Sunrise walk- Rainbow Beach

‎The best start to a Monday morning is a walk along the beach to watch the sunrise on the Sunshine Coast of Australia.

Possum mom

We saw this little gal the other night and noticed she was quite fat. Then she turned around and we could see she had a baby in her pouch. I managed to get this pic of her baby's foot and tail sticking out.

The Outback

We spent some time checking out the Outback near Charters Towers, an old gold mining town.  The area's landscape was a lot of flat ground, mostly dry river beds and BIG sky. We saw lots of ant hills that were several feet high, and we spotted  an emu!

‎This little guy was in a palm tree next to our campsite in the Outback.  He was very friendly and curious, and was super happy when given a piece of bread.

Great Barrier Reef

We spent an amazing 5 hours snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef earlier this week. The coral is so colorful in the crystal clear (and warm) water.  We even spotted a blue starfish!

‎While out snorkeling, a storm blew in, causing some bigger waves and stronger currents. Thankfully the current was in our favor and it was an easy swim back to the boat. 

Great Barrier Reef

We spent an amazing 5 hours snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef earlier this week. The coral is so colorful in the crystal clear (and warm) water.  We even spotted a blue starfish!

‎While out snorkeling, a storm blew in, causing some bigger waves and stronger currents. Thankfully the current was in our favor and it was an easy swim back to the boat. 

Wild Habitat

‎The Cassowary is a flightless birds native to the tropical forests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia. They have a wedge shaped horn on top of their heads. It is the third tallest and second heaviest living bird, smaller only than the ostrich. Not many of them left here in Australia.

Wild Habitat

‎More kangaroo pictures 

Wild Habitat

This is a wallaby and they are just adorable. Their heads quiver when you feed them. There were so many of them there and all just as cute. 

We have driven past several spots along the way where you see an open field and there will be hundreds of Wallabies just laying about. 

Wild Habitat

Here is a joey poking out of its mom's pouch. It looked like he was getting too big and he kept falling out!

Wild Habitat

We went to this place where they rescue wildlife and are committed to conservation. They have many different animals and birds. This kangaroo wanted to be fed.

 

Daintree Rainforest National Park

Mangrove trees send up these snorkel-like roots so they can breathe in the oxygen deficient mud.

Golden Orb Spider

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Daintree Rainforest National Park

‎Basket of life fern

Home to birds, snakes, frogs and insects. Sometimes other plants will germinate in the nutrient rich basket.

Daintree Rainforest National Park

Daintree Rainforest National Park

The Daintree is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent. Along the coastline north of the Daintree River, tropical rainforest grows right down to the edge of the sea.

We're spending some time in this beautiful area exploring it's many rivers, mangroves and beaches.

Home for the next 2 weeks

‎This is our home and mode of transportation that will take us beach hopping along the Gold Coast from Cairns all the way to Sydney. Our home is equipped with a full bathroom, kitchen, dining area, king sized bed and bbq! It truly is the best way to camp!!

Tropical Cairns

‎Although it's been raining almost non stop since we arrived in tropical Cairns, it's still incredibly beautiful. It's hot and humid, and the tropical plants fill the air with a delicious sweet scent.

Warning sign!

‎We've seen many warning signs for various animals during our travels in Australia ...but today along the beach we came across this sign, warning us about stingers as well as crocodiles!   Taking a refreshing dip in the ocean doesn't seem as appealing.

Cairns, Australia- Jellyfish nets

‎Jellyfish nets are placed in the swimming areas of many Cairns' beaches during the 'stinger season' which generally runs from November through to May/June. The most dangerous are the Chironex jellyfish, which can have up to 15 "ribbon-like" tentacles and are as tall as an average adult. Severe stings may cause victim to stop breathing or their heart to stop!

Galapagos Videos

We've finally had some good wifi (and stayed somewhere long enough) that has enabled us to upload some videos from the Galapagos portion of our trip. 

I know some of the great friends we met in Galapagos were anxious to see some of the videos we took. 

Check out www.youtube.com/user/mjkennedy007

Hopefully you enjoy them and let us know your comments!

Dinner at Claypots in St. Kilda

‎Tonight we had the most delicious and freshest fish in the seaside town of St. Kilda (a suburb of Melbourne). The silver Dory was done with lemongrass and coriander and was incredibly delicious. A great bottle of Sauvignon Blanc was the perfect accompaniment. See the fork for size comparison!

‎Superstition here says if you flip over the fish to get the meat on the other side,  a fisherman dies...so instead, you pull and gently lift the tail to remove the fish bones from the meat. Long live the fishermen!