This is our first Canada Day outside Canada since we returned from England in 1989. Being in a foreign land on this our national day, gave me pause to think about how little notice has been taken of our being Canadian. We drive around with a Canadian flag sticker on the back of our van, but I don't think one person has every come up to us in a parking lot and asked where we are from or anything like that. And even in speaking with the locals on the few occasions we have to interact, they seem less than interested in the fact that we are from a far off foreign land. Of course most sales people in a tourist shop will ask where you are from, but just to start the conversation that is designed to get you to buy something. On the off chance that they do have some connection with Canada (oh, my aunt Ethel had a wonderful trip to Canada three years ago....) they will be more interested, but generally I think they must be used to North Americans permeating their wonderful country and have grown tired of pleasantries with us. However, we have had one or two interesting encounters.
On our way up here I had a long conversation with a man behind the counter at a bottle shop where, after considerable searching through his shelves, I had found a beer with some alcohol in it, and was procuring 6 bottles. He was not actually interested in the fact I was from Canada, but had set eyes on the t-shirt I was wearing that I had bought in our recent travels in Peru. As I was digging in my wallet for the appropriate bills, when he said to me... “Did you enjoy it then?” Not being sure if he was referring to having searched through his shelves for 10 minutes, or my sex life, or what, I said “Excuse me??” He replied, “Macchu Picchu...Did you like it?” pointing to the front of my shirt. I said yes very much, at which point he started telling me he was planning a trip to Peru next year and had just been researching the area on the net. We stood there talking about what we had seen and what I would recommend he do and where he should go. I turned out he was planning to do much the same route as we'd done...even going to the Ceiba Tops Lodge in the Amazon. We stood there chatting for a few minutes which was no mean feat as he continued to ring up sales for customers, putting bottles into bags and making change without stopping our conversation. I think we would have gone on much longer had not Sue, who had been getting a few groceries in the nearby supermarket, come along. Anyway, it was nice to speak to a stranger who was genuinely interested in something we'd done.
The other interesting bit that comes to mind was my conversation a few days ago with a young girl, aged about 11 or 12, who lives here in one of the apartments at Trinity Links. I was in the process of hanging out some laundry (yes we actually hang out our laundry in the open air...what a concept!) when this outgoing youngster walked by and stopped to ask me where I was from. She had obviously heard me or Sue talking somewhere before. I replied I was from Canada. She gave me something of a blank stare, so I asked if she knew where Canada was. She replied, “Yes, it's past New Guinea”. I smiled and said, “Yes, it is certainly past New Guinea ... quite a ways past as a matter of fact. Do you know where America is by chance?” She said “Of course” and then I told her that Canada was north of America. She said “Oh”. She then stood there for a minute in silence and then blurted out. “I wouldn't want to live there!” And I of course said “Why not?”, expecting something about it being too far away or too cold or something. But she unabashedly replied. “Because you speak so funny!”.
Well at the time, I got a smile out of this, but on reflection I found it quite bizarre that she thought we speak funny. This coming from someone who lives in Cairns which is pronounced to rhyme with “pans”, and who lives in a country which probably has the strangest way of speaking English in the world (India excepted). The Aussies, like their flora and fauna, being so far from the rest of the civilized world, have evolved a form of English quite different from that used in other remnants of the British Empire. We have all had a laugh at the fabled “Aussie Dictionary” but 'struth!...they do speak that way. Sue and I are continually amazed at the attempt to shorten every word that possibly can be. You've all heard about “prawns on the barbie”, but this is just one of hundreds of such clipped words that can be heard of the streets of Oz everyday. The commonplace ones include the oft heard “G'day” or “Owshegoinmate” but that's just the start. Some of our favourites include the tendency to take the “ing” off many words. Thus “serving” becomes “serve”, as in “a serve of cereal”, “stock taking” becomes “stock take” as in the “the biggest one day stock take sale in history!”, carving becomes carve as in a “wood carve”, and similar. And then there's the truncation or simple butchering of perfectly normal words...Baramundi (a local fish) is a Bara, Brisbane is Brizzy, anyone from Tasmania is from Tazzy, Football (of which there are at least four varieties played here) becomes “footie” and dozens of others. And one of my favourites heard just the other day as a sales clerked bagged my product was, “So, that's 2 Shardies and a Savvy”...any guesses? Two bottles of Chardonay and a Sauvignon Blanc. These are just a few examples but it seems that over time Australian English is destined to evolve to a set of one- or two-syllable words! Those of you familiar with Gulliver's Travels may recall one land he visited where the locals had all tried to keep their conversations short and over time had resorted to carrying small objects which they could hold up instead of actually having to say the name of the item. When Gulliver arrived he found a land of mutes, carrying huge sacks of items in case they had to engage in a meaningful discourse. I just hope Australia isn't destined to a similar fate! (Now don't get me wrong...the above is all tongue in cheek and we actually love the slow, lilting drawl of the Aussie vernacular...if only we could imitate it and not stand out as “talking funny” as so cleverly observed by my young friend!)
Well, what of our life here? Things are definitely looking up. At last writing, and in numerous emails since, I've been constantly complaining about the weather. The fact is we have had appalling weather by Queensland standards for most of the time since we arrived. Cloud, rain, record low temperatures with only the occasional sunny break to rekindle the hope of hot, sunny weather....like two pars in a row rekindles the hope that you may one day be a decent golfer! Anyway, after two solid weeks where the sun literally appeared in the sky for a total of 5 hours, last Thursday dawned bright and absolutely clear. And it has been that way since. This being Sunday we have had four days in a row of spectacular weather. We've been out to the beach, on excursions in the sun and have spent today by our pool, the first day spent by our (very nice) pool since our arrival 6 weeks ago.
We've had some interesting outings of late as well. A week ago we drove up into the Atherton Table Lands and visited Barrine Lake, a body of water in an ancient volcanic crater, surrounded by thick rain forest. Our drive up took us through mists and clouds rising up the hills from the coast and although it was a dull day with patch rain showers, our walk around the lake was as enthralling as all our forest walks are. We were lucky enough to meet a retired couple who were on vacation here from Phoenix. We had a long chat on the trail and then we arranged to meet them for dinner the next night in Cairns ... a nice social occasion.
As I have mentioned before, a walk in the rain forest is one of our favourite activities. What strikes us most while on these hikes is the tremendous variety of plant life we encounter. It seems that the type and size of trees, shrubs, ferns, etc. varies considerably in different areas and at different elevations. Australia has a breadth of flora unequalled anywhere else in the world. It is estimated that there are 25,000 plant species here. This compares, for example, with 1600 in Great Britain. And, as mentioned, that is just an estimate as no one really knows how many species are yet to be discovered here....something that happens regularly. A few years ago a tree previously thought to be long extinct was identified in New South Wales by a botanist out for a walk in the Blue Mountains. This was not just a small sapling hiding in the bush, but a giant 130 ft tree growing in a small area and never before encountered by man. That's the sort of country Australia is. There is so much of it that is virtually empty and still so largely unexplored that there's no telling what my be out there waiting for some other walker to chance upon. And the same is true of the fauna here. Australia's animal life has evolved in complete isolation from the rest of the world which has resulted in some very interesting, and of course unique animal species. Perhaps the strangest being one that we constantly keep an eye out for on our walks near waterways...the platypus. The following passage I came across recently gives a concise description of this improbable creature which is basically half reptile and half mammal: The platypus is a toothless, venomous, fur-covered, egg-laying, semi-aquatic animal with ducklike bill, the tail of a beaver, feet that are both webbed and clawed, a strange orifice called a cloaca which serves both reproductive and excretory purposes. The platypus lays eggs like a reptile but then suckles its young like a mammal. So strange was this animal that it defied classification when it was first considered by the scientific community. The platypus is so unique that it, along with its cousin the echidna, was eventually given a family designation of its own called “monotremes” (meaning “one hole” in reference to the distinguishing cloaca). We have heard a couple of splashes along streams we like to think may have been a platypus, but so far no sightings.
Another interesting thing I came across about life here is that the fossils of a life form called stromatolites dating back some 3.5 billion years to the dawn of life on the planet, were found in NW Australia. This was an exciting discovery for science but nothing compared with the discovery of living stromatolites at Shark Bay on a lonely stretch of Western Australia coast, in an unusually salty bay which replicated the conditions on earth when life was in its infancy. I wonder when a tyrannosaurus is going to be found wandering through some remote outback region?
Another day last week we headed to the Aboriginal cultural centre here called Tjapukai. We spent 3 fascinating hours here learning about the history and culture of the Aboriginals. There were a number of beautiful and informative displays of art and artifacts, a movie about the tragic history of these peoples, and spectacular “play” which was a mixture of live and computer generated imagery about the “Dream Time” or creation in Aboriginal myth. And at an outdoor theatre, thankfully sheltered from the gently falling rain, we watched a lively and colorful display of songs and dances and a fascinating demonstration of the didgeridoo. And they we were given a chance to throw a boomerang and a spear using a traditional spear thrower. (Neither is as easy as it looks though my boomerang did return to the general vicinity on my second attempt!) All in all a very interesting morning, despite the hefty entry fee (like all attractions here).
As noted, we have finally had a period of good weather after weeks of suffering cloud and rain. On Thur June 28 we awoke to clear blue skies and have had fine weather since. On Friday morning Sue took the Sky Rail Gondola with our friends up to Kuranda. This is a new addition to the many tourist attractions here since we were last in Cairns in 1994. The gondola is similar to the one at Sunshine Village though of course it passes over somewhat different terrain! As I had been on gondolas many times before and as we had taken a similar excursion previously on the train that winds its way up through the forest to Kuranda, I elected not to go, but rather to head for the beach as I was craving some B&B (Beach and Book) time after so long a period of dull weather. So I dropped Sue off at the Sky Rail and headed to nearby Holloways Beach, our favourite strip of coastline just five minutes north of the city limits. Holloways is on a curving bay about 2 kms long, backed by palm trees and usually deserted. Sue and I go there often for walks, even on inclement days. So I spread my towel on the lovely warm sand and settled down to read in the glorious sunshine.
The day before I had picked up a book at the library (did I mention we have joined the Cairns library...beats paying the outrageous prices for books on sale here!) that I had started some time ago in Canada but had put down again in favour of reading it while here in Australia. Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country is an enthralling account of his travels here in 1999 written in his usual style with vivid descriptions and humorous anecdotes throughout. Anyway, I was sitting there on Holloway's, sweating in the midday sun and ready for a dip, when I read a passage that followed on from his description of the perils of visiting Australia with its deadly snakes, spiders, crocodiles, etc. (As he says - “I am seriously interested in descriptions of things that may hurt me, which in an Australian context is practically everything.”) I had just been reading about the fact that of the world's 10 most venomous snakes, 10 are in Australia and various descriptions of lethal spiders, when I came across the following paragraph:
But all these are nothing compared with the delicate and diaphanous box jellyfish, the most poisonous creature on earth. We will hear more of the unspeakable horrors of this little bag of lethality when we get to the tropics, but let me offer here just one small story. In 1992 a young man in Cairns ignoring all the warning signs, went swimming in the Pacific waters at a place called Holloways Beach. He swam and dove and taunted his friends on the beach for their prudent cowardice, and then began to scream with an inhuman sound. It is said that there is no pain to compare with it. (Bryson later quotes a biologist who says it is akin to holding your hand in a flame for 30 seconds). The young man staggered from the water, covered in livid whiplike stripes wherever the jellyfish's tentacles had brushed across him, and collapsed in quivering shock. Soon afterward emergency crews arrived, inflated him with morphine and took him away for treatment. And here's the thing. Even unconscious and sedated, he was still screaming!
Now I know that “stinger” season was officially over and the stinger nets had been pulled in a couple of weeks before, but I took this unbelievable coincidence, myself sitting there on Holloways beach reading about a stinger attack in the waters right in front of me, to be a warning sign from the gods. Someone had told us that jellyfish stings do happen at any time of year despite them officially having moved north to warmer waters for the winter (stragglers I guess), so I was taking no chances that day and decided to stay put and enjoy the warm sunshine. And by the way, Sue did enjoy the Sky Rail with Mike and Cheryl up to Kuranda (where there are no box jellyfish!).
July 2
Well, I didn't quite get finished on Canada Day, so it's now Tuesday morning and I'm just finishing off this entry (about time you say.....). We had a great excursion yesterday with Mike and Cheryl to Green Island. This small tropical island some miles off the coast is the most accessible of the barrier reef islands from Cairns and is a prime target for day trippers wanting to experience a little of the reef's wonders. We set off from the Cairns wharf at 9:00 on a speedy catamaran which put us down on the island just before 10:00. We had opted for the half day tour so Sue and I headed off to do some snorkeling while Mike and Cheryl opted for the glass bottom boat tour. We had another glorious day, though the sea could have been a couple of degrees warmer for comfortable snorkeling. We had visited Green Island on one of our previous visits to Cairns and I did not have vivid memories of great snorkeling here. Also, over the years having been on a few similar and usually over-priced snorkeling excursions, I have found that “popular” snorkeling destinations, which are targets of hundreds of snorkelers each day, are usually devoid of much coral and sea life. However, we were pleasantly surprised as not two minutes after entering the water from the lovely sand beach, we spied a 7 ft grey reef shark slowly swimming by and then a minute later a large sea turtle gliding along just above the coral, which was plentiful and colorful. And there were lots of colorful fish too, so all in all a good outing. Mike and Cheryl are flying back to Brisbane today so we are going to head off to the airport soon to say goodbye. It has been nice having them here to socialize with.
So, that's it for now. Next time I'll write some more about the interesting aspects of our time in northern Queensland. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of the cane harvest which is just getting underway. Last evening the smell of smoke hung in the air from the burning cane fields just a couple of kilometres to the south of our apartment. We'll have to investigate that in the days to come.
Some pics follow...Ciao for now!
On our way up to the Atherton Table Lands for a walk round Barrine Lake.
A poinsetia tree in full bloom at the lake.
A colourful flowering bush.
On our walk around lake Barrine, we came across a recent fall of foliage which had covered the path. We had to make our way over the debris.
An Umbrella Tree on the table lands.
We had day after day of weather like this before it finally cleared up on June 28.
A view of our apartment complex from the pool area.
Relaxing on Holloways Beach after the good weather finally arrived.
On one of our frequent walks in an area near our apartment.
A catamaran like ours on our way out to Green Island for a little snorkeling.
A partial view of Green Island.
Typical of Australia's strange animals, this spider was spinning a web near our pool.
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