Crikey! What a Zoo!

Steve Irwin, lets applaud the man. Australia Zoo is just north of the town of Beerwah on the aptly named “Steve Irwin Highway”.  The sun has well and truly gone now and we are into persistent rain and cyclone season, but this wasn’t going to hold us back.

1 in a 1000 Turtle

For the last time before we head past the southern end of the great barrier reef we took advantage of one more opportunity to get into the water and explore.

The beautiful lady Musgrave island is part of a small collection of islands that stick out the top of the ocean about 40 kilometers off the mainland. The coral surrounding the island has created a lagoon in the middle of the ocean no more than 10 meters deep where the rougher currents break around the edge and water inside is calm and protected.

YEE-HAH Cowboy!

Rockhampton likens itself to a town from the Wild West era. All the building here look like something from a John Wayne film and there are cattle ranches everywhere as you drive into the city.

We headed down to the botanical gardens and zoo to get our very first look at that good old ozzie icon the Koala! Cool to look at but that’s all you can do…look at them. They don’t do much, in fact they don’t do anything at all. Just sit there hugging that tree like it was the last one on earth. 

The GB Reef: A Birds Eye View

The Whitsunday Islands are a group of 74 tropical islands off the east coast bridging the barrier reef from the pretty town of Airlie. Our original plan was to jump on another dive boat, but then we spotted something much more interesting…a flight around the reef in a plane the size of a mini cooper.

Coconut

A chance to stretch our tropical skills presented itself at Mission Beach south of Cairns. All along the beach lie palm trees dropping dozens of coconuts onto the sand. 

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

And so, into the deep blue sea for the one we’ve been waiting for, one of the things to do with your short time on this planet – The Great Barrier Reef. 

Mossman

Rainforest country is eery. Miles and miles of wilderness then little spots of beauty here and there. We visited one such spot called Mossman Gorge for a swim in and around the river that runs through the forest.

Coffee and crocs

The plantation we visited just one hour from Cairns in the town of Mareeba was the first to establish itself in Australia back in the early 70's.

1 minute, 1 BBQ

Sunshine Shark

Front pages of the newspapers the other day covered with this story. We're heading down that way in a few weeks so will keep our eyes open and arms and legs out of the water!!