The Whitsunday Islands

We bussed down from Townsville yesterday to Airlie Beach. The country side is changing and is more flat and open with fewer trees.

Today (Oct 13th) we sailed through the Whitsunday Islands. It wasn't a great day for weather though as it rained off and on the whole time and we started out in gale force winds. At that point they were just using the motor but they got the sails up later when it calmed down a bit.


We left at 8:00 AM from Able point Marina on an 85 ft catamaran.

In the beginning it was like a roller coaster ride and the folks up front screamed for every wave.

When the wind died down a bit they put up the sails and turned off the motor and that was sweet.

Me sitting at one of the cockpits.

They took us in by dingy to experience the world's second best beach, Whitehaven. I didn't make that run because of a sore on my foot which has cellulitis. The beach wasn't that impressive looking from the boat as the tide was in and it wasn't very wide. It was miles long though and totaly white silica sand.

We missed out on the snorkeling stop though because the water over the reef was too turbulent. Luckily we had snorkeled a few days before.

Later, as we were heading back to the marina we saw a beautiful full rainbow.

It was the first time I had sailed and we managed 18 knots. I was super impressed after I got over being worried about the storm.

Tomorrow we need to get farther down the coast so we are pulling an all-nighter on the bus all the way to Brisbane..

Magnetic Island

We stayed at the International hostel in Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island for 2 nights.

They have an animal park right on site and we spent the morning playing with the animals.

This bird takes sunflower seeds from your lips very gently with its tongue. I don't know if you can get some weird bird disease from it.

The Koala will sit wherever it is placed. Its not hugging me, they just stay where the handler places them.

View of Horseshoe Bay. We spent the afternoon here just walking in the sun.

The beach is the longest on the island.

We got up early and bussed over to Airlie Beach where we walked around a bit and shopped until supper time.

It is a larger beach town and most anything you might need is available here.

Tomorrow we spend the day sailing the Whitsunday Islands and see the second most famous beach in the world.

I am glad to have a day off from walking as my blisters are getting nasty. I wore those shoes all summer but with not so much walking as this.

It has been raining on and off today and just now it really poured. Susan is glad of a balcony to smoke on.

Daintree rainforest - from Cairns

Saturday we did a full day Billy Tea Bush Tour including Cape Tribulation and the Daintree rainforest.

WE had a comfortable 4WD bus. Although most of the way was paved there were a few rough spots.

The forest was beautiful.....

...in many ways!

Dip in a really cold river sure perked me up again.

We fed some Kangaroos at our lunch stop. They were very sociable and soft.

It was a very full day which also included a rainforest walk, Daintree River Cruise, Daintree Ferry crossing, a dip in the ocean at Cape Tribulation Beach, BBQ steak lunch, tropical fruit tasting, and a crocodile sighting.

The following day we hopped the bus again to Townsville and came over to Magnetic Island. It is beautiful here and the air is clean. It is the first time I have felt really relaxed since we got here. We just had supper, relaxed and got to bed early.

We saw Nimo at the Great Barrier Reef!

I need to get up to date so will cover the last 3 days. I now really appreciate the bloggers who write faithfully every travel day.

We spent one last day in Sydney and saw the opera house tour. The construction of that building has quite a story, mainly the difficulty to find a method to build the shells without adding any support. They eventually solved it but it took years.

We enjoyed the tour and we also enjoyed the luck of dropping in during the practice of the Sydney Philharmonic.

This man, playing the didgeridoo, was with a group busking near the Circular Quay.

Outside the Opera House.

View from the Taronga Zoo looking onto Circular Quay. I think there could be better zoos than this around but we haven't come across them yet.

This bird is a Cassowary. They are found in the wild. It is the size of an Ostrich but with much shorter legs.

We had to convince a child to get off the Koala Bear in order to get this picture.

Oct 07 we flew up to Cairns, arrived about supper time and got settled in.

Today, we took a day trip, up to the reef. It was my first snorkel dive and it took a bit to get used to. There was scuba diving offered too as well as semi subs, helicopters and guided tours of the reef. There was plenty to do but I just enjoyed being in the water, seeing the fish and the different coral. All those things cost money and they would add up quickly.

We came home and got the laundry done and are getting ready for another tour. We are trying to cover as much as we can before Susan goes home so it is tiring.

We have to get up early tomorrow to catch a 7:00 bus.

Sydney, first day.

We got here Oct 5Th at 9:00 am and spent the morning getting oriented and finding our hostel. On the subway from the airport my neck cushion, which was attached to my pack, managed to remain outside of the doors when they closed. I quickly took it off to avoid losing an arm but the doors opened again and I got the cushion back.

Then.....as we were walking from the subway to the hostel I realized the pack is much too heavy. I have to dump some heavy stuff before I move again. I thought, that because I could lift it I could also carry it.

But here we are safe and sound in Sydney. We walked around for a bit and then caught a ferry out to Manly where we walked on the beach.


A view of city center from the ferry.

My sister, Susan, waiting for the ferry.

Farther out in the Quay there were many sailboats.



We turned in early that night as we were kind of short of sleep.

Chief Hector YMCA Camp

Chief Hector YMCA Camp is located 80 km west of Calgary Alberta. It is a wonderful facility and where we hold semi-annual meditation retreats.

Follow the link to see the camp's facilities.

Last weekend's retreat was very good.

These are some pictures I took yesterday morning (actually, the day before yesterday) on the grounds.

Instead of driving back to Saskatoon I went to Calgary to fly to Sydney later Sunday evening.

Hanging out with friends and relatives in Saskatchewan.

I got home from Peru Sept 11th and since then covered a lot of ground in Saskatchewan.
I landed at Alison's and luckily she was away until after I had unpacked, washed and repacked all the clothes from my Peru bag, because things got a bit messy in her house.

Then I cleaned out the perishables I had stored at Joanne and Bert's cottage at Pike Lake. Bert arrived home a day early and we debriefed to each other our respective trips.

Next, I headed out to Darcy and Gord's farm. I was to be Mason's driver to his sports events while his parents were harvesting. It turned out I wasn't needed because of all the rain they were having.

I thought Gord should know I was expecting better weather than this, and he said he was too! Most farmers were busy finding small jobs for themselves that they could easily drop if it ever stopped raining.

This sprayer is monstrous, bigger than the truck. In my days on the farm the sprayer wasn't even bigger than a half-ton truck.


Typical prairie scene.

Old style wooden granary. On the prairies you can see for miles.......

.....and miles and miles and miles.

The grain has been ripe for a while and because of all the rain it is bending over in all directions.



One thing about rain, it makes for good and abundant hay.



I traveled to Moose Jaw and Regina mid way through my farm stay and did more visiting.







Next I visited Vanguard where my friend Bev gave me a tour of the town. Many of the houses were gone and the town was surprisingly empty.
The Trove Deli is new though and a fine place to have lunch.

I missed seeing some other friends. Who knew a couple of old farmers would go on a holiday at harvest time.


I stopped for a short visit in Blumenort on the way home and that is it for Saskatchewan for at least 6 months.


Then I went back to Alison's in Asquith to finish off details before my trip.
She is likely happy to have my my piles of stuff out of her living room. I think she was wishing she wasn't home again.

It was nice to see everyone. See you in the spring.