Australia

So as I was originally planning this trip the need to stop in Australia loomed as a necessity. I was never keen on devoting a lot of time to the country largely because as its not really that great a place to backpack through as the distances between worthwhile stops is mind blowing. Australia has a total population roughly the size of the New York City metropolitan area scattered around a country the size of the US. This translates to a lot of sparsely populated areas. On seeing just how quickly the cities fade away into the outback, and in hearing testimonials from people who drove through the country its just amazing to think of how quiet Australia becomes once you leave the east coast.
Jess and I planned a 10 day trip that had us meeting in Sydney International Airport. We met bleary eyed at 8 am, her via New York and I via Christchurch, New Zealand. The goal was to see as much of Sydney in forty eight hours before we flew north to Cairns. Despite the lack of sleep, we both rallied and spent a full day out around the famous Sydney Harbor, Opera House, and even took a ferry to Manly Beach on the other side of the harbor. I found Sydney to be as I expected. Jess and I joked about how you always see clothing lines or businesses listing their offices as London, New York, Tokyo, and Sydney, and how it was cool to be in a city that is very much a world center. And that was how it felt. Large, but not overly Gothamesque, with upscale neighborhoods hugging a beautiful harbor and a downtown that felt a bit inundated with tourists and bit sedated due to lots of office buildings. At night we crawled to a recommended dinner spot, the travel day slowly taking its toll on us. I saw glimmers of Montreal and New York in Sydney's nightlife, definitely a cosmopolitan crowd.
The following day we took in the Aquarium and lounged around Darling Harbor, which seemed a bit over-developed to me. Jess deserves credit for lobbying for more time to spend in Sydney as I originally had planned to fly us to Cairns shortly after we arrived in Australia. I enjoyed the city, but as with all 48 hour glimpses of internationally recognized cities, I feel like I saw part of a preview to a movie. I could not possibly make any substantive conclusions on Sydney, but I can say that I enjoyed our time there and would definitely go back for longer.

And off we were again, I have to compliment Jess. Coming so far to see me, and then going even further with me....three hours of flying time followed by an hour drive in our rental car got us just north of the resort town of Port Douglas, on the far northeast coast of Australia. We were staying at a resort called Mai Tai, which I can compliment myself for finding. Its marketed as a Balinese themed retreat in the mountains outside of Port Douglas. The owners, Andre and Anthony, are a gay couple in their late 40s. Each day they had an amazing breakfast for us, plus we were always in the company of their two mountain dogs. Additionally, two of our four nights there, we were the only guests. The place only has four rooms and its very much secluded and decked out with outdoor showers and an asian themed room. Jess and I both loved it, and for me it was definitely a change from new zealand hostels.
Our time in the area alternated between lounging around Port Douglas and going on arranged day tours. We went on a supposed 'rainforest tour', but I soon realized just why I avoided the 'tours' in the first place during my time in New Zealand. Now its true, we both agreeded after the fact that we did learn a few things, and we did have a fun day altogether, but for the price, and taken as a whole the tour was a bit weak. Highlights for me were going sea kayaking where Jess saw a sea turtle. I did not have my glasses on so I thought it was a seal. We also went on a crocodile river boat, where after an hour of not seeing any crocodiles we saw a real one swimming very close by.
Our other planned day took us to the Great Barrier Reef. In short, the hype we had heard about snorkeling the reef lived up to expectations. We had a top ten day weatherwise with clear skies and low wind. I had never snorkeled before, so after the obligatory five minute freakout where I couldnt get my breathing down and Jess laughing at me, things went smoothly. We took a smaller tour that went further out on the reef and took us to three different sites. Just a great day.
The Port Douglas community kind of grows old. We certainly could have wasted a few more days there lying on the beach and doing another reef tour, but Jess wanted to see more of the country and I obviously had no problem putting a few miles on our rental car. So with that we spent one day travelling through the Atherton Tablelands. A rainforest-rolling farmland-desert area that constitutes the land about fifty miles inland from the coast. We had a great day on the road stopping at small towns, coffee shops, and waterfalls before arriving at our final destination, Mission Beach.
Mission Beach is more of a sleepy beach bum town compared to the ritzy vibe of Port Douglas. There is only one ATM and a few bars mixed in with some cafes. Its basically a very, very quiet beach town. We read that its a nice place to relax and it certainly was. We divided our time at Mission Beach between lying on the beach, something we actually had not made time to do up at Port Douglas and hiking, something Jess new I'd force her into, and something she, not being as keen on the outdoors as I, handled amazingly. To put our hike in perspective, I hiked roughly 100 miles in New Zealand and the most wildlife I saw fell in the birdlife category. I hiked for thirty minutes with Jess and we saw wallabies (small kangaroos), a three foot long Monitor Dragon, and last but certainly not least, a Cassowary. Now Cassowaries are indeed birds, but they are the size of a human and stand upright like an emu or ostrich and are aggressive and are known to attack humans with a talon on their foot. They are almost extinct and although sign postings all over Mission Beach warn drivers to be alert for the birds, sightings are rare. I'm breezing along the trail when I see a big freaking bird around the bend. Jess stayed behind me, and I more or less kept my distance and to my extreme displeasure failed to get a quality picture. Nevertheless, we saw one and it was a highlight.
Our final day was spent in Cairns city. A real sad place if you ask me. Its kind of got a Florida vibe with hotels lining the waterfront and some nice walkways near the water, but five blocks inland the city turns to vacant lots and low class establishments. In the end, we ate an amazing meal in Cairns and there is certainly enough to keep the passing traveller occupied for a day or so in the city, but we both were happy that we didn't base ourselves in the city. And with that our trip was over. We flew to Sydney and parted in the airport. Im happy Jess came and prompted me into spending a decent amount of time in Australia. I found the people extremely friendly and the country itself amazingly expansive.