Australia - Feb/Mar 2014

I spent three weeks traveling around Australia, adding many new cities to my list.

Feb 11-13 Orlando to Melbourne

I had two great flights to Melbourne.  The flat bed in Qantas was better then in the past.  I slept, ate, read and watched movies.  Why does it take two days to get there?  I crossed the International Date Line so Feb 12 never existed.  Good thing that wasn't my birthday.

Feb 14 - Melbourne

I walked for hours revisiting the many beautiful sights in downtown Melbourne.  The highlight of the day was purchasing a travel mobile phone.  Hopefully I can use it while traveling in other countries.  I also managed to find the last two 2014 Aussie hunks calendars.

I usually find the calendars at Queen Victoria Market, but not this time.

The fruits and vegetables always look fresh.

There were four hot guys passing out roses for Valentine's Day.

I had dinner with my friend Garry in one of the Vietnamese sections of the city.  I also gave Garry his boxes of Triscuits, smuggled into the country.

Feb 15 - Melbourne

I rented a bike and road up and down the Yarra River.

In the afternoon I went house hunting with Gary and Sebastian.  The prices were outrageous, at least four times the Orlando equivalent.

Lunches and dinners have been all Asian cuisine, with Malaysian tonight.

Feb 16 - Melbourne

There were two highlights today.  King Kong the Musical and dinner with my friends Gary, Sebastian, Bill and Ian.

Gary, Sebastian, me, Ian and Bill

The musical was one of the worse productions I've ever seen.  The best part was the eight man controlled giant puppet Kong.  The music was forgettable and the flashing graphics overdone.

Dinner, on the other hand, was amazing.  We had a Chinese feast for eight - way too much food, but excellent.

Feb 17 - Melbourne to Adelaide

I had a short flight to Adelaide and was surprised that my apartment was ready.  I met my friends Stephen and Brenton who took me to the coastal town of Glenelg.  It reminded me of the many English coastal towns I've visited.

Glenelg

Feb 18 - Adelaide

Today Stephen and Brenton took me to see kangaroos at the Cleland Wildlife Park.  I fed the kangaroos and petted a koala.  I also saw emus, dingos and the Tasmanian devil.  I had a home cooked meal at their lovely house.

Feeding a kangaroo

Me with koala

Feb 19 - Adelaide

I walked the city in the morning.  The central area is surrounded by parks on the four sides.  In the afternoon I visited the South Australia Gallery and Art Museum. For dinner I had an entire Peking duck - a two course meal.

Sculpture in Adelaide shopping area

Interesting chairs behind the museum

Feb 20 - Adelaide to Alice Springs

Priscilla here I come.  Unfortunately she left long ago.  Alice Springs is a very small quaint town, with aboriginal people all around, many trying to sell their art.  That evening I climbed Anzac Hill to watch the sunset.

A view of the Outback from the plane

Sunset from Anzac Hill

Feb 21 - Alice Springs

Today I took a full day tour to the West MacDonnell National Park.  We stopped at a number of gorges with beautiful scenery.  We had lunch at the Glen Helen Resort near the gorge of the same name.  The fly's were horrible, having to constantly swat them away.  Our final stop was the Ochre Pits with fantastic hues of yellow, orange and red.

Ochre in the rocks

This bird climbed on my hat while at lunch.

A piano with shoes - art?

One of the gorges

Feb 22 - Alice Springs to Ayers Rock

It was a five hour bus ride, but more interesting then flying.  The driver was informative but not as chatty as yesterday's. 

I took the sunset tour, leaving at three in the afternoon.  The rock appeared to pop right out of the ground.  It was bright red.  We drove to another rock formation - Kata Tjuta, with over 30 domes.  We walked the Walla Gorge, taking us deep between two domes.  The surface was rough, made up of fused rock formations.  Today the flies were worse then ever, but I bought a fly net to protect my face.

Me with my fly net - Kata Tjuta in the background

What a fashion statement

We then drove back to Uluru (Ayers Rock) for sunset wine and cheese.  The rock got redder as the sun dropped over the horizon.

Ayers Rock at sunset

Feb 23 - Ayers Rock

At 5 am we left for sunrise.  I am not a morning person and struggled to make it.  It was cold, but no flies yet.  The sunrise was pretty, but not as spectacular as sunset.  We drove around the rock and took a walk to one of the water holes.  The rock goes deep into the earth, with only about 10% exposed.  Our final stop was the cultural center, where no photos were allowed, since it was a sacred place.

Ayers Rock at sunrise

Upon returning to the resort, I took a much needed nap.  The rest of the day was for rest and relaxation.  I don't think I've read twenty pages of my book yet.  Tomorrow its off to Darwin, and its tropical climate.

Feb 24 - Ayers Rock to Darwin

I rented an amazing apartment at the Darwin Harbour.  The weather was hot and humid, making it impossible to go out during the day.

Feb 25 - Darwin

I took a walk to a park in the morning and finally read my book in the afternoon - in the air conditioned apartment.

Darwin Harbour with my apartment (closest to the water).

Feb 26 - Darwin

Again, I took an early morning walk before the heat and humidity became unbearable.  For some reason it seemed a lot worse then Florida.

Feb 27 - Darwin to Sydney

It was almost a four hour flight to Sydney and got to my hotel pretty late.  I had dinner and off to bed.

Feb 28 - Sydney

Today I walked to the Circular Quay to view the amazing Opera House and Harbour Bridge.  The weather wasn't fantastic, so I didn't take my usual 100 pictures.

The Opera House on a cloudy day

Mar 1 - Sydney Mardi Gras

This was the main reason for my trip to Australia - to see the Gay Mardi Gras parade.  The parade was at night, so my pictures aren't the best.  The crowd was huge, with many revelers never even getting close to the parade route.  I got there very early to get a front row seat.  Of all the Pride parades I've seen, this was probably my least favorite.  There was very little interaction between the crowd and the parade groups.  Also, the floats were not very elaborate.  But I'm glad I went.

The parade started with the usual dykes on bikes.  There must have been at least 200.  The parade lasted 2 1/2 hours and it included every group you could imagine.

Dykes on bikes

Big Coke sign in Potts Point

 Mar 2 - Sydney to Cairns

I flew to Cairns to visit my friends Louise and Skip.  I had been on a cycling trip with them last year in Switzerland.  Their hospitality was great.  The night I arrived they invited four of their friends for dinner.

Mar 3 - Cairns

Today I drove into town (yes on the left side).  The weather was rainy and overcast, so I didn't take many pictures.  I'm glad I wasn't going to the Great Barrier Reef this trip.

Mar 4 - Cairns

After a relaxing day, I took Louise and Skip out to dinner.  We had smoked kangaroo with wild spice and mango chutney, crocodile wonton - red pepper jam, green ant ocean trout gravlax, pulled emu on betel leaf and Caprese salad.  

Louise, me and Skip - with our feast

Louise and Skip's modest house - view from the pool