Aug 6th: Our 'safari' is organized by APT (Australian Pacific Touring)
and they are terrific! They take care of the accommodations, schlepping of the baggage, dinner arrangements, special tours ... all of it! Of course, for all the 6 a.m. (or earlier!) wake ups in order to get to everything on the daily itinerary, we should get these perks, don't you think?
Our instincts to be territorial were thwarted on the bus this morning. As we were the first on the bus at the start of the tour, we had chosen some choice seats. But, Sue was having none of that. Each two seats together had a corresponding number taped above it on the luggage rack. They weren't in numerical order, either. Sue explained that was purposely done, as each day we would move up one number, to give everyone the chance to experience a new vantage from the bus. So, since we were in seat # 24 on day 1, today we had 25, which was farther up on the opposite side of the bus. Until everyone understood the logic of the seating arrangement, it was as chaotic as if we'd been blindfolded and twirled a few times.
Finally, we headed north to the banana capital (region) of New South Wales (NSW). We stopped at a banana farm/amusement park, where they also had the largest puzzle in the world. It was glued and displayed in all it's sun-bleached glory in the window of a candy shop. I was disappointed. This is the largest?! Do the Guinness world records people know about this sham?
From there, we headed to the eastern most tip of Australia, Cape Byron. It was a glorious day, up on the hill, with the light house, the multi-blue/green hued ocean, wild goats grazing on the steep hills and hang gliders floating almost motionless above us.
The eastest most point of Australia
Sue introduced us to Australian folk music, relating the story of Slim Dusty, a prolific Australian coutry singer/song writer who found great success with songs like 'A Pub With No Beer', 'G'day G'day'
and, of course, his own version of 'Waltzing Matilda'. I loved it. Watching the landscape roll by and listening to Australia's native son sing about the coutry he loved ... I really felt 'present'.
David Gordon "Slim Dusty" Kirkpatrick
We stopped in a small seaside town, McLeary, and had (what I hoped) would be my last fried fish meal for a while.
By the end our day, we'd travelled 477 km and rested in the Mantra on the Beach in Kingscliff. The hotel is directly on the pier, so close that if you jumped from the balcony you'd be in the water. The hotel room had an odd feature, something we came to notice in the rest of the Mantra hotels in which we stayed: a window from the bedroom into the shower. The window had a slatted shutter; but, that was controlled from the bedroom side. This could raise some trust issues.
and, of course, his own version of 'Waltzing Matilda'. I loved it. Watching the landscape roll by and listening to Australia's native son sing about the coutry he loved ... I really felt 'present'.
David Gordon "Slim Dusty" Kirkpatrick
We stopped in a small seaside town, McLeary, and had (what I hoped) would be my last fried fish meal for a while.
By the end our day, we'd travelled 477 km and rested in the Mantra on the Beach in Kingscliff. The hotel is directly on the pier, so close that if you jumped from the balcony you'd be in the water. The hotel room had an odd feature, something we came to notice in the rest of the Mantra hotels in which we stayed: a window from the bedroom into the shower. The window had a slatted shutter; but, that was controlled from the bedroom side. This could raise some trust issues.
I think I've got a cold creeping up on me.
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