Airlie Beach to Cairns

Queensland, the Florida of Australia.  Carlos and I rented a car for the drive to Cairns and for our time in northern Queensland.

The drive between Airlie Beach and Cairns is 8 hours so our late afternoon lunch stop was at the Paradise Waterhole in the Paluma Range National Park.

Another picture of me swimming!

Just up the road, we hiked up to Jourama Falls

In the late afternoon light, the dark pools of water really stood in contrast to the rocks.

Our AirBnB choice was in Cairns was a complete bonus.  We were in a beautiful house, minutes from the beach and our host cooked us dinner twice! 

Our host Sen (on the right) is a Sri Lankan who's father was the ambassador to Australia.  He came here and never left.  Sen's friend Iphegenie (second from left) is a Parisian just traveling the world.  The other two guests were Brits staying at the house as well.  It truly was a home for four days!

Lounging around the back porch.  The couch was MINE!

Whitsunday Islands

Second leg of the Australia adventure was a three-day cruise on a tall ship called the Solway Lass.

It's a boat built over a century ago in Denmark (or Holland) was sunk by the German navy at one point, was sailing in Scotland for awhile then somehow turned up in Fiji, purchased and renovated by and Australian.

Most days, we sailed with a motor but a one afternoon we were on sail.  There were 30 passengers, the majority were Dutch and German.

The Whitsunday's are in the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.  From the sea, they look a great deal like the San Juan's in Washington State.

But then you get a place like this, the Hill Inlet on Whitsunday Island!

That spit of sand is called Whitehaven Beach!

The water was warm and the finest sand you'll ever feel between your toes.

The Solway Lass has a net up front in which anyone can recline and watch the world go by......with the ocean right under you.

Snorkeling EVERYDAY!!!

Carlos and Padrig, our new Irish-Australian Friend.  One of the funniest people we've ever met!

Here's a picture of me snorkeling, but I ALSO scuba dived.  Getting in the water and breathing underwater took some getting used to.  I almost gave up....perseverance and I was rewarded with amazing coral reefs, fish and a turtle the size of a car!

We had a rope swing off the boat.....Carlos happened to have taken a picture on the one time I did a back flop.

That strip of sand in the middle of the ocean?  Langford Key.  You've seen those photos in the vacation ads of people lounging on random sand spits in the middle of the ocean?  That was us!

On the third and last day...another day of snorkeling and lounging in paradise.

Post cruise carousing with Paddy's parents and girlfriend!

Coogee to Bondi

Two famous beaches in Sydney are Coogee and Bondi.  There is a fantastic walk that links the two.  After lunch and some beach time in Coogee.....

....time to walk.

Sometimes the path was wide and well paved and in other places, it felt as if we were walking in people's back yards.

Lawn Bowling!  I wish we had taken the time to play!

The seaside path goes through an AMAZING cemetery.

At last, Bondi Beach!

If you look close, there's a pool perched on the rocks.

It's Bondi Icebergs!

It's a public pool that they fill with sea water!

Cold?  Yes! 

Sunset over Bondi!  And the sky......