Comments from Cairns

Lori and I are not auditioning for the Australian Blue Man Group ensemble nor a Fruit of the Loom commercial. We are wearing stinger suits, ensuring our safety against some of the nastier creatures that float about these parts. Various jellyfish and other unsavoury denizens

of the shallow can really ruin a nice day by inflicting painful, burning injury or possibly death. A thin layer of lycra is all that separates us from a slow, excruciating demise, too horrible to imagine. Oh no, I'm channeling Steve Irwin.

Not exactly an earth shattering revelation here, folks, but Australia, being so isolated geographically, has evolved in a way that is different in a different way. Much is unique, beautiful, deadly, delicious and awe-inspiring. 

Animals,

Plants,

Fish,

weather. All have magnificence; all are deadly. Up here in Cairns, we just caught the edge of a cyclone (meteorology lesson for some: cyclones = hurricanes; they just spin in the opposite direction). So, the first full day we spent here, there was  a headline in the newspaper regarding TC Owen. I was not sure if he was a politician, football, rugby, or cricket player, or a leading Australian author. So I asked. Turns out that the name referred to Tropical Cyclone Owen, They name them here like we do with Katrinas. According to The Cairns Times "Was boomeranging across the Bay of Carpantaria towards Cairns."

Speaking of trying to kill you, I learned a new word here on my first day. Barramundi. Lunching at the Grand Hotel, Lori had a Royal Burger, I ordered a Barramundi Burger, anxious to sample a new cuisine. Turns out that barramundi is related to the barracuda. So before my regular readers go off on a tizzy, I had benedryl in my system within 2 minutes of ingestion and an epi-pen at the ready. 

So yes, fish can kill you by having you step on a spine of theirs

Lionfish

or bitten and injected with lethal venom

Rockfish

or the old fashioned way

In my case it was camouflage that nearly got me - a fish disguised as a hamburger.

Another strange phenomena pertains to trees, and what grows on them.

Australian Fox Bats

Fox Bat Close-Up

Eventually, they turn into chrysalises and in a few short weeks evolve into sausages, ripe for picking and eating.

Flowers and trees and rainforests cover much of the coastal regions. Water is not a problem here as it is in other regions.The snorkeling has been wonderful; even Madame has been getting up close and personal with some of the liquid life. So much more to tell, but let's save that for another day.

L & B