The land down under
When I was 11 my family traveled to Australia for my dad to do research at the Canberra University. We lived in university housing and went to public school. We had uniforms and I learned about the Australian continent and government since I was in 5th/6th grade. Until my kids got to 5th grade I never understood why I didn't know where the states were? It was an embarrassment, that I tried to avoid. But then....many years later, I realized I never actually learned it! Could this be part of my itch to drive the whole country? To actually feel where the states and the boundaries of our country are? Maybe...Maybe! I spoke of much of our journey in my first blog, of visiting animal sanctuaries, and seeing many of the territories so I want to move onto my current Australian addiction. There are a few places in the world, and this is one of them, that my heart actually aches, physically aches, when I leave.
Australia has gone onto call my first born, so some of that heartache is from leaving her, but I will always return and she will pop into the states occasionally.
When she was in high school, she was offered a trip with People to People, to spend 21 days in Australia-yes! Of course she went, they went from Cairns to Sydnee and saw everything in between! This trip was what fueled her love of the country and led her to reside there.
I have been back since I was 11 four times. Once with the family of origin to visit old friends, and 3 times with my family of creation. My first trip back after my daughter moved there was with a dear friend of mine. Daughter's friends took us all over the City of Townsville, with me telling them they all needed power puff girl tattoos! (who gets that reference??)! They took us to the tea house on the mountain, and offered to buy us the coffee from that movie Bucket List-Kopi Luwak, if you've seen the movie, you know this coffee has been partially digested to help its flavor, for 50 AUD I passed, and to be honest would probably still pass! We saw beautiful trees, and a horse with a rainbow mane and tail at that stop.
We went onto see the angel of Townsville, apparently when some young lads were in college they climbed the highest rocky peak and painted an angel, no one knew who did it at the time, but now these people are high profile people in town, and the angel is kept up, and maintained. I am pretty sure people know who the culprits were, and no one cares, it has become a staple of the town. Always makes me smile!
Off the coast of Townsville is, in my opinion, one of the loveliest places on earth. Magnetic Island. When I returned a few years later with my husband, Dan, he said he totally understood why I felt that way and now misses it as much as I do. It is called Magnetic Island because of all the iron ore on the island-it makes compasses go wonky, hence the name. It is not far off the coast and in WW2, to avoid Japanese bombers, they would put all the lights on on the island, turn them off in townsville, and the bombers would then inadvertently drop the bombs into the sea between. Brilliant! On Maggie island, the beaches are amazing, the vibe is mellow, barefoot and almost Caribbean in feel. The great barrier reef can be accessed here, and there is amazing camping! We love to stay at Bungalow Bay! When Dan and I went with the daughter and hubby we even did the Koala breakfast, although this turned out to be aimed at mostly families with kids, it was fabulous, getting to hold koalas and see all the animals is so fun even as an old grownup! The photo at the top of this page is one of their koalas. The snorkeling and hiking there is amazing too. Included in the gallery below are some amazing beach shots! For a more upscale lodging experience there is Peppers near the dock and of course Air B N B is there too!
In '15 when Dan and I went back, we also went to Paronella Park. An amazing site-a home, rather a castle that Jose Paronella built and opened to the public in 1935...like a super cool roadside attraction in the states, this had the first hydro electric plant, and had a little movie theater. Located next to a waterfall it is amazingly beautiful, a great place for a wedding or just for a walk or a tour. They also have camping and really nice little cabins you can rent. The idea of making your dreams come true is stressed here. So beautiful. Link below, but highly recommended.
Along the coastal drive to Townsville, and all over Australia really, are giant statues of things to see-the cane toad, a giant crab, an snake that is an aboriginal character, a giant gumboot in the town of Tully that shows how high the water was when the town of was flooded.
Queensland, the territory my daughter calls home is the north east quadrant of the country, warm, dry at times and lush and rainy at others. This area is known for sugar cane production, much of the world's sugar is produced here, and if you go during the season of "the crush" the air smells like caramel from the burning sugar. I did not know till we visited during this time, that the whole plant is used, the stalk is burned to light the fires that boil the down the sugar. Our freight train's length is small in comparison to the long sugar trains bringing the cane to the factories from the farms.
We did not have time to get to the Tablelands, but that is for the next trip as is Uluru-the large stone that is a sacred site of the Aborigines smack dab in the center of Australia.
Australia called me back a fourth time with my son and his girlfriend in '17...story to follow in another blog!
