The Great Barrier Reef

From Uluru i made my way up to Cairns via Melbourne. Not the most direct route but turned out to be the cheapest route. I spent a few days in Melbourne which i have to say i love. In the botanical gardens the childhood house of Captain Cook stands after being removed from Yorkshire brick by brick, shipped over to Melbourne and rebuilt as per the original plans. A quaint 17th Century English cottage in the middle of Melbourne, it is fantastic. Though as i learnt in the Perth shipwreck gallery, Capt. Cook wasn't the first to discover Australia, in fact it was the Dutch in 1606!

Another must see is the Melbourne Museum. I didn't get to see all of it as i got absorbed in the bug section- a complete selection of all native Australian creatures- i am glad i saw this after i camped out at Uluru, otherwise i would have wanted a suit of armour before i would have fallen asleep in the swag!!!

A short visit to Melbourne was followed by a trip to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. I signed up for a day of snorkelling on the reef and included in the trip was the chance to do an introductory scuba dive. After the briefing of all the steps to successfully dive and a short history of what can go wrong, i was suited up. The weight belt and the tanks are quite heavy when on land but it is amazing how weightless you feel once you get in the water. It took a while to get used to the breathing and to being completely immersed in water. I don't remember seeing any fish, any coral or much of the reef at all as i was just concentrating on my breathing, not panicking and holding onto the instructor. We were underwater for about 20mins and managed to get down to 9m. At one point we reached the seabed and were standing on the bottom of the deep blue sea- that was the highlight for me. I was on a buzz for the rest of the afternoon. I did get the chance to snorkel later and saw all kinds of coral and fish, the highlight being the Maori Wrasse.

The Red Centre

Several people questioned why was i going to visit Alice Springs because in their opinion there is nothing there in the centre of Australia. But i had it on good authority that Ayres Rock, now called Uluru, is one sight worth viewing. And i was not disappointed. A three day camping trip into the middle of nowhere brought me face to face with this amazing monolith that appears out of nowhere in the middle of surprisingly green vegetation.

On the first day of the trip we visited Kings Canyon, an impressive gorge that has been compared to the Grand Canyon. In my opinion Kings Canyon cannot compare to the Grand Canyon. Nonetheless the views from it are impressive. Included in this trip was a visit to the Olgas, also known as The Sisters. These twelve structures are very important to Aboriginal customs and are the basis for much of their traditions. Blazing red rocks in the middle of the outback, they are a fitting introduction to the main item, Uluru, which we saw the following day.

Uluru, is a sandstone rock made red by the iron contained within the stone. At its base its a 14km walk around the perimeter. There is a part of the rock that can be climbed but tourists are discouraged by the Aborigines from scaling the rock, as they view it a very sacred place. On our visit the rock climb was closed due to the extreme temperatures but after reading about the Aborigine's beliefs i would not have climbed had it been opened. Furthermore it looks a really steep ascent and 36 people have died to date trying to reach the summit. I found a very calming atmosphere here at the rock and can understand why the Aborigine's worship it. We stayed and watched the sunset over the rock and the following day were up early to see the sunrise over this block of concrete- the colours were wonderful.

For both nights we camped in 'swags'. These are heavy duty canvas sleeping bags with a thin mattress inside. They are actually quite comfortable. Throughout the trip we had been told all about the many wonderful and poisonous creepy crawlies, insects and snakes that lived out in the outback. So just to make sure they weren't going to visit me, i slept with a mosquito net over my head.

Western Australia

On New Years Eve i was in bed by 11pm as i was getting up at an ungodly hour to head down south for a couple of days with my two aunts. The temperature had hit the high 30s so an extra early start meant the car wouldn't be too hot for travelling in. Our destination was Margarets River, a wine producing region, but also a region strewn with many caves. Lake cave and Jewel cave as their names suggest are impressive underground systems that have very artistic and jewel like structures and they didn't disappoint. Further north in the town of Bunbury there is a dolphin interactive centre. Each morning, the dolphins come into shore to visit the scores of curious tourists standing at the waters edge. We had dolphins swimming only a couple of metres from us.

After our trip down south, I joined a group and headed on a 4day trip to discover the many wonders on the north coast. Our first stop was the pinnacles- thousands of limestone pillars in a desert of yellow sand. It is still unknown how these features were created. But these pillars, some up to 4m high, give a very unique and eerie atmosphere to this desert area. Equally impressive was Nature's window- a unique rock arch, situated on an edge cliff in the middle of Kalabarri National Park. It provides a spectacular view to photograph the surrounding scenery. The west coast is full of such amazing things; a little further north we came across the shell beach- as it's name suggests, a beach made up entirely of shells- billions of tiny white coquina bivalve shells are washed up onto the shore to create this amazing coastline.

Throughout the trip, the temperature was excessive- at one point the mercury hit 44C in the shade! It was definitely the hottest temperature i have ever been in. Because of the heat we didn't see much wildlife in its natural habitats but managed to get up close to some of the locals on a visit to a wildlife reserve.

The highlight of the trip was meeting Royalty- Prince Leonard and his Princess, Shirley, of Hutt River Province- a principality within Australia. This micronation came about in the 1970s when the government threatened to introduce quotas for the country's wheat farmers. Leonard Casley was opposed to these quotas and went about to create his own sovereign state out of his wheat farm. It hasn't been fully recognised by the Australian government but the principality contains its own government offices, post office and chapel (complete with thrones for the Prince and Princess). This principality even has its own cabinet, made up of the prince and princess, their children and several others. In the souvenir shop there are pictures of the many principality representatives that reside abroad. The prince even has a bust of himself at the entrance to the property. We all got our passports stamped with an entry and exit visa after visiting this unusual yet fantastic sovereign state.

Happy New Year from Down Under

Happy New Year to all. I spent Christmas festivities catching up with relatives in Perth that i hadn't seen in about 20years. Christmas Day started with a swim in the Indian ocean, followed by champagne on the beach and finished off with a traditional Irish Christmas dinner in 30C heat- fantastic!! In total I spent two weeks in Perth and on the West coast.

Perth does not have the same throughput of tourists as the East Coast does but i think it's well worth a visit. Top among my favourites is Fremantle prison. No longer in use, tourists replace the prisoners as they they are guided through the prison corridors and are regaled with stories of the many interesting inmates this gaol once held. A British forger was once imprisoned here for forging bank notes. On his release he was short of cash and began forging money again. Except for a very astute bank clerk he would have gotten away with it. On all notes, the queen' s head faces to the left but on his forged notes, the queen's head was facing in the wrong direction! He was returned to Fremantle for a further stint in gaol. Because he was such a talented artist the gaol supervisor asked him to decorate his cell wall in art- the Italian style art is still on view in his former cell and is really impressive. Another cell held an aboriginal prisoner who was also asked to decorate his wall with aboriginal art- the serpent depicted in this art is a fine example of aboriginal art. My favourite story relating to the gaol has an Irish association. Irishman John Boyle O'Reilly was shipped to Fremantle prison in 1868 because of his involvement in the Fenian movement back home. Early into his sentence he managed to escape and board an American ship bound for the States. He worked with other Irish sympathisers in America to raise funds to rescue several other Irish inmates still in Fremantle. These prisoners escaped from the gaol and boarded the 'Catalpa' but were pursued by Australian police. When the Catalpa reached international waters, it raised the American flag and warned the Australians that if they pursued them any further, they would be declaring war on America. With that the Australians swiftly retreated and the Catalpa sailed for America. Just outside Australind, a small town south of Perth, there is a plaque in memory of this Fenian.

Another must see in Perth, is the Perth Mint. Here all the Sydney 2000 Olympic medals were produced. Everyday the Mint hold a Gold pour demonstration- it's amazing to watch as the gold is heated to molten temperatures and then transformed into a solid gold bar.