Aussie Aussie Aussie- Oye Oye Oye!

This is like a national war-cry used to express appreciation in anything Australian. As I am currently rather impressed with the country myself, I decided to use it here.
The past month and a half has been spent in Australia, of which the last 2 weeks were spent travelling. My mom, a friend of hers, and my brother had all come down to Australia for a little break, and we all went holidaying together. On the morning of the 20th of July, we left Maroochydore (where I had been working), and started our road trip- all the way up to Cairns. The entire drive was a three day long one, and though tiring, was probably the best way to do it, as we got to see parts of Australia that we wouldn’t have otherwise seen. We saw the endless sugarcane and barley fields, noticed how the countryside changed abruptly from forests to fields to mountains to even an interesting mix of all the above. We even caught a glimpse of a couple of little kangaroos.

On the Sunshine Coast, at a look-out, a day before we left Maroochydore. As is evident, the wind was blowing rather strongly :)

The endless sugarcane fields on the way

The lovely countryside- notice all the different colours!

The first night, we stopped at a place called Hervey Bay. This particular bay is famous for the humpback whales that pass through it during the migration season. As the season begins in late July, we decided to stop there for the night and try and spot some whales early the next morning. As planned, the next morning we got onto a boat and sailed off, hoping to see some of the magnificent marine mammals that most people only see pictures of. For about an hour there was nothing to be seen, and then suddenly, we saw two whales in quick succession. They were rather shy, so we had to be quick. Fortunately we managed to catch both major sightings, not to mention sightings of the little dolphins that came so close to the boat, it was almost like they were putting on a show for us. Dolphins are actually small whales themselves, and are known to escort the larger whales. We saw some marvellous antics in the water before heading back to the shore. Then it was time to hit the road again.

My mom and I, collecting shells and corals at the Hervey Bay beach

Dolphins at Hervey Bay

The Big Guy himself!

Our second halt was at a place called Yeppoon. This little village is on the sea-shore and is really picturesque and beautiful. Since we reached at night, there was not much to do, besides have dinner and crash. The next morning, we drove around Yeppon, and explored the place. We stopped to admire the beautiful beach, have a bite of breakfast, and drove through Emu Park, which is just off Yeppoon. Unfortunately, Emu Park has no Emus, it is only named after them. Then it was time to get on the highway again.

On our way to Yeppoon….

The Beach at Yeppoon

Our third and last night on the road was spent at a place called Airlie Beach. This was a slightly commercial place, not as remote as Yeppoon. There was some shopping to be done, and restaurants to choose from. Unfortunately, the restaurant we picked for dinner that night seemed to be having a bad day, and we were served burnt steak. But the place in itself was rather charming and had a lot of local flavour. There were lots of swimwear shops, surfing shops and digeridoo shops. The Digeridoo (popularly known as the Dig), is an old aboriginal musical instrument, now played by Europeans and Aboriginals alike. The instrument is a metre long hollow piece of wood , which produces a sound like a low drone. Most original digeridoos are hand painted by the aboriginals. It is almost a crime to go all the way to Australia and not pick up a digeridoo, so of course I got one, regardless of the fact that I am tone- deaf!
Anyway, returning to my travels, Airlie beach was the last stop, after which we drove on to Cairns.

At Airlie Beach

The drive hereon presented us with fewer undulations, less rocky surfaces and less mountains. We saw more open spaces and fields. If there is one thing Australia does not lack, it is land!
Finally, in the evening, we arrived at Cairns. After a most satisfying dinner and restful night, we got up the next morning to see the Great Barrier Reef. We got onto a boat that was to take us to the reef and give us snorkelling gear so that we may see all the reef has to offer. When we got to the reef, we all hastily put on our wetsuits, as the water was terribly cold. As it turned out, the wetsuits were no good, as the water was biting cold even through them. My brother was the only one who managed to snorkel that day. The rest of us, after a few pathetic attempts at swimming underwater, simply gave up. The reef was a disappointment to most of us, primarily because after hearing so much about a natural formation, one expects something rather spectacular.

Basking in the sun, as it was too cold to swim

At the Great Barrier Reef- notice the different colours of the water

The next day at Cairns, we took a gondola ride over the rainforests. It took us the whole morning to see all that the rainforests had to offer, and was spectacularly beautiful. My poor vertigo-stricken mother didn’t know whether to enjoy herself, or start freaking out. The cable cars, however, were pretty comfortable, and hardly shook at all. And the magnificent views more than made up for any discomfort.

A gorge with a waterfall in the middle of the rainforest, as seen from above

In the gondola

One of the many views from the gondola

That was all the time we spent at Cairns. The next morning we took the flight for Sydney. We were going to spend a day or two there, and then come back home. Sydney is a typical busy city. The people can be friendly and sweet when they let go, but usually they’re so busy that they don’t have the time for niceties. This is not the case in the towns of Queensland that I stayed in. The people are jolly and friendly, always ready to lend you a hand, have a little chat, or share a little joke.
Sydney has a lot of interesting things to see and do. The first day we were there, we went and saw the famous opera house, which is built on a piece of land that is jutting out into the sea. The structure is quite unusual and bears a resemblance to our very own Lotus Temple. The day after that, we took a city tour to see the sights. The tour was interesting, and some of the old English buildings were so cute, they made one exclaim in delight. We heard some rather romantic stories as well, including the story of Mrs. Macquarie, whose husband was Governor Macquarie. Apparently, Mrs. Macquarie was very lonely and homesick, and often used to make her way to a lookout point from which she could see the harbour, looking for ships from home, and hoping for that one letter which would tell them it was time to go home. She started spending so much time there, that her husband got a seat carved for her in stone, to make her long mornings and afternoons more comfortable. Needless to say, I sat in the chair and looked out to the harbour myself. We also learnt some interesting terminology, for instance, gay and lesbian areas are called “Pink Light Districts.”
The next day, my travel companions left for India, and I stayed on an extra day. I decided to use my day shopping and looking around as much as I could. I went to Chinatown, which can be a really strange experience if you’re not prepared for it. One enters Chinatown through Covent Garden, which is like a set of gates, and suddenly one finds oneself in a microcosm of China. It’s like a different world altogether past those gates. There are only Chinese and Japanese faces to be seen. For some reason, only Chinese and Japanese people seem to work there. The restaurants, shops and malls are all, of course, Chinese and Japanese. After seeing China town, and shopping there, I decided to go to the Opera House and see it from inside. I signed up for an organised tour and learned about why the building was built, the stories behind it, saw the various different theatres, and was quite in awe of the wonderful building with its view of the Harbour. Then it was time for me to catch my flight, so I made my way to the airport, thrilled and excited at the thought of finally going back home!!

Mrs Macquaries Point

Mrs Macquaries Chair

The famous Sydney Opera House