I had to take a day to visit this place because it is rare that swimming in the Australian ocean is not fraught with potential danger or death. I wasn’t disappointed one bit. The island is located off the coast of south-east Queensland and is relatively tiny. It is only 20 miles long and 5 miles wide. Nearly all of this island is sand so there are no roads. Consequently, 4wd is the only way of getting around. People visit for all of the recreational activities which are available here.
Beach scene is relatively quiet here.Great water temps too. The temperature was a comfortable 82 degrees, or 28 celsius.These sandy cliffs were apparent only because the vegetation had slid into the sea.Coastline shot taken from the small boat I was able to charter in order to get to the island.Great sign but I didn’t want to spend the time in order to check out the Smoking Management Plan. So you’re good to smoke and get loaded here, but please no pistachios or nacho chips.
Next stop for me will be the big cities on the eastern coast of this so far incredible continent.
Hamilton Island is one of the Whitsunday Islands just off the east coast in Queensland and is close to the Great Barrier Reef. It is a mostly car-free island, predominantly covered with bush, and by-in-large a resort island. I have seen beautiful images of this area on a clear day, however the time I spent here was filled with clouds and rain. Thus, kayaking was the perfect thing for me to do on Hamilton Island this day because of the weather.
Meeting the group of kayakers I would be with for the 4 hour adventure. Since I was traveling solo, a kayak parter was assigned to me. She is somewhere in this frame but I hadn’t been coupled with her just yet.The torrential rainfall was great because everything was perfectly warm, the rain, the ocean and the air were all about 85 degrees F (or 30 degrees C). My partner had incredible strength. She was so strong that it required little effort on my part for the 4 hour excursion. Since she was unable to turn around, it was only the other kayakers that could see how easy this was for me.My kayak parter took this selfie image. Her name was Polina and she was from Belarus. Great accent, funny and one hell of a great paddler too.Bummer for these sailors. This ship ran aground in early 2017, but gave the appearance as though it had been there for years. As soon as the insurance pays off, this rusting and rotting carcass will be salvaged and removed. My guide said that the crew was safe when help finally arrived but that the crew was extremely drunk. He wasn’t sure if they were drunk before the crash, or if they were so upset that they went on a major bender after the collision.
Onto Billabong Sanctuary in Townsville, Australia. The animals here seemed to be enjoying the warm hard rain that persisted all day.
This sign, amongst others are prominently displayed near the crocodile areas within the Billabong Sanctuary.This specimen was approximately 12-14 feet in length.A group just enjoying the rain.Nice coloring on this one.The signs are serious. It’s easy to imagine that someone might stumble and the child on their shoulders could go right in as the chainlink fence is only 4 feet high. What a feeding frenzy that would cause. I bet some sick people would buy tickets for that. Better yet, the Sanctuary could use convicted offenders of crimes against children and sacrifice them. I would pay up for that.Cutest by far of all the animals I have seen.Close up of the “Mona Lisa” of koalas. For some reason she gets more attention than the other koalas. I believe I can see why. She’s a bit inscrutable, just like the woman in that famous painting hanging in the Louvre.Koala cubs at play.
Darwin is located on Australia’s north coast and has a population of approximately 146,000. It is a mere 860 miles south of the equator and was one of the hottest places I’ve ever experienced. With temperatures above 106 degrees fahrenheit or 41 degrees celsius, relative humidity of 98 percent, and near cloudless skies, it was a roaster in my Zodiac. It is important to remember that in Australia everything can kill you. From the aquatic life in the sea (including sharks, stinger jellyfish, salt-water crocodiles, and some of the beautiful mollusks), to the creatures on land, like scorpions, spiders and snakes, just to mention a few. This is in contrast to the United States, where the largest threat to humans is posed by other humans. After a few days in Darwin I travelled to Cairns, Queensland which is on the northeast coast of Australia. With a population of approximately 148,000, it’s about the same size as Darwin. There are plenty of things to do here. The Great Barrier Reef with its 133,000 square miles is just off the coast. It is our planet’s largest single structure made by living organisms. Unfortunately, due to environmental factors the reef has lost half of its coral cover in the past 30 years.
Tidal mangroves with many salt-water crocodiles. They are just extremely hard to see as only their eyes are above water. They are known as “ambush predators” because they remain completely still and then ambush their prey. Good thing these large reptiles don’t know the Zodiac is made of rubber.Crocodile Dundee. His real name was Greg and he was the real deal, from the accent to the hat. Great guide through the mangroves. And we never got lost.This explains the lack of people walking around. What an awesome site. Then I discover it was not alive. An incredible letdown. But I was intrigued and later discovered that a real crocodile emerged from the waters in this frame only 6 years ago. It was this size (4 meters, or 14 feet). The croc was captured, transferred to a sanctuary, and now immortalized in this croc sculpture.Cigarette machine with a stern warning. Because a pack of cigarettes can cost $32 (that’s USD) you rarely see people smoking here. Because the deterrent of death is not strong enough, the Aussies imposed a very high cigarette tax.My copter ride to and over the Great Barrier Reef. Parts of the reef are unfortunately dying as a result of climate change and pollution. No jokes here as this is an extremely sad situation. Mass coral bleaching caused by elevated ocean temperatures, although not an annual occurrence, is happening more frequently.Close up of Green Island. The diving and snorkeling is amazing here.Another shot of Green Island on my approach.During low tide my copter can land on this sandy atoll. Unfortunately the tide wasn’t low enough. I had all my gear and everything. What a letdown, but since my pilot got me back without incident I still gave him a great tip.Both sand expanses and bleaching can be seen here.Waterfall at Barron Gorge on my way to and through the rainforest.Another image of the falls. Unfortunately this day the river was in a low flow mode. But still a very stunning falls.Another view of Barron Gorge which carves its way though the rainforest.Boris the spider. Not too poisonous, if this White-tailed spider bites you, you have a day or so to seek medical attention, other spiders can be lethal in as little as a few hours.Crashed plane in what was at one time an uninhabited jungle. Now it’s a tangled sculpture.Hippie village A/K/A Kuranda Village. This place is authentic flower-power. I think many of the people who live in this tropical environment are some of the same people who attended Woodstock in 1969. It also appears that old hippies don’t age very well.Street scene in the Village.No flower-power time capsule would be complete without a shop selling dream-catchers and incense.Great warning in Cairns. Quite a spectacle too. These bats were in almost every tree, but only in a small 2-3 block radius.Just hanging out. Since the bats sleep upside-down there is little chance of being nailed by bat-shit.In flight is where you must be alert and on guard for being hit by their waste. These bats have some crazy radar and as a result are incredibly accurate.Good bat form. Great posture and neck extension. The wing span was approximately 2-3 feet. The judges gave it a 10. Holy bat-shit Batman.Interesting posting in the toilet. No comments here. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I was able to Zodiac to a couple of the smaller islands in the Gilis. While not one of the main islands, these were beautiful and more desolate. Not much to do here but dive or snorkel, and admire the beauty of what is above the ocean and below.
Approaching the beach in my Zodiac.Beach sceneAnother image.Nice swimwear. Not too much need for sunscreen.Photo opportunity.My snorkel mate leading the way.Swimming through thousands of fish in this school was a great sensation. Very trippy.More colorful fish. I could have stayed in the 84 degree water for hours. The fish just kept coming. By the way, my underwater camera is The Olympus Tough. Great piece of equipment.
Home to the famous Komodo Dragon, these lizards are also known as the Komodo Monitor. They can grow up to 10-12 feet in length and can weight some 150-250 pounds. Fossils very similar to the Komodoensis have been found in Australia dating back greater than 3.8 million years ago and its body has remained pretty much unchanged. These creatures can live for between 30-40 years. They were thought to be deaf, however they do hear, albeit poorly. However, their sense of smell is particularly acute. They are able to detect carrion from as far away as 2.5-6.0 miles. This is their mainstay as far as diet.
My approach to the island.Another image of Komodo island.Great cloud formations.The tongue is very sensitive and helps them detect food which is close. But it is their sense of smell which allows them to find most of their food. They can be fairly quick as well.Serious claws on these monsters. Their sense of smell is so acute that if you have any open cuts you are strongly urged not to come ashore. For women this also applies to menstruation.Forked tongue can be 12-15 inches long.Perfect photo opportunity.Sign designating it as a World Heritage Site.Parting view of the beast.The Pink Beach is only a 15 minute Zodiac trip away. Awesome reef here for snorkeling or diving. No Komodos on this island either.Beautiful fish feasting on the reef.Another colorful specimen.Nemo is talking to me.One more just for added color.
Kopi Luwak is coffee that includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and then defecated by the Asian palm civet (also known as a mongoose). Fermentation occurs as the cherries pass through the animal’s intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected. Producers argue coffee beans are improved by this process. Part of their reasoning is based upon the belief that the animals are selecting only the best cherries (almost like Juan Valdez). Because of the high cost of production, it is one of the world’s most expensive coffees and can sell for as much as 350 USD per pound. It is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sulawesi. I did have the coffee here and I wish I could say it’s worth the price. However, the whole experience is quite interesting and if you are ever in this area it’s worth the time for a quick visit.
Beginning of the coffee encounter. These are some of the plants producing the fruit.Along the path to roasting. This is a fairly small operation and appears to be utilizing the same techniques as were used 200 years ago.This sign says it all… The literal translation is Bali “Cat shit” coffee.Aggressive mongoose. Definitely not to be accidentally cornered, or confused with a cute and friendly feline.Docile mongoose. Although not in a cage, I still would not pet this one. But look at that cute tongue. I almost couldn’t resist, but I did.These are the “Shitty beans.” You can see the clusters. If you didn’t know otherwise, you might think the clusters were granola bars. And then there’s the job of separating the beans from the “S*@T.The gardens below the processing area.The Roaster, seen here with a curious visitor. She even had most of her teeth. The visitor, not the Roaster. Also note the ergonomically designed tree stumps they are both seated on. The Roaster enjoys hours and hours of pain free use with this stump. If OSHA existed here the coffee would definitely cost more.
Moving on I travelled to the locally famous rice terraces. Tegallalang is one of the more scenic rice paddies that I was able to visit. There are two varieties of rice grown on Bali. One is non-GMO (genetically modified organism) which yields three harvests a year. The other is GMO and produces four harvests annually. It’s impossible to tell the difference, except that the GMO rice has two heads.
Shot from above these very beautiful paddies.Another image.Close up of the young rice plants.
I will be traveling to the Gili Islands and Komodo Island. So look for some action from there.
