Queensland, Australia

After a month of cruising from one Pacific island to another, we’ve finally landed in Australia. During the Grand World Voyage I spent a good amount of time in Australia, but we never made it to Queensland, so this was all new territory for me.

Brisbane Jan. 30

Many museums in Australia are free, and I took full advantage of that during my day in Brisbane.

The city hall in the center of town has a historic clock tower. While the tour to the top was free, we had to wait for an opening. So we spent the spare hour we had exploring the free museum within the city hall.

There was a special flora exhibit at the time, so I got some good photos of the beautiful art!

During our clock tour, it was short (take what you can for free). But it still felt like plenty of time. We road the elevator up to the top that had the old school cage, manual levers, etc. Then about 5 minutes time to walk about the top, see views of the city, and learn some history from a local guide.

On our way down, we were running behind schedule, so we were able to get a special viewing of the clocks actually ringing from behind the scenes. The mechanics of the clock, and how all these pieces work together to make the bells ring was very special.

After this we walked across the bridge to another free museum that had a huge exhibit on wildlife in Australia. From native snakes that have basically been jellied into jars, the gargantuan sized spiders (don’t worry… not alive), to the kangaroos that have been displayed shamelessly showing off all their bits and pieces.

Next we walked to the big Brisbane city sign. This photo was really cool because it has the river, the old buildings, and the new skyline, all in one photo.

By now we’d worked up a bit of an appetite. We went into Woolworths to stock up on Kombucha, and bought some hummus and pretzels to eat on a park bench and people watch in the middle of the city.

Our final stop was very quick. TO A CHURCH. Who would’ve guessed. Thats one thing that every single part of the world has in common. Rich, poor, city, rural town… you can find a church. But, they are all beautiful in their own way, have their own history, and all deserve a visit. This one was only a few minutes walk, so we thought we’d stop by. It has a beautiful brick exterior and a sandstone interior, which was pretty unique. We were the only two people in the church, aside from a small man (who later referred to himself as an old bloke). He approached us and asked where we were from. The church employee took us to a special corner and showed a stained glass with two eagles and- one for Australia and one for America- with each respected national flag. The resembled the reliance during WW2, due to the high amount of American troops in Brisbane during the war.

I noticed there was no pipe organ at the back of the church, so I just happened to ask… This mans kind wrinkled face lit up, “Actually, it’s hidden in the front, let me show you!”

With only a couple of minutes, we rush to the front, past the alter, past the choir area, to see a MASSIVE pipe organ. In fact, the largest pipe organ in all of Australia, with 4,500 pipes.

With no time to spare, we thanked the man in the church and rushed back to make last shuttle back to ship.

Townsville Feb. 1

Take a moment to Google Townsville for me…. And look at the top things to do. Whether it be from Google maps, TripAdvisor, etc. Choose whichever one you want, and just look at the top things to do. You can even look at multiple if you want to. Trust me.

…..

Okay, did you look? Or are you just being lazy and waiting to see what I say next?

What was on EVERY suggested option?

Climb Castle Hill.

Now, you saw the pictures. Doesn’t look too wild.

Well, let me tell you. The pictures, along with the word HILL are deceiving.

We hiked castle MOUNTAIN.

Of course, by now, most people know I love hiking, and a challenge, being outdoors, blah blah blah. But MAN I wasn’t prepared for this steep climb on such a hot day.

Talk about the stair climber…

P.S. The BLOODY bugs strike again. They were everywhere. Mosquitoes, ants, sporadic flying bugs that I’m just not a fan of in general…

After the hike, we walked to the waterfront in hopes of seeing a waterfall (you may have also seen this waterfall when you searched Townsville). Just a small waterfall in the middle of the city. To our surprise, and minor disappointment, it was dry! No waterfall. But, there were loads of black cockatoos, so I consider that a win.

Cairns Feb. 2

A more relaxed city day after having hiked Castle MOUNTAIN the day before.

We walked the Esplanade at the waterfront for about a mile. Chatting about life, figuring out what we want to do, extraterrestrial possibilities, is life just a simulation? You know, casual Friday morning chats.

We spotted an Ibis in the mud, and decided to watch him for a bit. (My love for bird watching as such a young age is alarming and concerning, I know).

Ibis, more famously known as Trash Birds down here in Aussie land, are larger than a duck, but smaller than a goose. Of course their diet is SUPPOSED to be things like worms and bugs, but, similar to pigeons and seagulls and other “rats of the sky” Ibis have turned their stomachs into industrial vacuums.

We watched the bird, with anywhere from a 6-8 inch beak

***clears throat***

Oops sorry, I’m in the land down under now, I meant 15-20 cm beak

Peck his ENTIRE beak into the mud, clear to his eyes, to try and get food out of the mud.

It was sooo goofy to watch, and got a good giggle out of me.

We walked into a few stores, and saw these birds have a lot of merchandise. They’re a bit famous for their habits. Most of which showcase them somehow in relation to a garbage can. Of course you know I had to buy something: a sticker of an Ibis sitting on top of a metallic trash can.

After talking to the local artist of this sticker, she shared a story regarding nasty toads in the area. Apparently these poisonous frogs have been introduced to Australia to try and combat an issue regarding a bug (that I now can’t remember).

As you might imagine, these toads went for more than just this small bug, and started taking out populations of native animals to the region.

But not the Ibis.

After a year or two, these birds built up immunity within their internal industrial garage unit, and now THEY EAT the poisonous toads!

We spent the remainder of our afternoon as Rusty’s market, a massive outdoor market with local produce and handicrafts. We found a Kombucha truck, enjoyed an entire liter of Kombucha, before heading back to the ship.

Cheers,

Tay