MICHELE'S MUSINGS

Australia...though this has been my briefest (2 weeks) trip, and my 4th time, it has definitely been one of my favorite trips. Drew and I were met at the airport in Brisbane by Garth (of kris and garth fame who I met in the 'A' section of a travel bookstore in seattle 10 years ago) after a wonderfully uneventful flight (thank goodness) from Bali. K and G gave us their beautiful guest house to stay in, fed us heaps of delicious food ("I forgot how much young people eat" said Kris), and gave us free use of Kris' car. We quickly adapted to driving on the wrong side of the road, but found it hard to get used to the signal/windsheild wiper switcheroo...consequently, at every turn on went the wipers. We spent our time really getting to know the beaches, rainforests, and parks in the area from Surfers Paradise on the gold coast, to Byron bay and Ballina. We found giant jelly fish, a stingray, and a sea gull with a clam clamped to its foot (could this be where the word clamped is derived from?). We taught Garth how to use e-mail at the local library, and set him up with a hotmail account...at nearly 80 he is now keen to learn how to surf (the net that is). We hiked all around the largest caldera in the world, formed by a volcano that exploded too long ago for anyone to remember. We hiked Lamington Plateau, to the top of Mount Warning (which I insultingly referred to as a "hill", instead of a mountain...a local assie set me straight), and into the Border Ranges, basically circumnavigating the caldera. This took several trips. We also were amazed by the escarpments that provided spectacular drops for some really big waterfalls. We hiked thru incredible remnants of tropical rain forest that used to cover the north east coastal area before the Europeans arrived. I wish you could see these huge fig trees. There is nothing like them. Garth creamed me our nightly cribbage matches, and gloated unashamedly, I might add. I had a very nice reunion with Hank and Sue Bower, who I shared (along with Garth) the hut on cat island for a monthe in 1994 (off the coast of Tasmania). After 10 days of relaxation and utter self indulgence, we took an overnight bus (12 hours) to Sydney. We stayed with Abby, my pal, and a true Rennaisance woman- a vet, artist, musician, sailer, and horse-woman (any man feeling deserving of this gem apply within). By day we took the ferries and buses all around this fair city. We did beautiful walks along the cliffs, and beaches. In and out of the sandy coves...Drew and I both agree Sydney is one of our favorite cities. We also got lucky enough to catch up with Emmy, another artist friend (I met her in indonesia 6 years ago)...It really isn't so surprising that this was one of my favorite trips, afterall, it's really about the people you share your time with that makes for special times. PS. if Drew tells you that I am the best Koala bear spotter, he would be telling the truth, but if he says that I grabbed the pythons tail as it tried to slither away...don't believe him mom...you raised me much smarter than that.

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