Australia & Papua New Guinea 2002

Recap at bottom of page

Outback

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wpe74.jpg (28156 bytes) wpe76.jpg (25910 bytes) Home away from home in the bush, running water for hot showers, all the luxuries of home  wpe6A.jpg (26778 bytes) Stuck and had to be winched out Caught in the monsoons we drove across this river the day before
colored sands 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

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SUPER SPORT - GREAT BARRIER REEF

             
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SYDNEY

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AUSTRALIA & PAPUA NEW GUINEA 
Wow, what a trip! 
After a long flight to Australia (30 hours or so), we finally arrived in Cairns. Spent a delightful day relaxing until being picked upby the Adventure Company for a 4 day, 4 wheel drive trip to the outback and rain forest. Spent one night in a bush camp(tents, outdoor showers and toilets), and had a little rain overnight (actually was the beginning of Monsoon weather). Theoutfitter decided we needed to move out immediately, and so we did; getting winched up one muddy, slippery hill and crossing rivers by small boat because they had flooded roads & bridges overnight. So it was time for a beer and plan B. After being ferried across the river in a small boat and taken to a town called Laura, we spent the next 4 hours exploring - a bar with sleeping rooms, post office and library with an internet connection. Since we couldn't get the vehicle across the river, we had to wait for the adventure company to send another 4wd vehicle. Then on to Mungumby Lodge, where the roads getting there
were barely 2-track, but wow, what a beautiful place to stay in the rain forest. Spent a couple days there touring around, seeing where Captain Cook and the Endeavor landed, and learning lots of history. Quite the adventure. 

Next was our trip to PNG aboard the Paradise Sport. This was the most luxurious live-a- board we have ever been on. Great crew, great food and a great time. Now for the diving - Milne Bay was extremely diverse. We had sheer wall diving where the corals looked as though an artist had been painting with pastel colors. I'm not sure that I have seen colors like this anywhere else. Then we went MUCK diving, like the bottom like Clark Lake only we were in the ocean! But then we started to see the  unusual - harlequin pipe fish, frog fish, many different lion fish and scorpion fish, many different eels, and stuff I have never seen before. I would make an 85 minute dive, climb back on the boat, change camera batteries, and go back in the water. Everyone was seeing something different. We even got to see nautilus on one dive. We made a few excursions to the islands where we found the natives to be quite friendly. We visited a school and they were very happy to receive the school supplies we brought along with us. Then back to Australia to visit Sydney. We made the famous bridgewalk over Sydney Harbor, which was a breathtaking experience. Sydney is a beautiful city. We spent lots of time walking the harbor area, seeing the opera house and many quaint places to eat and have a bit of their local brew - and the Aussies do like their beer! PNG is a trip I would definitely do again - there was so much to see and not enough time.