Wherein my sister Marsha, her hus­band Dave (both around 50) and their report­edly under­achiev­ing off­spring Bruce (age 14?) leave South­ern Calif­ornia (on Monday 16 June 2003) to knocking about Aus­tralia for a couple weeks, vaca­tioning for all they're worth. —Ric

Mira Loma CA, 4 July 2003

From: "Marsha Carter" <dzuki@pe.net>
To: "Barbi Hunter" <bandbsun@aol.com>
Cc: "Ric Carter" <ric@sonic.net>
Subject: Australia return
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2003 20:50:01 -0700

Siblings, g'day

We have returned from our Oz expedition, touching down at LAX Thursday, July 3. It was fabulous, except for the flights, 13-14 hours in those tiny cramped spaces.

Cairns was beautiful and tropical, as I expected. Our B&B room was a 2 floor, 2 bedroom apartment on the side of a cliff on the ocean. The kitchen-living room had sliding doors opening to the balcony, and the floor below was the bedrooms, both also with sliding glass doors opening to a balcony.

In Cairns we investigated the town, drove into the Daintree Rain forest and took a boat cruise on the Daintree River. We went on a small boat cruise to a cay along the Barrier Reef and snorkeled. We drove just west of Cairns into the Atherton Table lands, drier but still beautiful. Went to a mango winery and a banana liqueur distillery. Gum forests everywhere. Cairns has a fabulous botanic garden, with a cafe serving breakfast and lunch, which was really delicious. While walking in that neighborhood we said hello to a man, who invited us into his backyard to show it off. Friendly people. We exchanged names and addresses.

Flew to Brisbane, which was cooler. This is winter Down Under. Downtown is crowded, like all old big cities. We find it easier to walk around the Central Business Districts, when in cities like this. Maps are helpful, but when you are driving on the right side of the car, on the left side of the road, with one-way streets, walking is easier.

While in Brisbane we went north a ways, to the Australia Zoo, home of the Crocodile Hunter. The zoo was very nice, but pales in comparison to San Diego Zoo. We petted kangaroos and koalas.

We also toured 2 old homes in Brisbane, received great tours from the guides. While at Newstead House, the guide talked about how grateful Australia is to the US for getting into WWII, that she was 19 in 1939 and the Japanese would have definitely taken Australia without our help. There is a memorial to the US on the grounds. She was also very out spoken regarding Sept 11, and the recent Iraq "war", that we did what needed to be done. We spoke with other people, who were very out spoken and free with their opinions on terrorism, and immigration in Australia.

Brisbane also has an excellent botanic garden, Mt Coot-Ha, and planetarium where we saw the re-creation of the June night sky in the southern hemisphere.

Our B&B here was in an old Victorian house, near the CBD. The owners had lived in Texas, where he worked for Compaq, before being laid off. They recently returned to Brisbane, where they purchased the B&B, and he was rehired by HP. It was interesting to talk to people who have lived in both USA and Australia.

Drove south in pouring rain to Coffs Harbour, to visit and stay with Martin, Dave's internet flying friend. I made Dave sight see with me for 2 hours each morning, then he and Bruce spent the rest of the time at the computer shop, flying and driving on the computers. Bruce came back to the house each night, where he had a bedroom with a mattress on the floor and a computer. Dave and Martin got 4 hours of sleep each night, spending the rest of the time playing.

There is a real nice reserve, Muttenbird Reserve, right at the harbour. A steep climb to the top of the hill, and the views of the harbour and the ocean are fantastic. This is a nesting area for muttenbirds.

Stopped in Port Macquarie to see Roto Homestead, an old house, and the koala hospital. Koalas get hit by cars, burned in fires, suffer from infections. These volunteers care for the injured, tag and micro chip them to keep track. Some of the koalas have been repeat visitors, being hit by cars numerous times. Their stories are very sad.

Next night was spent in Lemon Tree Passage, on the Tiligerry Peninsula, on Nelson Bay. It was beautiful and quiet. The B&B backed up to the koala preserve, so just a few steps and there was the path to the beach. Almost the whole coast along this peninsula is koala reserve, so it was very peaceful. The breakfast was very good, almost as good as Catherine House in Brisbane. The owners had traveled to California - LA, San Diego and San Francisco - they just love California.

The next morning we went to the Royal Australian Air Force base at Williamtown, just down the road from Lemon Tree Passage. The air museum, FighterWorld, had some good displays, plus we got to see F-18's take off and land. Also spoke with an older woman who went on about the high prices of real estate and that they have to help their children purchase property.

Then farther south, to Sydney, 2 hours away

The highway turns into city streets, so it gets crowded and busy. We took the tunnel to cross the river, not the bridge. Found or B&B after a few tries, then parked the car and walked, since we were close enough to the CBD to walk. Dave and Bruce did the Harbour Bridge Climb, I took the steps up the Pylon Tower instead. The tower is not as high. They loved the climb, even though it was raining. While in Sydney we also took a boat cruise of the harbour, and bus ride around town. The opera house is really impressive, and since it was raining the tours were all booked. We went to the aquarium, which was quite good.

Prices seemed expensive, with the 10% tax already included. Now that we are home and I see what the amounts are in US dollars, the prices were really cheap. The exchange rate was one AU dollar to US $.67. I should have spent more!!!!!!

Every meal that we had was good, the wine is very good, the people very friendly. There were a lot of similarities with the US, like seeing McDonalds and KFC and other known names, but a lot of differences, also. We did not see and experience all that I wanted to, and our plan is to return, maybe in 2 years. By then Martin's new house will be completed and we can have a guest wing to ourselves!!!

Your loving sister

Marsha

For those readers who don't know the Millards, be aware that my lovely and intelligent (but skinny) sister Marsha has long been a title officer and is one of the few people working in the field of Realty that I don't want to slaughter. Her admirable husband Dave is a hard-working commercial printer whose off-hours are spent in aerial combat via the InterNet and in driving off-road vehicles across the landscape. Their son Bruce... well, I really don't know WHAT he's up to these days. How about an update? —Ric