Tag: turtle

Surf’s Up!

Where are the waves?
This morning, the Kaanapali Beach was the calmest beach ever on Hawaii, so we were not convinced if that’s a good day for surfing.

But let’s face it, we’re newbies and have booked a 2-hour beginner course, and it turned out to be a good choice. After having covered the basics (paddling, falling, standing up) on land we tried our luck within the waves. The instructors were really good. Reading the waves and timing is difficult but crucial, and our experts really did a good job to give us a quick push at the right time. We both were able to stand up and ride some waves before falling.

  • Shaka!
  • Yes!
  • Splash!
  • Yeah!

Message to Miss Sea Turtle: Gerry is really sorry for surfing over you, hope your shell didn’t get a nasty scratch.

Despite some scratches and minor injuries, we had fun and got some cool pictures. Shaka!

Atherton Tableland (2/2) – Rainforest

From our bed & breakfast we had to drive till Townsville. In between, we did:
• Walked around crater lake Lake Eacham and saw a turtle
• Did the waterfall drive (Millaa Millaa, Zillie and Ellinjaa)
• Wandered in and above(!) rain forest at Mamu Tropical Skywalk
• Did nothing at Mission Beach (“Oops, still 3 hours till Townsville?!?”)
• Watched a vehicle parade of old-timers and tuned cars in Townsville

Crater Lake Eacham
Millaa Millaa Fall

Farm Camping in OZ

An Eco tour boat brought us to several snorkeling sites with the main goal to catch sea turtles, which we did successfully, besides amazing views on the Ningaloo reef, fishes known from “Finding Nemo” and even a reef shark.

In the afternoon we left Exmouth in order to decrease the distance until Tom Price / Karijini National Park. We camped on a farm at Garilia Station and had a warm welcome by its hosts.

A real OZ experience!

We were just about to finish dinner when suddenly a big kangaroo passed by with long jumps to feed wet grass next to our camper van.

What’s up, mates?

Then we did some very kitschy sunset photos, followed by a few shots of the amazingly dark sky. Shooting stars? Check.
A real Oz experience – highly recommended!

Orion – at almost zero light pollution

Exmouth – Cape Range NP – Ningaloo Reef

Unfortunately, our planned “snorkel with mantas” tour from Denham has been cancelled, so nothing held us there and we drove till Exmouth. In the visitor center we booked a snorkel tour for Friday and then entered Cape Range National Park which also contains most of the famous Ningaloo Reef, which is mostly very near from the shore. So, we went snorkeling on our own and were greeted by colorful fishes and a sea turtle.

Turtle Power!

Later on we also spotted a stingray. From the beach we finally saw a shark in the water, so we decided to leave it for the day with snorkeling. Instead, we went to a bird hide and observed pelicans and other birds, before setting up our wilderness camp for the night at Ned’s Camp (directly at the beach within the park).