16, 2013
Day 53: Skink and Drink
Here is a fact about the Blue-Tongued Skink, an Australian critter: the vividness of their blue tongues often startles potential predators away. If you look closely at the photo, you can see a tiny bit of this little guy’s tongue. He was pretty quick with it.
Here is a fact about my vacation so far: I’ve had to drink more water in the last three days than I’ve probably consumed in the last three months. It’s unbelievably amazing here, and equally as unbelievably humid. My brain has slowed down to the pace of the air, and I’m going to have to keep this particular blog short and sweet (speaking of sweet, there’s an unending supply of delicious fruit smoothies in Queensland… even without all the other amazing perks, the smoothies alone make the trip worthwhile).
4 0 2 