Robb and Sue's Excellent Adventure: Australia Entry 8

Candy-Ass Campers Prefer Flying

On Sunday Robb and I aborted our planned camping trip for the second time. We're thinking that maybe our heart isn't really in it.

The week before we had spent an hour packing up all the food and camping gear for a couple of nights at beautiful Mission Beach, about an hour and a half's drive south of here. We had visited there when we first arrived and were checking out places to live and had been struck with what a nice little village and fabulous beach it was, and planned to return to camp and enjoy just being right on the beach.

Finally the time seemed right and the weather seemed to be not as bad as it had been, so we set off. We also thought it would be good to fine tune this camping thing before we set off for the big journey at the beginning of September. It was actually rather cloudy and by the time we got to Babinda, about an hour south of here, it was completely socked in with lowering, threatening clouds and little bits of precipitation, and looking worse in the south. We couldn't see any point in camping in the rain when we had a nice, comfortable, convenient, dry apartment so we decided to cancel out. We did stop to visit the Babinda Boulders, (hard to say that without stuttering) and walk along the creek where these massive boulders have been scattered over a couple of kilometres, and again, were enthralled by the beauty and variety of the landscapes to be seen in Australia. So the trip was not a dead loss. But by the time we left it was raining and we knew we had made the right decision to cancel.

By this past Sunday we had had a couple of days of sunshine so we thought we would try again, and went through the same process. It was a brilliant sunny day and we arrived at the campground, paid the $74 plus $20 amenities (as they call it here – the toilet block) key deposit for two nights (at a not particularly great campground at a particularly expensive price – high season I guess) and after a bit of back and forth got a spot we thought would be good to pitch our tent on. It was just after noon and rather than waste good beach time putting up the tent, we went to the beach, had a nice long walk (Mission Beach is 14 km of fine white sand, and at low tide very wide, with a view out to Dunk and Bedarra Islands just off the coast) and soaked up the sun and read. One thing about Mission Beach that fascinates me is that it has a million little crabs that roll up gazillions of tiny balls of sand, about as big as a grape seed, and cover the beach with these little balls arranged in circular and fan-like patterns. They are really beautiful.
About 4:00 we went back to set up the tent. We were trying to get the tent poles up when one of the fiberglass lengths cracked and split in two. The tent will not stand without a completely functional pole system. While I was starting to think “How can we fix this? We don't have any duct tape do we?” Robb said “Let's call it quits and go home”. I somehow knew that his enthusiasm for this venture was underwhelming! The friendly Australian fellow in the site next to us offered to see what he might have to fix the pole, but Robb didn't think tape would be strong enough, and we had no clue as to how to replace this pole with the spare (the poles are all linked together with a cable) so we packed up and left. Luckily, Robb was able to persuade the manager to refund our money.

We finally got home about 7:30, having been stuck for a good half an hour behind a convoy that was moving a massive piece of equipment at a snail's pace along the highway. (We later learned it was a huge transformer destined for the power station in Cairns.) We heated up the chili I had made for a camping dinner (being the well-prepared camper that I thought I was – I will have to add duct tape to the gear, and I guess we will keep the pup tent, for back-up), and slept in our comfortable bed with the bathroom just a few steps – inside – away.

This was our new tent too, that we had only used half a dozen times. We will have to get it fixed for our next (non?) camping adventure, hopefully this weekend to Chillagoe, a little town in the outback about 250 km west of here. It has reportedly wonderful limestone caves (no swimming involved - yeah!) and an observatory which, being out in the middle of nowhere or almost, should allow great views of the night skies.

These incidents have inevitably lead us to examine our commitment to this camping thing, and found it to be wanting. One of the drawbacks is that it just seems to be a lot of work, spending a good couple of hours putting up and taking down and packing tents and gear, and then having to haul food and cooking stuff to the camp kitchen, if not to cook and eat, then at least to wash the dishes. (I knew I was a winer, but am I a whiner too?) On the plus side you meet some interesting people at campgrounds.

But I think the main problem right now is Robb's hip. It has been bothering him quite a bit, mainly at night, and it would be difficult for him to get up and down from an air mattress on the ground. He often actually sits up for awhile to ease his hip which would be problematic in the tent. As an aside, he has noted that it's a good thing Australians drive on the left, with the steering wheel on the right, because if he had to get into the van on the left side, putting his right leg in first, he wouldn't be able to. As it is, he can bend his left leg to get in and then haul in the right leg. So, he will be looking at a hip replacement as soon as possible after we get home. We are keeping our fingers crossed he can make it till then. During the day, it seems to be not bad, but nights are not so good.

To sum up, we have decided to camp when we have to, or really feel like it and will be spending a few days in one place, but otherwise will be looking for alternative accommodation such as cabins at campgrounds or even motels. And we are lucky to be able to do that.
Yesterday, we had a very exciting experience. We took a scenic flight over the GB Reef. It was absolutely spectacular! I love these low-flying flights (as long as I take my ¼ Gravol – with that amount, am I looking at the placebo effect?) because the aerial views are so fascinating and totally different from land views, and you can see so much in a short time. Luckily the day we had booked was sunny and calm. We went with a company called Reefwatch in a little plane, just Robb and me with a bubble window each, (a convex window you can put your head into and so see straight down, allowing an excellent view) the pilot and our guide. Before we boarded the guide gave us a little briefing, telling us how to recognize sea creatures we might expect to see, such as turtles, rays and sharks, as from 500 to 1000 feet up, they look pretty small.

We started out flying north along the coast which looked spectacular in the bright morning sunshine. The dark green foliage of the coastal ranges was bordered by long stretches of golden sand and the dazzling blue azure waters of the Pacific. At nearly 300 kph, it wasn't long before we were crossing the coast to fly over the Daintree Rain Forest which we had driven to a few weeks ago. Flying over the forest and the river was great, with views of the canefields and the forest and the miles of beaches along the coast. Then we headed out to sea, to the Agincourt Reef , and eventually turned south to start our loop back to the airport, following the islands and cays of the reef southward towards Green Island, where a sharp right turn took us towards our landing. We flew at 500 feet which provided a spectacular view of the sea and reefs below.
During the winter, a number of species of whales migrate from the Antarctic to the seas off the Queensland coast and there have been reports of their arrival on the TV recently. They've even had footage of a large albino whale, which has been seen in these waters for the last few years, swimming just off Port Douglas. We were hoping to see some whales and as it turned out, we were extremely fortunate to see 8 of them. The first group was a mother (presumably) and a calf. Absolutely amazing!! A real WOW moment. The last we saw were a trio just off Green Island. By that point in the flight the pilot had had to climb to 1000 feet, so they were along way away, but still amazing. Unfortunately, we didn't seen the white whale that is in the area but that would have been an encounter beyond belief.

Even without the whales, it would have been an awe-inspiring experience. The ocean was a fabulous vibrant, sparkling turquoise colour, with the dozens of beautiful sand cays and coral reefs we flew over being a light sand colour with scattering of dark patches, encircled by even brighter turquoise blue waters.. The water was crystal clear and you could see the coral formations. Robb actually picked out some sea turtles and what appeared to be giant manta rays (our guide had told us to be on the lookout for them) as we made our way across the reefs. The reefs themselves are actually submerged a few feet and it is possible to pick out larger sea creatures like sharks and even saltwater crocodiles, swimming across them, though we didn't seen any of these. There were a few dive boats, pontoons and tourist boats, but fewer than I expected. To think that this is the largest living organism on earth, (the only living thing visible from the moon our guide told us), and we had the privilege of seeing it in such a spectacular fashion, is truly fantastic.

As we were taking off I thought “Wow, this is so cool, this is great, I wonder if I should try and get my pilot's license , it would be so cool to do flights like this all the time!!” At one point, the pilot thought he saw a whale and banked very steeply to circle back, almost turning us on our side, whoa!, and I felt quite dizzy for a few seconds. So then I thought, “Okay Susan, this is why you take the Gravol, this is why you don't go on midway rides, and this is only one of the many reasons why you shouldn't get your hopes set on being a pilot.“ All in all it was a marvellous experience, but one and a quarter hours in the air in a little plane were enough for both Robb and me. (So forget about the pilot thing, Sue.)

We are off to see a man about a tent pole, so I'll sign off. Until the next time, greetings from the “Grey Nomads” down under. (Only I'm not grey, I'm just wrinkled. Robb is doing the grey – we share duties.)

Toodle loo.

Getting ready for take off. Just the two of this in this small plane. It had "bubble windows" so we could look straight down at the scenery below us.

Susan ready for takeoff

This island just north of Cairns houses Australia's most exclusive and most expensive resort. A night here will set you back $15,000 (food and drink extra).