Global Wandering

I woke this morning to the news Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, had been killed by a stingray along the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Port Douglas, Australia.

Last year, my son Bret and I visited Irwin’s Australia Zoo and we snorkeled in the same waters off Port Douglas that took Irwin’s life. Irwin is what inspired Bret to visit Australia. Irwin was his hero. He hoped to get his autograph. Bret has never cared for sport celebrities, but something about Irwin’s bravado, his understanding of nature, his charm won Bret over.

It is still early on Labor Day and I haven’t broken the news to my son. He is asleep. I am not sure how he will react.

UPDATE: Bret is sad, but he is taking it well. He says it stinks.

Posted by jd at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

The weather turned rainy for our final two days in Australia so we spent them in traditional Australian pursuits. Like going to a game arcade at the mall, eating pizza while watching The Incredibles on the television at the hotel, and sleeping.

On our trip home, we spent a day in Seoul, Korea. Believe me, Brisbane to Seoul to Los Angeles is not the most direct way to get home. It is 3,575 miles out of the way, but then again it was the only route available using Delta frequent flier miles.

I didn't do any research on Korea prior to our trip, figuring I'd be surprised. So what was the biggest surprise? That folks who live in Seoul, a city of 12 million inhabitants just across the pond from the "Land of the Rising Sun" rarely get to see the sun's brightness. The smog is too thick. The sky is perpetually gray, and the sun when it can be seen is an orange ball so shrouded in haze you can stare at it without squinting.
Smoggy SeoulHere is a picture from our hotel room at the Sheraton Grande Walker Hill overlooking the Hangang River.

Continue reading "Smoggy Seoul" »

Posted by jd at 8:55 PM | Permalink

We are back from our excursion into the world’s oldest rainforest. Access to the Cape Tribulation area where we stayed is by ferry.
Daintree River FerryBret suspects they haven’t built a bridge because there are crocodiles in the river. I suspect it is lobbying by the ferry owners.

The Daintree is one of the few areas of the world where the rainforest meets the ocean (in this case the Coral Sea).
Crocodile Warning It sounds picturesque, but it also limits the areas where you can safely swim do to hazards such as crocodiles. Plus, the entire beach area is off limits to swimming from October through May because of the stinger jellyfish, which has a nasty habit of killing or severely disabling anyone that gets in its way. In other words, if you are planning a beach vacation I would stick to the Caribbean, where the water is warmer and the sand is softer. On the other hand, if you want to take a nighttime hike into one of the most diverse natural places on earth, the Daintree is the place.

Continue reading "Into the Daintree" »

Posted by jd at 6:45 PM | Permalink

We have relocated to Northeast Australia where the weather is warmer (eighty degree highs instead of seventy). We are staying at the Sheraton Mirage Resort⎯another overpriced hotel I am willing to patronize because I could cash in Starwood points and get free accommodations.
Sheraton Noosa
Sheraton Mirage
I liked the room at the Sheraton Noosa resort better. It had more of a beach feel. The Sheraton Mirage tries too hard to be opulent and as a result comes off as tacky. The four acres of saltwater crocodile-free swimming lagoons are nice though.

Continue reading "Great Barrier Reef" »

Posted by jd at 6:43 PM | Permalink

Hervey Bay is a tranquil body of water that lies between Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, and the Australian mainland. It also happens to be the playground where 7,000 South Pacific Humpback whales take a little R&R on their 3,500 mile journey from the warm equatorial waters north of Australia to the frigid seas of Antarctica. Here is where baby whales get to practice important survival skills, such as hunting⎯“open mouth, let kelp flow in”⎯and breathing⎯“No son, you’ll never have gills like a fish, we’ve evolved beyond that; we’re mammals now; we have to go the surface and breath, keep the whale tour boats in business.” That may sound farfetched, but our bus driver said when new baby whales are born, other female whales act as midwives by taking the newborns to the surface to breath while the exhausted birth mothers recover. Apparently, breathing needs to be taught.

Whale Harpoon Gun Unfortunately, not all 7,000 whales show up in Hervey Bay at once, so spotting a pod of these mammals requires the hiring of expert sea captains (most likely former Captain Ahabs, who reengineered themselves into whale conservationists after commercial whaling was outlawed in the 1960’s).

Continue reading "Hervey Bay: A Whaling Good Time" »

Posted by jd at 8:37 PM | Permalink

We are headed to Hervey Bay to spot the South Pacific Humpback whale. We are on those fancy internet kiosks where we pay by the minute. Our hotel at Noosa Heads has no broadband so we haven't been able to upload our latest pictures and adventures. We hope to do so tomorrow at an internet cafe with a broadband connection. Yesterday, we had a delightful time at the Australia Zoo. Well time to sign off, we have only 6 minutes to post this and then our money runs out.

Posted by jd at 6:08 PM | Permalink

Today we visited one of the main sites that inspired Bret to want to come to Australia ⎯ The Crocodile Hunter’s Australia Zoo.
Australia Zoo I’ve toured a number of zoos in the past year (Seattle, Phoenix, and San Antonio) so I have some recent points of reference to rank the quality of this zoo. All in all, the Australia Zoo is very well done. Most of the animals are displayed in their natural habitat, but you can get close enough to almost touch them (in fact some, like the koala, you can even touch ⎯ their fur feels like…well, fur; their meat taste like chicken⎯yes, there’s no better way to top off a day at the Australia Zoo then by feasting on a Kaola-Kabob at the zoo’s food court).

Australian Bengal Tiger Here is an example of how close the animal action is. I took this photo of the native Australian tiger readying to pounce on its prey.

Australian Bengal Tiger Here is the same tiger successfully mauling its defenseless catch. Crikey, you can’t get any more realistic than that.

Continue reading "Australia Zoo" »

Posted by jd at 8:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We took it easy today and explored close to home. In the morning we visited the Queensland Museum and Science Centre.
Public Bug outside Queensland Museum The Science Centre is the Australian equivalent of a U.S. children’s museum. Many of the exhibits were similar to those I have seen at other children’s museums, with a focus on weather, physics, etc. But then again, science is science. Bret enjoyed it immensely. I found the exhibits on optical illusions most interesting.

Fruit Platter
Here is Bret decapitated with a side of pineapple and banana.

Continue reading "Brisbane: Enchanted Land of Food Courts" »

Posted by jd at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Kangaroo We arrived in Brisbane, and I began the painful adjustment to driving on the left-hand side of the road. After frightening a cyclist, smashing our hubcap against the curb, and nearly missing being broadsided, I have it down now. The problem is many things are reverse from how we are used to doing them in the States. The steering wheel is on the right side of the car so when driving one needs to remember the bulk of the vehicle is on the driver’s left, not the right. The tendency is to keep the car too close to the curb, because the American driver is not use to being so near the center road line (hence the cyclist and hubcap mishap). As for nearly being broadsided…. just remember when driving on the left side of the road, the oncoming traffic will be from the right.

Interestingly, a country that drives on the left hand side of the road, will do other things opposite of a country that drives on the right hand side. For example, with the steering wheel on the right side of the car, Toyota places the windshield wiper lever to the left of the steering wheel and the turn signal level to the right. I signaled at least a dozen turns today by flicking on my wiper blades. (I had to look twice to make sure Toyota hadn’t switched the placement of the brake and accelerator pedals) Another change is when you walk down the sidewalk and someone is walking toward you, you move to the left and let them pass on your right. And on escalators and moving walkways, you stand to the left and let others pass on the right.

This isn’t the first time I have been somewhere that is left-side oriented. London is the same way, but there they have more American tourists, so they paint warnings on the asphalt at crosswalks advising pedestrians to look to the right to avoid being pummeled by their quaint black taxis. Plus, no Americans in their right mind would attempt to drive in London’s traffic.

Continue reading "Brisbane: Koalas, Kangaroos and Crocs" »

Posted by jd at 1:46 PM | Permalink

The fog finally lifted in San Francisco so we only arrived ninety minutes late at SFO. I write this after having sat on our San Francisco to Seoul flight for six hours. We now only have to sit for six more. Bret is entertaining himself listening to the sixth Harry Potter book. He seems engaged. I am entertaining myself by watching Korean soap operas on the big screen, which is so far away that I can’t see the English subtitles. A man is talking on the phone. He just hung up. Now he is pensive. Now he breaks into tears. Must be a sad show.

Continue reading "The Remainder of Day One" »

Posted by jd at 2:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

How fast would you have to fly so that the sun appeared to stand still and it would always be daylight?

1037.56 miles per hour. Bret took a lucky guess and said 1000 miles per hour. Of course the answer assumes you are flying along the equater.

P.S. We are stilled delayed in SLC.

Posted by jd at 10:03 AM | Permalink

We are on our way. Sort of. We are in Salt Lake City, awaiting our delayed flight to San Francisco. Fortunately, our San Fran layover is 4 hours. So I am posting this with my Treo cell phone.
Bret Delayed Playing Gameboy DS

We calculated that even though we leave for Korea at 4 PM Idaho time and are in flight for 12 hours, it will stay daylight until our arrival, because we will alway be flying toward the setting sun. Which brings up an interesting triva question. How fast would you have to fly so that the sun appeared to stand still (i.e. It would always be noon)?

Answer: I don't know, yet. You would need to know the circumference of the earth. I think I will go ask the Skywest gate agent. He looks smart.

Posted by jd at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)