A Kominar Chronicle: In the beginning… 

Although staying in the Gold Coast is nice, it was decided that we should go on a trip and see more of Australia. We started with flight and booked our hot air balloon. Next came water and our half-day trip to the great barrier reef, including glass boat tour. Finally came land, when we hovered over the tropical rainforests of Northern Queensland on the Skyrail.

Cairns is a beautiful and a wonderful place to go if you want to see a glimpse of aboriginal culture in Australia. Also wonderful if you fancy Japanese tourists!

Hot Air Ballooning (See More Photos)

It was this adventure that made us choose Cairns. The allure and charm of a hot air balloon was irresistable and it was followed up by a champagne brekky at local aboriginal restaurant, Tjapukai.

We were involved in the entire process from setup to take down. This included an opportunity for Nadine to let of a little steam about being woken up at 4:30 AM for hotel pickup.

Great Barrier Reef (More Photos)
We made a 1/2 day trip out to Green Island, the closest reef island near Cairns. The day was slightly overcast but the skies opened up for us when we went swimming on the beach.

True to form, I stopped to take a picture of the Blue Bottle Jellyfish you see adjacent. Their bodies littered the beach and their tentacles can be as long as 10m!

I celebrated losing/finding my camera with a celebratory splash into the ocean. Nadine and I finished with a glass bottom boat tour where we saw Nemo’s stomping grounds. A sea turtle managed to swim our way as well as some other fish. The tour guide had lots of feed with him and started a few feeding frenzies for us to watch.

It was a memorable trip to be on the Great Barrier Reef and relaxing in the tropics for the first time in my life.

Skyrail/Barren Falls

The cableways for the Skyrail run about 7.5km so it takes about 2 hours to do properly on a return trip. We showed up too late on Friday for a return trip and decided to drive up the mountain and see some lookouts for ourselves.

We weren’t disappointed, we were privy to the view you see above breathing and full of life. Nadine commented that the rain was a blessing as it gave the waterfall so much character.

On Saturday, we showed up with ample of time to ride the Skyrail but my battery was drained from the reef shoot in the morning. It was quite a memorable ride, and a great way to get in touch with the Rainforest ‘quickly’. It should be noted that although this trip to Cairns was very touristy, we took many nature walks to take in the scenery at low cost!

I’ve been spoiled this year with a whirlwind of activity surrounding my birthday. I’ve been so many fun places and have many adventures yet to come. While being apart from family is difficult, I’m thankful that Nadine is around to help fill the void. Thanks for your well-wishes from across the globe and across the street.

Dreamworld

Starting off the tour was a trip to Dreamworld theme park. The lines were sparse which made the experience all that much more thrilling.

Notably, they had a kangaroo petting area and I was finally able to interact with a domesticated kangaroo. In honour of debts owed, I temporarily adopted it as my own and named it ‘Mhairi’.

The end of the day saw both Nadine and I on the tallest ride in the park, the Giant Drop. At 120 metres this freefall is unbelievable. We were treated to a spectacular view on the way up and stayed up there for a full twenty seconds! The rush is indescribable, but in an attempt to describe it, it’s apparently like sky-diving.

Dreamworld is also home to the Big Brother house. Currently airing, Nadine and I have tentative plans to return to the park for an eviction show with our friends in a few weeks. The Big Brother phenomenon is much different than that of North America, much more pervasive, always on.

See Pictures of Dreamworld

Breakfast @ North Burleigh

We started the morning off by appreciating the neighbourhood. These views are brought to you by the viewing tower at North Burleigh. Off in the distance on the left side is Surfer’s Paradise, tourist capital of Australia.

On the right, Burleigh Headlands. It was a spectacular morning and we had a delicious lunch of minestroni soup at the local surf club. After filling up, it was time to drive south toward Byron Bay.

Byron Bay

We spent the majority of the day at Byron and walked out to the Easterly most point of Australia. We drove up to the lighthouse and took a walking tour of the area, including one very large hill!

This trip to Byron was all about the sights, we didn’t spend much time lounging on the beaches but we did find time to relax on the rocks and enjoy the view.

Exhausted after walking around, we ate at the Hogg’s Breath Diner and watched hippies dance around for ‘dance week’. All in all, an enlightening experience, and such wonderful sights for a birthday.

See Pictures of Byron Bay