South Island (East Coast), New Zealand

What a relief it was to step off the plane into cool, dry, sunny New Zealand weather. I swear, if I had to spend another day in Cairns with the tropical rain, high humidity and unbearable heat, my brain would have probably just completely shut down. As it was, me, a Scottish Lass, and the two Manchester Lesbians I was hanging out with could barely put a sentence together. We spent four days trying to find air conditioning, watching movies (Ray..The Ray Charles Story was surprisingly non-disappointing) and laying on our beds, barely able to speak the phrases "must leave Australia" and "Change tickets...must go New Zealand". Honestly, I don't know how people live in that kind of weather...but they do.. If I go to hell, it will have the weatner of Cairns Australia in late January...I swear.

I landed in Christchurch on the south island. It's a lovely town, with victorian architecture and a big church in the main square. There was a buskers festival going on (street theater festival) and the day or so I was there I spent wandering and sleeping in the Botanic gardens. I also shelled out 8 bucks to go to the aquariam to see a kiwi bird and watch some guy in a wetsuit feed the sharks. Seeing as I didn't have any shark experiences in Australia, I figured this would be the next best thing. It's safe to say that I was exhausted. Completely flattened by the weather in Australia and am still recovering. I have a bad cold now and am convinced it is from the heat and humidity of northern Queensland.

I decided to rent a car for a couple of weeks to really see the south island. I got a good deal from the hostel and headed one hour south to Akaroa (Banks Peninusula). The Banks peninsula is actually the remains of a giant volcanic crater ... the edges of the peninsula being the surrounding walls. The opening eventually eroded into the sea, but it is because of this unsusual geography that such shallow waters exist and the (world's smallest and rarest) Hector's Dolphins evolved to such a petite size.

http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/hectorsdolphin.asp

When I arrived in the small french hamlet, all the hostels were full. I was resigned to sleeping in the car that night until I noticed one more listing for a hostel outside of town. It's funny, when you read the rough guide or lonely planet, they can really downplay a place. The farm was called Onuku farm and just happened to be 1000 acres of the massive and very famous banks peninsula track (a tramping/walking track that people pay good money for to take a 4 day walk).

http://www.jolyworld.com/nz/onukufarm/

The farm was stunning, absolute Eden! It overlooked the harbor, and on the drive up to the farm, you could see the dolphins jumping and swimming. A young Brittish guy welcomed me (he was from Leeds) and he told me he arrived a year and a half ago and never left. I asked him if all of New Zealand was this amazing and he said no. If you go to New Zealand, you must stay at this farm. The first night I stayed in one of the cheap huts (for about 8 bucks). No electricity, but it had hot showers outside and outdoor sinks and eco toilets. A hedgehog was sniffing around our front door at dusk and the surrounding trees exploded with singing birds. It didn't get dark till about 10:30 at night, but I was exhausted and slept at 8 until 7 the next morning when I got up for my sea kayaking trip to see the dolphins.

Our Kayaking guide, Muffy (If I were her, I'd change my name...she didn't look like a muffy at all), was Swiss and had the coolest dog that followed behind our truck all the way down to the edge of the sea (it was about a half hour drive on a dirt road). Muffy too arrived here a couple of years ago and never left. I was starting to believe that I would do the same as the place had a overpowering magic about it. The man who owns the farm is a direct descendant to the Pakeha (white) settlers who first staked claim on the land over a hundred and fifty years ago. He also runs boat tours if you want to swim with the dolphins. He was a nice down to earth guy who you could tell really loved the land and the wildlife. The hector's dolphins are rare because they make their home in shallow water (the Akoroa harbor is only about 25 feet deep...amazing considering a princess cruiseliner edges into the harbor in the middle of the day). Because of the shallow waters, they also become susceptible to fishing nets. As a result, New Zealand has made net fishing in the harbor and around illegal when they are breading and giving birth (November to April). He was saying you'd have to be a real asshole to set up nets. It's understood by the community that net fishing is a big no no, so no one does it.

We paddled out into the harbor and you could see the little guys emerging in the distance, black shimmering skin. Then, you'd look down, and they were right under you, looking up to check you out . At one point, it seemed they were all round us, popping up, swimming under the kayaks. They seemed to be enjoying keeping us on our toes, remaining curiously elusive. They were a total tease. We also saw a blue penguin floating in the water (more about those later). I thought it was a seagul, but the little guy was just floating along like a duck. Evidently they sleep while they swim, and I think we woke it up accidently.

That night I stayed in a stargazer hut which is a small little wooden ten with a glass ceiling that overlooked the ocean. I woke up in the morning to sheep munching on grass at my door step and a chicken scratching under the hut. It was fabulous and had I not rented the car, I wouldn't have left. I could have quite happily spent my entire 1.5 months in that little hut overlooking the Banks peninsula.

I hopped in the car and headed to Oamaru to see the yellow eyed and blue eyed penguin colonies. The south east coast from Akaroa to Oamaru is mostly farm land, resembling southern England. Maori culture dots the countryside through the street names and occasional maori community house. I arrived in Oamaru, a cute little town with old white stoned buildings. I stayed at an old hotel that has been there for over one hundred years (the Empire Hotel). The owners were super sweet and there was hardly anyone there minus some Germans (who are everywhere of course). The Germans drove me crazy. They were nice...but SO GERMAN!!! One woman offered me a piece of candy, then shouted "not the white one" after I grabbed it. Considering there was only a red piece and a white piece in her hand, I was afraid to grab the red one. I politely declined the second attempt at her candy offer. She was strange.

At 6pm. I made my way to the yellow eyed penguin colony about 3 km away.

http://www.penguin.net.nz/yep/yeps.html

There I sat with about a dozen Brittish tourists in a lookout hut that really was just a toolshed with a bench. We waited and waited. They talked and talked. I sat and watched. They talked some more. I stared at the ocean, what seemed like for hours. One tourist mentioned that the yellow eyed penguins are virtually extinct. This year alone, all of their chicks died due to biotoxin poisoning...a common occurance. Only 15% of babies make it to adulthood as it is. Combine this with habitat destruction, depletion of food source from Global warming, seals, nets, dogs, cars and you can see these guys really don't stand a chance in hell.

We waited some more and noticed a seal off shore, rolling around in the kelp beds.

Seals eat penguins don't they? Maybe they got the last 7 of this colony, I thought.

One guy said we'd be lucky to see any penguins at all...it's pretty unlikely

About two hours later I noticed a bird up on the bank. We had been looking at the ocean waiting for them to come in....but they were already in! THERE IT WAS! A YELLOW EYED PENGUIN! One of the rarest animals on earth, only found on the South Island of New Zealand from Oamaru to Otago. And another one was just a few feet below under a bush. It was just two of them. They seemed so alone. Penguin colonies normally have dozens if not hundreds. I thought it must be very lonely being an endangered animal...being the last of your kind....what an uphill battle...annoying tourists on one side being too noisy with their oos and awes and a hungry sea lion on the other side waiting to make YOU and your partner (the last hopes for genetic survival) into lunch. And when you're gone...that's it...your genes are confined to history. I felt very sad watching these little guys waddle across the bank to an out of site location...and into oblivion. Of course a whorde of tourists decided to ignore the signs and stand right next to them away from the hut). People can get so wildlife greedy...just to see an animal in the wild....even if it means distrubing them or worse yet interefering in their survival.

At 9pm I went to the Blue Penguin colony.

http://www.penguins.co.nz/

Blue penguins are the smallest penguins on earth, and are also found in Southern Australia. This colony is also a sanctuary that protects the little guys from dogs and other critters by charging tourists 13 dollars to sit in bleachers and watch them come in. Even though the set up was a bit pat on the tourist scale, the penguins (38 in all) were quite amazing to watch. Every day, they swim out to 40 kilometers into the ocean. They do on average 1500 9 meter dives every day (I've only done 6 to date since my Padi course). When dusk comes, they miraculously regather and swim to shore as a group (called a raft). About three sets of rafts trickled in. They stood at the shore rocks while their feathers dried.

Up top, hungry chicks came running out of their burrows, and whenever an adult wearily climbed up, the chicks would attack it. It was like a penguin welcome home. The little chicks would chase the adult around until the next adult would arrive. Basically they were looking for mom who was returning with food. Sometimes the mom doesn't return. There have been cases where surrogate parents will step in and feed the hungry babies but not always. The guide at the sanctuary said the penguins are having a hard time at the moment, having to swim out farther and longer for food. There seems to be a shortage. She seemed to think it may have been the tsunami or global warming. It was interesting to see them all as a group. Being a community seemed so key to their survival, and considering penguins have been in Oamaru for 34 million years, makes it even more epic. Sitting next to me were two sets of couples. One was standing, the other began shouting at them to sit down "because we can't see ...you stupid people". All this happened while we were supposed to be quiet while the penguins made their way to their nests. It made me think how as humans, we are so detached from that basic entity that even penguins understand and depend on so completely....community.

I'm in Dunedin now, a beautiful little town that was founded by scottish settlers. All the streets have the same names as streets in Edinburgh. It's a beautiful town, with stone, eduardian architecture and a hip/young student scene. There's loads of Universities here hence the youthful element. I'll be heading to Otago tomorrow and then to Fiordland and Milford sound. Then I'll be going up the glorious west coast.

Cape Tribulation, Australia

Just spent the last four days in Cape Tribulation, a beautiful region encased in the Daintree national forest. It is the world's oldest rainforest, about 100 million years old, and related to the ancient rainforests of Africa, Asia and the Americas. The same species of plants still exist here that existed on the one single super continent of Panachea that made up our land mass long ago, when the world was hotter and covered in tropical rainforests.

After my profound bat experience in Port Douglas, I headed towards a bat rescue and education center called "The bat house" website:
http://www.austrop.org.au/
There I got an up close look at the flying fox, and was educated about what they actually are. When I entered, a young American woman who was volunteering informed us that the flying fox isn't a bat at all, but really a relative of the Lemur (a primate!) and has no relation to microbats as those are probably more linked to small mammals like mice. The center takes care of baby flying foxes who have mostly lost their mothers to gun toting fruit farmers (who shoot them unneccesarrily to protect their fruit crop) and tick disease. The young woman had a three month old baby wrapped up in a blanket (it replicated the sensation they have under the monther's wings). They are completely incredible, and I sat there for a couple of hours just watching it cling to her shirt, wide eyed and expressive it then moved itself around a little basket nest they made for it. They have hundreds of these creatures on site, who, when recovered, are released back into a colony of about 60,000 other flying foxes. They have a very high success rate with being released back into the wild. I could go on and on about these amazing creatures, but I don't want to sound like a school teacher, so look at the site. For those who are interested, you can volunteer there for weeks, months and years at a time, which I would have done if I didn't buy my ticket to New Zealand already. It's a cool place and the folks who run it seem really great. These animals are totally amazing and unfortunately, completely misunderstood due to a lack of research. The research station is at least trying to fill that void.

I stayed in a tent hostel for a couple of days in the rainforest. Being the height of the wet season meant nothing was saved from moisture and mosquitos. So it was a bit challenging, but pretty incredible to wake up to a 300 year old fig tree outside your door. At night, I went on a guided walk lead by this old guy named Possum who did tours from the hostel every thight. He was a soft spoken little guy who really loved the animals and forest. We saw a giant huntsman spider, a tuarantula basically, that if you step on it or harrass it, will bite you and send you to the hospital. If anti-venom syrum is not taken within six hours, the bite would be fatal. You'd have to be an idiot to get bit by the spider, or any animal in the forest for that matter. All of them are terrified of people, the spider especially. The reaction of the animals is to either remain perfectly still and blend in with the trees, or run to the nearest hole. The one exception is the giant Cassowary, an ostrich kind of bird with a dinosaur type head, sleek black feathers and a red turkey gizzard with a bright blue face. People have been attacked and even killed by Cassowarys who are protecting their nests and chicks. They have strong spurred legs that can disembowel the overly curious. The key with these birds is simply do not get too close. They are extremely endangered (only 400 left in the world...80 in the Daintree region). Of course, just about everyone saw a cassowary except me. I'm convinced it is a Mr. Snuffalufagus Australian gag they play on unsuspecting Americans. Remember the snipe game as a kid? I've seen photos of Cassowary's though, and they looked genuine. You're lucky if you see anything in the forest. It takes a keen eye to see all the life in such dense vegetation.

We saw giant stick insects, giant grasshoppers, tree frogs, sleeping birds (which is a bazaar to see wild chickens just sitting on branches, completely immobile even when you shine light on them) and loads of tree dragons (big iguana type lizards that freeze in hopes that you will just go away and run on their hind legs to escape) and raftor lizards (giant komono dragon like reptiles). I realized I had never done a nature walk like it, at night, seeing all the nocturnal animals out and about and those daylight creatures asleep....it was really fascinating.

We also saw the damaging effects that wild pigs have on the forest floor. These pigs were introduced by Captain Cook who discovered Cape Tribulation in the late 1700's. Evidently a cargo ship sank and the crew released the pigs in hopes they'd provide a good food source for settlers. Instead they have decimated part of the forest. Anotehr pest are giant cane toads (released to eat the south american cane beatle which destroys sugar crops). The toad eats all the little native frogs and is a monstrous giant of a creature. It's the same toad that indiginous people lick in South America to Hallucinate. We refrained when we saw one. Evidently the high keeps you going for a week.

The humidity was like swimming in soup and became impossible to sleep in, or walk in or bathe in. It was downright uncomfortable. It was the wet season, but something was telling me it was a little over the top...perhaps an El Nino? When the rain cleared briefly one afternoon, I went on a sea kayak with a local guy who runs sunset tours. Most people don't go swimming this time of the year due to the jellyfish (the box jellyfish is deadly if you get stung). So I hadn't felt the water close to the coast at all (only when I went diving in the reef which is save from the stingers), until I pushed my kayak in. It was completely bazaar! The water was about 28 degrees celsius which is over 80 degrees farenheit. It was like a hot tub. Stu, the local Aussie guide said he has been fishing along the coast and catches fish that feel like they've been in an oven. Coral bleaches at 32 degrees celsius. This was not good. Obviously, an El Nino was occurring and the reef was in trouble. It used to happen only once every 5 years or so, now it's every 3.5 and the frequency is rapidly increasing. We paddled out for a couple of hours, me Stu and a local Cairn's woman and her duaghter. Everyone seemed to see turtles popping their heads out of the waters (it's hatching season, and many are making their way down to Noosa and along the coast to hatch their eggs.) Unskilled in turtle spotting and drugged out on dramamine, I couldn't get it together to spot the little guys, though I did try very hard. We paddled into the ocean, past the Cape, past pristine rainforest that dropped into the sea, bald eagles, wild Cockatoos, and four foot wafes that threw the kayak into the air (good thing I took that dramamine even though I was falling asleep!) .

Unfortunately even the Daintree forest is in danger. A few years back the government stupidly sold off parcels of land to private developers who now want to cash in. The government wants now to buy it back realising it was a big mistake, but the developers want an arm and a leg for the land now. So as a result, houses are being built, roads, bridges...and the rainforest is sadly being divided up into smaller and smaller pieces. It's sad....something you would see in America....beautiful landscape being sold for the rich to have megamansions and over the top luxury resorts along a pristine coast.

Australians have a very similar culture than Americans....a frontier/cowboy culture dripping with consumerism. One hero of theirs is Ned Kelly...the man in the iron mask. Ned kelly lived about a hundred years ago and was a billy the kid kind of figure who shot his way around the bush and stole from the rich to give to the poor. I saw a young kid on the bus in Melbourne with a big tatoo of the character on his arm. Mainstream European/Australians like to see themselves as wranglers of the wild...and foreign tourist lap it up. Alligator wrangling, kangaroo boxing, fancy restaurants serving emu and kangaroo steaks, cashing in on the incredible wildlife of the region. In sad reality, it's just kind of a shallow image making that does nothing but consumes the natural beauty of the land. Aboriginal culture seems depressed compared to the Maori of New Zealand. I've been told by white Australians that it's because the Maori were warriors and the Aborigines were not. They just grow more depressed as their land disappears, sinking into alcoholism and drug abuse. There are many Aboriginal people who I see around Cairns, sitting in libraries, on benches, wandering in and out of shops. Shop owners suddenly become somewhat uncomfortably hyper aware when someone with dark skin enters their shop. There is definately a "them" kind of perspective that is disturbing. I have not been here long enough to even begin to understand the dynamics, nor the Aboriginal culture or way of life and as a white person probably never really could.

There is a concerted effort to save the Daintree at the moment and I hope those who are fighting for it succeed. The struggle has been going on for years. We drove past an old tree sit from the early eighties that was responsible for the government changing its policy on selling off the land as well as the resulting World Heritage status being declared. But the struggle continues and there is still a lot to save. If you can, come and see it before it is gone. It's an incredible step into the fundamental plant animal/human past.

The rain is full on. You can't step outside without getting completely soaked. If it keeps up I might just stay in Cairns for the next several days as its out of the rainforest and the accommodation has walls rather than plastic sheeting (as well as mosquito protection...my arm looks like the elephant man's from all the bites.....OUCH!). I'll keep you posted. If you're bored, write me. I'm never sure who is reading this and its great to know that folks are travelling along the road with me.

Cairns and Port Douglas, Australia

Cairns is a tourist trap, but I was able to stay in a lovely all women''s hostel run by a super sweet woman named Dawn. She was even recommended to me as a wonderful proprieter by the racist bus driver on the way from the airport (racist because she treated a group of Shri-Lankan/American tourists like shit on the bus...but I won't digress). Yes, I have seen Australian racism in full gear, it's as bad as the states, as is the consumerism. I don't quite understand it, an almost obession and repulsion with all things American (TV especially) but Australia has a lot of great things about it as well. Besides logging Tasmania into oblivion, they seem to have quite an environmental consciousness. In Cairns, I went to what was quite possibly the most beautiful series of botanic gardens I've ever seen in a city. It was a mini rain forest and mangrove forest....with a mini rain forest/reserve backed up next to it (Mt. Whitfield reserve). The mangrove had "beware crocodile"signs all along it. I went for a hike around Mt. Whitfield and saw a herd of wallaroos, stout little cousins of the more well known kangaroo. Wild turkey, wild Cockatoos, Parrots, beautifully colored birds. Next to the forest was a really cool arts center called "Tanks" made out of 5 massive old oil tanks. I went inside to one of the theater spaces (which still has some smell of oil) and some young kids were dancing to Hindi music. Of course the center was funded by the government. You would never see anything like it in the states.

In Cairns, I went to a super informative (and entertaining) lecture by a marine biologist. It's called Reef Teach and I'm so glad I did the two hour course before I went diving. He's been diving in this area for 30 years and knew EVERYTHING. Some interesting facts about the reef include:
1. Coral mate only once a year, around the November full moon. When they do, they release egg and sperm (red in color) that floods the ocean, when diving the top five meters is all red. When fertilized, the tiny polyp attatches itself to a rock and begins multiplying, eventually making up the 2,900 reefs that rise like volcanic islands out of the ocean.
2. Coral eat algae caught between their crevaces. The hard bits are actually a calcium carbonated shell, surrounding the soft tissue of the polyp. Plankton and sea weed are a major threat to the reef as large amounts block out sun light, not allowing the algae to reproduce. This is why cattle farms are partially responsible for killing the reef, run off into the ocean of nitrates produces plankton and sea weed.
3. The Barrier reef has the most diverse marine ecology on the planet...and arguably, being backed against the Daintree Reserve (the world's oldest rainforest), is bestowed with most biologically diverse region on the planet.
4.The barrier reef is endangered, dying at an alarming rate because of the warming of the oceans and not from the sun tan lotion of the millions of tourists who come here. Picking up hard coral and accidentally kicking or standing on it can damage and kill it, but the main threats are global warming(every El Nino, large portions of the reef bleach and die) and nitrate pollution.

There was so much more that is so fascinating about this area of the world. There is no other place like it. It is the only living phenomenon that can be seen from space!!!!

I went diving, to what was the healthiest part of the reef, along the continental shelf. All three dives were in the Agincourt reef system, a series of reefs stretching along the continental shelf. It took 1.5 hours to boat to the location in a catamaran speed boat. I took some ginger tablets hoping they would work...unfortunately they did not. More about that later.

We arrived at the first location. The boat was crammed with vacationing Aussies, Kiwis, Brits, Germans and Americans. Interesting note, I have seen hardly any Americans (outside Prague) till I got to this area of the world. They are everywhere, as ubiquitous as the American corporations that seem to cover every corner of a main street. Most of the folks I have met are lovely, as disgusted about the government as I am. One guy from DC was wearing a "no republicans"cap...

Anyway, we arrived at our first location and all the snorklers and divers suited up. I was a little rusty as I have only dove 4 times from my certification, so they were ordering me to "jump in! your group is already in the water" even before I did a complete check of everything.

I hastily got in the water...which is never good. At least my air was on. As we descended my ears began to pang and I got this sense of panic you do when you are out of control. My mask began to fill with water..which is normal...so I blew it out and adjusted it on my head...I was focusing on calming down. If you are stressed while diving, bad things can happen plus you have a shitty time.

The dive guide could see I was having trouble descending so he came to my aid and pulled me down. Outside of my mask being a bit steamy (I forgot to spit in it) I could see the Great Barrier reef from 56 feet below. The colors of the reef were blue, yellow, grey and black. Visibility was amazing as there are no plankton or plants (that would kill the reef) You could see for at least 60 feet (in vietnam the most I could see was 15). Giant Sea Urchins, clown fish (like in finding nemo) but mostly mountainous coral that shot up from the continental shelf like the himilayas. I swam away from the coral and looked down into blackness, how many miles down did that drop go? I was flying through a canyon. What lurked beneath? I swam back to the group and stayed closely by my buddy and dive guide. So we swam through canyons of coral, a glorious colorful forest that naturally calms you if you simply notice it.

The next dive was much better. I was better prepared, more confident and descended with ease. Schools of butterfly fish, parrot fish (you could hear chomping on the choral as that is their food source), sea squirts, cucumbers...massive star fish. You could see some fish opening their mouths as smaller fish would go inside to clean their gills. It is truly a mutually beneficial relationship. The big fish opens its mouth, and the tiny one trustingly enters and reemerges a few seconds later. This is mating season, so most fish are at the top and snorkling was really good. As you just skimmed the surface you could see giant clams, puff fish, giant wrasse fish (massive, four and 5 feet long).

But by far the most amazing thing I saw were waves breaking in the middle of the ocean, hitting the reef from the continental shelf. YOU COULD SURF OUT THERE! The waves were perfect! The tide and winds were strong , though, and the fish would be pushed and pulled with each wave. They didn't seem to mind. They looked use to it, didn't struggle. So I tried to do the same and it was like rocking to a lullaby.

When I emerged from the water to the boat I felt nauseous. The ginger tablets didn't work. The divemaster looked at my green face and asked if I wanted a bag. I said YES!!!!. When he turned around the corner to get the bag, I vomited all over the floor. The other divers were looking at me and I felt like I did in 1st grade when I peed my pants. It was humiliating. The divemaster came back with a typical Aussie response "no worries!!!If you do that in the water, you'll have fish all over you....they love vomit!!!"

I had the opportunity to test that theory out when I went snorkling at the third site. I swam over to a reef (that supposedly had sharks...I really wanted to see a whale shark) and began uncontrollably vomiting. Sure enough, dozens of fish swam around me for their meal. I decided to head away from there because I was worried the sharks might come up for a snack ...thinking I might be a part of what was just regurgitated. So I swam to another reef and threw up again. Even more fish! I was glad to provide the service...and after getting up my full buffet lunch...felt much better. By the end of the dive though, I was ready to get off that damn boat. So take it from me...if you go on a boat....DON'T TAKE GINGER....or if you do...bring some dramamine with you just in case.

I stayed in Port Douglas for the night, a "nice" town kind of on the par with Carmel. It's too nice for me, but I stayed in a cheap hostel that has good food AND a pool designed to look like a lagoon. It's quite posh. As I walked to town this morning, I looked up in the trees along the road next to some horrific tourist developments. The trees were above a dry mangrove forest (with sewage being dumped in it unfortunately) But they had probably 1 million giant fruit bats sleeping in the Eucalyptus trees. Some of them were wiggling into position, others quarreling. One flew and its wing span was at least 4 feet. REALLY AMAZING. The ground was crawling with little red crabs burrowing in small holes in the mud. At night, the Bats took off towards the Daintree reserve. They awake at about 6:30, stretch their wings and begin chirping into a deafening sound that can be heard across the region. At 7 they take off, first a few then....millions, from all over the region, following a line straight to the rainforest. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. It lasted for about 3 hours. Millions and millions of giant bats rising from what looked like miles away, following in a clear line to the mountains. I couldn't believe it so I got it on video. The local woman who lives acrosst he street said casually that the bats showed up a couple of years ago and just stayed. She didn't understand my fascination because she is so used to them. She didn't even know which direction they flew in "all over" she said. If I was her I''d have a barbecue every night at 7:30 to watch that sight. It was incredible.

I also went to Mossman Gorge yesterday and went hiking in the first tip of the Daintree. I went swimming in the river with large black trout. Today I'm heading up to Cape Tribulation to do more hiking and possibly another dive if it's cheap enough. Money is a bit tight at the moment and I got real spoiled being in Southeast Asia where you can do just about anything because it's so cheap. Despite the exchange rate being lousy, the wildlife here is amazing and I'm so happy to be able to see it. It's really incredible.

Melbourne, Australia

The aid effort is quite amazing. Australia just put on a benefit concert around the country that raised 15 million Australian dollars. But you have to wonder where all that money is going. I just read that Meubaloh in Indonesia is barely receiving any aid:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/story/0,15671,1386303,00.html

If you can, forward this story so that people know what is actually happening. Also, in my previous post entitled "156,000 dead and rising" is a link to an Indonesian specific relief organization that my friend Jess (who works with people in Aceh) forwarded. Please give money if you can. It's groups like Doctor's without Borders and Greanpeace(funnily enough) that are actually getting through to the truly devastated towns. The bigger organizations seem to be keeping to safe zones and the UN is dragging their feet when it comes to Indonesia. I just read in the Australian paper that the ONLY airport in Aceh has to shut down for 24 hours every time a VIP dignitary comes in (like Powell)for security reasons. This leaves the entire region stranded without supplies for an entire day just so some power elite can "see for themselves" the devesation. That's insane!!!!!!!!!! It's important the west doesn't think that because all this money is flowing in that people are actually being helped. It's going to take a world of witnesses to make sure corruption doesn't consume that flow of good will.



Leaving Chaing Mai was an adventure unto itself. I opted for the 12 hour bus ride as it was New Year's eve and I knew it would be empty plus the $7 price was appealing. I decided to get one last Thai massage for the road. It was all going so well until the therapist did that one move (that would be illegal in the states) of bending your back towards the ceiling. I screamed in pain as she popped something out of my lower back. She didn't understand and sat there, on my back, like a confused puppy. Eventually she got off and in broken English I explained to her that she threw my back out. She was very apologetic and kept saying "4 years of westerners....this never happen". I felt terrible, she felt terrible...I couldn't move...it was 5:30 and my bus left at 6. I crawled around the room for half an hour as she insisted on rubbing tiger balm on my lower back (It actually worked). I eventually was able to stand and hobble over to the travel agent to catch my bus. It was a great reminder how we are all at the mercy of our bodies.

By the next day I was feeling fine. Something in my back just said "enough" with that thai massage move. I think it was rebelling against the 6 hour a day sitting positions for meditiation.

I arrived at 6:30 am on New Years Day into Bankok. As we drove in, the town was covered in white celebration lights. January 1st is just one of three New Years that the Thais celebrate (Chinese and Thai being the other two).

As I walked through Bankok, I caught the dregs of the evenings celebrations. Young Thais staggering drunk. Food stalls packing up. Westerners arm and arm with "Lady Boi"(transsexual) prostitutes. The Lady Boi is an amazing thing in Thailand. They are totally accepted (unlike the west) and many Lady Bois are former Thai Boxing champions. It's no secret that the best way to afford "the operation" is to be a champion Thai Boxer. One great story I heard was of a lady boi in Phuket who was being harrassed by some young western guys. With great skill she simply spun around mid air and kicked them in the head like Bruce Lee. After that point the harrassment stopped and the westerners ran away (having wet themselves I'm sure). Lady Bois are very visible in Thai society. Many massage therapists are Lady Bois. I got a haircut in a salon where a lady boi sat at the reception desk. It made me appreciate Thai culture even more to think that transsexuality was so accepted. Mind you, I did not run across any female to male transexuals so I don't know what the acceptance level would be from that perspective. I do know that Lady Bois are somewhat deified in Thai culture, in that it is widely accepted that they have "two souls". Interesting that Thailand is one of the few countries that was not colonized in the region. I wonder if it was, would such tolerance still exist?

It was odd seeing the remnants of all this celebration considering the catastrophe that had just happened in Asia. I certainly didn't feel like celebrating, but the Thais (and drunken westerners) did. I overhead conversations, people who just came from Phuket and phi phi islands and had lost everything. On the flight, I came across a guy who was on the Phi Phi islands. He lost all his belongings, including his passport, but was glad to head home. I can't imagine what the locals lost..at least those who survived. The surviving tourists came out of this fairly lucky in that their homes and communities weren't devestated. They have something to go back to.

The strangest thing was by far people in the airport who were heading TOWARDS Phuket. I asked this guy why he would want to go and vacation there, and his answer was that he had friends he wanted to visit. I don't know, it seemed odd to me. I even saw pictures of westerners sunbathing only a few feet away from rubble. How could people go and vacation in an area of so much devestation where the bodies haven't even been recovered? I told this guy that I'm sure he would be welcome. The Thais are terrified of their travel industry collapsing, and I could see that would be somewhat of a catastrophe into itself. So many people seem reliant on it.

I arrived in Melbourne and was greeted by my pals George and Deanne. George is an old friend from Edinburgh and both of them stayed with me in Gueneville when they travelled around the world last year. It was their trip that partly inspired me to do this. They were travelling for over a year and decided to settle in Melbourne for a bit. It has been great to see them and be treated with such hospitality. Both of them work in restaurants (George is a chef) so they love food as much as I do. As a result they decided the best way to show me Melbourne was through food....Yeah!!!

The first day they drove me along the "Great Ocean Road", a beautiful coastal drive that reminded me a lot of the one along California's coast. We stopped at a famous golf course where Kangaroos hang out regularly. It was quite bazaar seeing wealthy Australians putting around a herd of Kangaroos on the green.

The next day I caught up with my old friend Carey who is now a school teacher with two kids. She lives in Belgrave, near the Dandenong Ranges in a beautiful house overlooking rainforest. Her house is hooked up to a rainwater well. Interesting side note, Australia is in the 7th year of its worst drought in history. Many folks who are not in the city must collect rainwater viea wells. The way it is done is water runs from the roof to the gutters, to a well. The water is then stored and filtered as needed. The well is the size of a small above ground swimming pool and adorns everyone's back yard in the country.

Back in Melbourne I did the musueum thing and walked around ( saw an Edward Munch and awesome Bug exhibit). George and Dee took me to the park to see a lesbian band "The Blue House". It was a free concert, part of a series of events the city sponsors over the summer. The only problem was the summer in Melbourne, so far has been littered with rain storms (good for the drought though). So of course, hundreds of us with our wine and picnics were doing it woodstock style, keeping dry under blankets and whatever extra clothing we brought along. Everyone stuck it through...which was quite impressive. When the concert was over, the announcer asked us "not to feed the possums". I thought this was obsurd...what possoms...we aren't going to see any possums. But sure enough, as dusk set in and the giant fruit bats came out (which was quite a spectacle unto itself) the possums descended from the trees, little kangaroo like beings. George immediately went up to one like she was going to feed it and it was completely tame. The possums in Australia are much more cuddly and cuter than the pink faced fang weilding rat tailed species in North America. Dozens of them came out, slowly descending from their trees, all looking for food. It was quite a site. Evidently every park has its population of possums. I went to another park the next night and watched them come out after dusk. One tree had a possum, and as I sat there three more slowly descended, shaking the tree as they came gently down. One was a baby and they looked at me with those big eyes like I was from Mars. I must admit, I did what you are not supposed to do. I fed them. They were slothlike and sweet. Very mindful little creatures. In the tree next to theirs, the fruit bats were landing and feeding on figs. The entire tree was shaking with hundreds of giant fruit bats. I was in heaven. I love bats!!! I must have sat there for three hours watching these amazing creatures.

Melbourne is a lovely, diverse and clean city. Australians are laid back and seem to enjoy food, beer and just a good barbecue (which are everywhere by the way). George goes to the park around the corner to cook all the time, like it's a second kitchen.
Tomorrow George and Dee and I will be going to midnight movies in the park (another city sponsored event) and then I'm going to visit Carey one more time before heading to the Barrier Reef next week. Part of me really misses Asia though. It's so stimulating and wonderous. Western Culture feels so depressed and closed in comparison. I want to return soon to Asia. I really did love it.