On our way to New Zealand!

I'm having a little trouble posting this because somehow, someone set this computer so all the controls are in Korean letters. Let's hope this works! :)

Well, I really haven't had too much of a chance to update since we have been in Cairns. Cairns is on the upper east coast of Australia, right smack in the tropics. It's a really neat place because it is home to two world heritage sites: the Great Barrier Reef and several rainforests.

On Wednesday, we took it very, very easy! After having a wonderful breakfast of numerous types of fresh fruit, we went to the pool and spent most of the morning lazing around the pool and swimming with Jo's dog Charlie. We spent the afternoon at the beach and got prepared for our next day at the Reef. Most beaches in Queensland have a very large risk of people being stung by jellyfish. Luckily, we were there as the season was ending, but they have special netted enclosures where you can swim safely. They also have problems with sharks, stingrays, and saltwater crocodiles (think of Steve Irwin with those crocs saying crike!), so we didn't spend too much time in the ocean. :)

On Thursday morning, we arrived at the marina in Cairns at about 7:30 for our day on the reef. We took a cattamaran out to the Reef and first stopped at Michealamas Cay, which is like a small island in the middle of the ocean inhabited by many, many birds. It's actually a place where most of these birds breed! The water was crystal clear and we set about snorkeling. Paula and I decided not to dive and just stuck to snorkeling. It is almost impossible to describe the beauty of the Reef. On Wednesday night, we went into town to Reef Teach, which is a two hour class teaching you all about the stuff you'll be seeing when you dive/snorkel. Thus, we were actually able to identify most of what we saw. The coral is described by its shape (basket coral, mushroom coral, table coral) and is all beautiful! I saw a sea cucumber, tons and tons of fish, and one small jellyfish. My favorite fish was the parrot fish which looks like a colorful parrot and scrapes each coral with it's teeth, getting the algae off the coral. When you are underwater, you can actually hear the scraping sounds!

Let me just say that I was so glad that you could rent sunsuits. I have been snorkeling before and due to my really pale complexion, I was fried! However, we got these suits that covered your body and only your head, hands, and feet were exposed! It was the best $6 I have ever spent!

We snorkeled for about an hour and then got back on the boat and headed to Paradise Reef. We had a delicious seafood lunch and then jumped right off the boat for more snorkeling. Paradise is a huge bit of the reef that has a beautful dropoff right into the ocean. We snorkeled here for another hour or so before heading back into Cairns. They had they trampoline things over the water as part of the boat and we were able to lay out and get some sun on the way back.

Yesterday, we headed up to Port Douglas, which is a small town about 1 hr. north of Holloways Beach, where we were staying. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are actually there right now filming a movie! We putzed around the town for a bit and then joined a tour going to Mossman Gorge.

We met the most precious couple from Singapore. They have a daughter about our age and called us their two extra daughters. They spent the whole day with us and most of our pictures include Chin and Kam! :) Paula and I have met some of the NICEST people while we have been in Australia!

After lunch, we walked through the rainforest and saw snakes, wild turkeys, and lots of birds. We were able to dip our feet in the gorge, but it was quite chilly! We shopped around town for another hour or so after our trip to Mossman and then we went out for a nice seafood dinner at a cafe right on the beach. The moon rose right over the water and gave off the most beautiful reflection!

This morning, we flew out from Cairns and are currently in Brisbane, where we make our connecting flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. We were surprised because of all of the time we have been here and all of the flights we have taken, they have not looked at our visas NOR passports once! Security is pretty lax. If you check-in online, you can go right through security and you don't have to show any ID. However, today they needed to see the whole bit as we're getting ready to leave the country.

We have a 6 hour layover before our flight today, so we headed into the city for a few hours to eat lunch and catch up on several things.

I hope everyone is doing well! We will spend the next week in New Zealand going to the glaciers and to Milford Sound (think Lord of the Rings scenery!)

I will update again soon!