In Australia, Adventure, Diving & Snorkeling, Oceania On  10/04/2012 

One of my reasons to come to Australia was to dive in the Great Barrier Reef, so I got an airplane to Cairns on northern Queensland coast. The city, at this time of the year, reminded me Brazil (Salvador). It is hot and humid, and I loved. It was the rain season, so there is a bit of rain almost every day and, at the same time, there is bright sunlight everyday too, like tropical Brazil.

Cairns seemed a calm tourist town but with a lot of activities: diving, rafting, ballooning, national parks, islands, crocodile watch, skytravel… There were so many options it was hard to choose one. First I wanted to get a sense of the place, see the town, so I waked a lot around the port, the marina, the esplanade. Then, I rented a bicycle (actually, I borrowed from Stephen’s friend on Gilligan’s) and went on a bike trip around town. It was a bit rainy but good to get a broader view of the city.

After that, I spent some time relaxing on the city Esplanade Lagoon...

In Australia, Oceania On  20/03/2012  One comment

Uluru is a place in Australia I always wanted to visit. It is my second reason to visit the country, right after the Great Barrier Reef. At the same time, this place wins in fascination, even before I learnt scuba dive, this huge rock fascinated me, when I saw in photos and movies. Deserts in general fascinates me, I believe what attracts me it is the immensity, like the sea, they are a dry version o the sea, it makes us feel small, to respect the nature. Movies as Rabbit-Proof Fence, A Cry in the Dark, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, showed me the Australian Outback, this enigmatic desert.

On my arrival at Yulara I got I little disappointed because there was no village, it was only a resort, and I don’t like big resorts, they are the same everywhere, even airports can have more personality. However, the 4 days there seduced me and I changed my mind.  On my first day I met Star and he invited me to see Allison for a talk on aboriginal’s culture (See Star post on...

In Australia On  20/03/2012  No comments

After the first initial days of staying in Ayers Rock Resort, I was feeling rather conflicted as although my photography was reaching new heights in creativity and I felt a huge connection to the raw power of nature which was providing new learnings and insight, I felt something was missing out of my vision quest as I had seen from before the start of the trip that I was to connect with the Aboriginal tribes around Uluru and learn from their ancient and enduring wisdom and culture.

Even the friendly staff at the Resort reception weren’t able to help in this as the local company with Aboriginal led tours had just been recently taken over by another company and therefore was not operating for another month. 
And every time I was in the park no matter how much I saw myself meeting Aboriginals I never meet one.

Fortunately I was informed that a local aboriginal Alison Hunt, held Bush Tucker Tours every 2nd day near the town square in Ayers Rock Resort...

In Australia, Oceania On  28/02/2012  No comments

In Australia, Oceania On  27/02/2012  No comments

The city is known for its street art. [soon I will post a photo gallery only on graffiti in Melbourne]

In Australia, Oceania On  26/02/2012  One comment

In Australia, Oceania On  25/02/2012  No comments

In + More..., Errante and tour guides On  24/02/2012  No comments

In + More..., Food & Drinks On  24/02/2012  No comments

Not really an “exotic food” but it was my first brown rice sushi. I loved it.

In Australia, Oceania On  23/02/2012  No comments

The landscape from Chandon Australia, the last winery we visited.