Ayers Rock 1/26

So today started off at 0450 in the morning…we hopped a tour bus and drove up to Uluru or otherwise known as Ayers Rock to watch the sunrise. The rock changes colors through out the day as the sun sets and rises. We had the opportunity to see both. Only about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. After watching the sunset on Uluru our journey took us to the sacred Kata Tjuta or otherwise known as the Olgas.

The flies are in full force and the sun continues to shine. By this time the temp is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Water intake at this point = 2 liters per person.

In the Aboriginal culture the Olgas are a sacred ground for men. This is where men hold "meetings" and share stories. The culture here is expressed in oral tradition. Creation stories or what is known as "dreamtime" are passed on to the "right people" aka fellow male aboriginal people. Women is this culture wouldn't dream of hiking the enormous rock domes of the Olgas. So being the adventurous women we are we went anyway! By the time the hike was over the temp is now 114 degrees Fahrenheit! Water intake= 3.5 liters per person. We took a break from the hiking and sight seeing in our air-conditioned room. We we got back to our rooms we were greeted by what we now know as a wasp. This wasp wasn't any old Alaskan wasp! Its was the size of our dragon flies! Luke decided to be the brave one of the bunch and get the wasp out of the room. How will he do this? With a can of bug spray! Oh yes! And how did the wasp react to the bug spray….? Lets just say that Luke ran around the room screaming and yelling with his eyes closed all the while desperately spraying bug spray. In the end one wasp down! Later in the day we headed back the Uluru to walk the base of the rock. Our tour guide had been with the company for many years so he had a lot of information to share with us. We visited water holes, saw aboriginal cave paintings and visited the local aboriginal culture center. This took several hours and by the time we had completed our walk it was time for the sun to set. We enjoyed local wine and snacks as we watch the sun go down. It wasn't long before the entire rock was covered in shadow. Today is also Australian day! What better way to celebrate Aussie day than with a BBQ. We joined people from all over the world and ate local foods. We had kangaroo and emu along with all the beer and wine you can drink… :). After dessert, the chef turned off all the lanterns and lights for some star gazing. He pointed out 2 galaxies, the southern cross, Venus, and all the constellations. In the southern hemisphere all the constellations are upside down. The star gazing was interrupted by a German barking spider. This Older German man and his wife broke away from the group and walked toward the bus which was about 50 yards away. Out of nowhere came this series of trumpet blasts from German man. Lets just say we did our very best not to break out if laughter. I guess only Americans find farting funny because everyone else pretended like nothing happened. We saw a few more stars and headed back to the hotel. Off to Alice Springs in the morning.

Ayers Rock 1/25

Today we arrived in Ayers Rock. Hot! 115 degrees Fahrenheit. It feels like we all died and went to hell! Scorching sun and red sand.
We didn't do much today except for drink water and look around at the local tourist shops for a hat.

Jan 24 Cairns

Another beautiful day in Cairns. Today we boarded a fast catamaran to the Green Island for a snorkeling tour. The boat ride took 50 minutes each way the waters were calm. Thank goodness nobody got sick. The Green Island was covered in rainforest and white sandy beaches. The Great Barrier Reef could be seen from the dock. We got directions to the dive shop and then headed off to collect our snorkel gear. Its stinger season now so stinger suits (head to toe Lycra suits) were highly recommended. Australian waters are home to the box jellyfish, one of the most deadliest jellyfish in the world.
With snorkeling gear and stinger suits we headed to the ocean. Due to the Cyclone that recently formed off the coast of Cairns visibility was bad this morning. Only one meter (3.28 ft) of visibility, so no cool photos of fish to share, but check out these stinger suits. Everyone looked pretty good in the stinger suits, but Luke took it to a new level. He had a team of Japanese tourists following him around taking pictures of him. I guess they don't make men like that in Japan. After a hour or so of impressing the Asian tourist, and swimming around in murky water we difficultly pulled off the suits and toured the island. The island was a tourist attraction since the early 1900s and is also home to the largest captive salt water crocodile. We did not get to view croc due to time constraints. Another hour or so of walking around and eating ice-cream until we boarded our fast catamaran and headed back to Cairns. We all we tired from fighting off Luke's Asian harem so we slept the majority of the boat trip back. Upon arriving in Cairns we went to the supermarket (Woolworth's) and picked up some meat to BBQ at the hotel pool grill. We bought 1kg of BBQ chicken wings, 3 different flavors of chicken kabobs, and 4 pre-seasoned steaks. After figuring out how to start the 2 grills, Luke showed those Ossies how to grill USA style. Eating to the point of being uncomfortable, we packed up the leftovers and called it an early night. Off to Ayers rock in the morning……..

Cairns 1/23

So the weather forecast called for rain, but much like Alaska, the meteorologist was incorrect. No rain just blue skies and sunshine, all day.... So I hear it is -6 back home. So anyway it was beautiful. We spent the day walking around downtown Cairns. We stopped at the local lagoon and took a swim. Because of the crocs and "stingers" (jellyfish) most of the beaches in Queensland state are closed to swimming. The people improvise by putting up nets in the ocean or pumping saltwater into a man made area called a lagoon. Basically it is a giant saltwater swimming pool at the beach. The lagoon was packed with locals and tourist alike all enjoying a hot day in the sun.

After the swim we were on a mission to cuddle a kola. We went to the Cairns Casino/zoo. Atop the casino was a rainforest dome. We payed a fee, and got to take a picture holding the fuzzy little guys. Too bad they are endangered because they would be a sick pet. The handler told us that Cairns is the only place in Australia where you can hold a kola.

That evening we decided to try a local eatery called Dundee's. It was located on the boardwalk in the marina. The marina was home to 100 of sailboats and tour ships. Dundee's on the other hand was home to a traditional Australian meal. Dundee's featured beef, chicken, pasta, kangaroo, emu, crocodile and fresh seafood. Wanting to try something new and different we opted for some Australian wine and a sampler platter of kangaroo, fish, croc, emu, and buffalo as our appetizer. Just so you know kangaroo taste like beef, croc and emu taste like chicken. Not bad, but quite spendy.

Cape Trib back to Cairns 1/22

One of our Jungle Surfing guides recommended a horse back riding tour. A couple years ago, she worked for the horse tours and said it was one of the most entertaining job she has ever held. The only downside was the owner, a "rough around the edges" type of guy. Not concerned about the owner, we signed up for the tour. The pick up was at 8:30 am. We were greeted by a man dressed in a t-shirt cut off and dirty jeans. He had tattooed arms and a fowl mouth. Scott Rock? No this was the owner….bro!

We took a quick ride through some off road trails , crossed a creek, and arrived at his ranch. Each of us were assigned a horse. Phillip: Big Chief, Casta: Elton, Calesta: Midnight, and Luke: Topaz. All of the horses were male, except for Luke's. His horse had an attitude which Luke quickly adjusted by making it walk through every puddle on the trail. Phillips was stubborn and lazy and probably a few years away from collecting retirement. Using bastard and f*@! as every other word, the owner gave us some helpful riding tips. He showed us how to get on a horse, make it go, turn, and stop. He stressed the importance of the ride order, Elton, Midnight, Big Chief, and Topaz. We were ready to ride. The owner and another guide lead us through rainforest trails, across open fields, and creeks…..well all of us made it across the creeks except for Phillip and Big Chief. Remember we said he was stubborn. We approached a rather large river crossing, Everyone crossed the river with no problem except Big Chief and Topaz were missing in action. The owner being the the owner yelled " Phillip mate! kick the bastard, kick him like a F&*$ing futbol." All we could we hear was Luke snickering and Phillip saying " I'm kicking him he wont move." Using a few more choice words from his vocabulary the owner road across the river and pulled Big Chief to the adjacent bank. Topaz obeyed her master (Luke) and crossed the river. It turns out Big Chief doesn't like being kicked no matter how hard. He did however respond to a quick slap of the reins. After the river crossing we brought the horses to a fast gallop. Halfway through the gallop we found out how important riding order really was. Turns out Elton didn't like Thor(owners horse) being next to him in the gallop so the two horses began racing each other. Casta oblivious to what was happening held on while the owner was yelling from his horse " Slow down you bastard." An hour later, we arrived back at the ranch drench from the rain. Here we enjoyed a cup of coffee, billy tea, and crackers with the owner, guide, and stable hand. Not long after tea we headed back to the hostel. Later that afternoon we piled in the car and headed back down the road to Cairns.

We are not surprised to find wet weather awaiting us in Cairns. Winds and sporadic rainstorms kept us in for the night.

Cape Trib 1/21

G'day Mate! We start the morning off early in quest of a well known water hole. With our "swimmers" on we pile in the car and head down the road until we reach a point where 4WD vehicles are recommended. Against our better judgement and the Toyota Corolla's traction control in the off position, we trek on until a river keeps us from going further. We parked the car on the side of the road and followed a couple of French men through the rainforest to the water hole. The rainforest was soggy and wet from the night before. The muddy trails made it hard to walk, so Luke took off the flip flops and felt the rainforest and all its glory between his toes! The rest of us understood the meaning of "hike to the water hole" and wore closed toed shoes.

When were arrived we were surprised to find sandy banks and fresh water fish swimming about the water. Luke took a dip, while Casta and Calesta opted to go in up to their knees. Phillip watched from the bank. Being the rainforest, it started pouring down rain so we decided to head back to the car. Just before driving away, we noticed a sign explicitly stating no swimming, crocodile up river. The hostess at the hostel recommended the swimming hole to us. I don't think she likes outsiders, for she set us up to be crocodile bait! She wasn't very kind. When inquiring about the different fresh water swimming holes, she only told us about the one we went to. She refused to give us directions to the other swimming hole in the area; Blue Hole. She gave a pretty good reason why we were forbidden to go there. It was for locals only, female locals to be exact. According to the hostess, the Aboriginal people put a hex on the water. If a male should enter the swimming hole he would "loose his most favorite part"….yikes! Luke said he had quite a bit to loose, so he wasn't worried.

Around 3:30 in the afternoon, we decided to sign up for a Jungle Surfing Tour of the Daintree Rainforest. Jungle surfing is a way to experience the beauty of the rainforest above the tree tops using a zip line from tree platforms, ranging from 40 feet to 70 feet above the rainforest floor.

We boarded a 4WD courtesy transfer to the Jungle Tree house (start of the tour), where we were fitted with harnesses and helmets. Each helmet was decorated with a name. This name on your helmet was your nickname through out the entire tour. Casta: Bambi, Calesta: Hannah Montana, Phillip: Jaws, and Luke: Rambo. No Luke did not pick out his helmet or slip the tour guide a few dollars under the table. We had two tour guides, Luke nicknamed one the Black Widow. We think she was into Luke for his chest fro and french smells. She told us a story about how men are a dime a dozen in Cape Tribulation. If she were ever to go night swimming, she would take a man with her. That way if a croc were to strike…. he would be the first to go. Both guides turned out to be pretty cool. Very informative and patient with all our questions.

Once our canopy surfing tour ended we headed to PK Village for some dinner and a few beers. Due to some highly intoxicated, overly friendly, toothless, Aboriginal brothers, we called it an early night.

Cairnes to Cape Tribulation 1/20

Today we left the city of Sydney at 4AM. Upon leaving the front entrance of our hostel we were greeted by the most loveliest of smells and a cab driver with an open personality. Luke being Luke, asked the cab driver what the smell was and the cabbie quickly replied "French Panties" Awesome!!!! He also shared with us some history on the immigration in Australia, using some choice words for people other the Aussies! He was a Rugby player and enjoyed working his 8 hour day and after work catching a football game and warming a bar stool at a local pub. We arrived at the airport, educated on a few words from the wise, and boarded a plane for Cairns. Approximately 3 hours later we arrived and quickly found the nearest car rental facility.

Luke and Phillip worked their magic and what felt like an eternity of waiting, we purchased a rental car. The boys promptly stated the girls were NOT allowed to drive. Whats worst then a female driver? Two female drivers…
Our next destination was a 2.5 hour drive to Cape Tribulation (Thank You Lisa Chickos)

Just so you know, they drive on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the vehicle. Luke was our driver. We lost confidence in him when he entered the vehicle on the passenger side! Actually he did very well, we only needed to remind him he was driving on the wrong side of the road a handful of times.

Welcome to Cape Tribulation! Our 2.5 hour car ride turned into a little over 3.5 hours. We stopped quite a bit for photo opportunities and to check out the sights along the way. Our favorite pull over moment was a ice cream shop in the middle of the rainforest. It was owned an operated by an older couple. They had to be older then the rainforest around them. The wife made the ice-cream from scratch and the husband sold it . It came at a hefty price, but was well worth it. Phillip chose a more traditional flavor; Hazelnut, while Luke opted for Mango/Coconut, Casta purchased dragon fruit and Calesta, Gojo Berry and Rainforest Honey. If there is ice-cream, we will find it!


We checked into our hostel, the Ferntree Lodge. It is in the heart of the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world. 90-120 million years old; the Amazon is only 40 million years old., but larger in size. The rooms are nice but you can't escape the bugs. Check the sheets and sleep with a light on. The bugs come out at night! There is a rather large spider that inhabits our shower….none of us have showered in the last day or two. To our defense, you just get sweaty in the humidity anyway. We will blame the stench on the french, not the lack of hygiene!

So we're hungry and its 4PM. Nothing in this town opens for dinner until 6 PM. We found this out by driving from place to place. During our quest for food we were able to experience 2 amazing things. First we saw a Cassowary! The most deadliest bird in Australia! We ran from the car to the restaurant and was later told, running is a bad idea. Its mating season, and when a female wants to mate, the male goes for a run. Once she catches up to him….It's go time. The funny thing is after the chicks are born the female takes off and leaves the male to take care of the chicks. The second thing we experienced was a flash rainstorm. It was amazing, almost surreal. We were walking to a beach side restaurant and the rain started pouring down. By the time we made it to the restaurant an we were drenched. No dinner service for another 1.5 hours, so we shared a pitcher of beer (called a jug in Australia) until the rain slowed down about a half hour later. We decided to head to another hostel for dinner, PK Village but we still had 1 hour to go till dinner. Drink till 6? Cheers Mate! 3 "jugs" later PK Village is open for dinner. It is curry night tonight, so we decided to try it out. Excellent, one of the best curry dishes any of us have ever had. The bartender at PK Village keeps the "jugs" coming through out the evening. As the bartenders best customer of the night, he offered us a free shot of a liquor called "Liquor 43". It was a vanilla bean and honey liquor with a consistency of syrup. Dangerously good. Who knows, you might get to try some too….duty free liquor in some places. After the shot to top off the night, its time for bed…check the sheets….check the sheets……no bugs……good night!

Sydney 1/19

After our personal tour guide; The Kruetz Crew took us through LA, we boarded a plane for Sydney Australia. 14 hours and 7,500 miles later we arrived to the "Land Down Under"!

We promptly caught a shuttle to our lovely hostel (Bounce). A very modern and chic place. and started our day scoping out maps for cool places and things to see. We decided to hop a light rail and head down town to see Darling Harbor and the Wild Life Center. While downtown we quickly came to the realization that "waiting in line" in Alaska is an understatement and beer is far to expensive…..so we waited and drank anyway!

The Wild Life Center was filled with Australian school children on summer break (wooohoooo!), spiders, beetles, butterfly, reptile, and bird exhibits. The center also featured koalas, nocturnal animals, kangaroos, crocodiles, and rodents. We learned about the worlds deadliest creatures; of which almost all of them belong to the beautiful country of Australia! The most interesting "deadliest animal" was the Cassowary. A flightless bird smaller then an ostrich but as deadly as a raptor! The Cassowary is the king of rainforest birds. It has huge clawed feet, a huge beak, and a crest atop its head, almost like skull helmet. It defends itself by jumping in the air and attacking its prey with its feet. Instinctualy it goes for the abdomen and tears into its victims! God I hope we don't cross paths. The locals here don't offer much advise on how to handle a Cassowary ….they only said if you run into one i hope you survive!


After the city we enjoyed some more beers at the "Winking Lizard Bar"; could this name be the Australian version of the one eyed snake? The hostel had a roof top look out of the city. Beautiful and surprisingly peaceful. Hard to believe when the city of Sydney has 6 million people.

Getting there

We departed from Anchorage Sunday night, beginning our long travel to Australia. We arrived in LAX the following morning with the Lukes friends , the Kreutz crew, waiting to take us on a personal tour of LA. We started our tour off looking for a parking spot in Venice Beach. The day climaxed early with a guy riding a shopping cart, pants around his knees (no undies may I mind u!), stringed cans dragging behind, yelling yahooooo. After Venice beach, we did some shopping in Beverly Hills, saw a few million dollar cars and saw the hotel pretty women was filmed at. After grabbing a burger at in-n-out (Thanks joe) our tour took us to the hills Bel air. what better to do in Bel air than stock celebrities houses! We drove by the Beverly hillbillies mansion, Nickolas cages house, a 40 foot elevated tennis court with a bridge, and some sweet entrance gates. On the way back to the airport we stopped to watch the sunset at Santa Monica pier. After arriving at LAX and saying our goodbyes to the Kreutz crew, we began our 14 hour flight to Sydney Australia.