The Longest Day

The alarm went off at 3:30am this morning. We were reasonably packed last night but there's always the last second things found under the bed or a pile of brochures. The kids woke up reasonably well, which was a blessing. We were on the road by 4:30am heading to the Cairns airport, watching our first sunrise as we waited to find out if we would all get on the flight.

Once again we were blessed with all of us getting on the same plane. This particular trip had us a bit strewn throughout the plane but were glad to be on together. I was able to trade my seat for one next to Christa. Z had a middle seat next to some professional skier and B had a middle seat next to a guy who looked like Einstein!

The flight arrived in Sydney on time around 9:00am, giving us a fair amount of sit time before our leg to LAX was scheduled to depart at 1:25pm. Though our flight to the States had 45 seats available, they weren’t able to release any to Sara and the kids due to some weight restrictions on the flight. Turns out airlines can make more money on cargo than non-revvers so we had to wait out the decision until 12:30pm.

Rather than wait it out at the airport, we decided to do the ridiculous…. We hopped on the train to downtown Sydney to see the Harbor Bridge and Opera House. It was only a 20 minute ride to the Circular Quay stop. After a 5-10 minute walk along the wharf area (which was swarming with people of all ages and nationalities), we had beautiful views of both the bridge and the opera house. We applied Kaufman Picture Torture to the kids, who had a small idea of how cool the experience was but were a bit groggy from the already taxing day. All in all it was a great experience and we’re glad we took the sidetrip.

At 12:30pm they still weren’t ready to give Sara and the kids seats. Around 12:45 or so we heard the beautiful sound of boarding passes being printed! Yes! On together again, and all sitting together (3 in row 61, 2 right behind in row 62).

The 13 hours over the Pacific are a bit of a blur. The entertainment consoles weren’t as advanced as our trip to Australia but that didn’t keep us from watching our fill of movies. The kids enjoyed Over the Hedge (a couple of times). Christa and Zachary probably got 3-4 hours of sleep, with Barrett getting a little less. The Qantas food and service were again outstanding compared to U.S.-based carriers. Truthfully, bread and water would have been enough for us to get on together, so everything was frosting beyond that.

Perhaps the most surreal experience was seeing the sunrise and sunset for Thursday, October 5 twice! Thanks to the International Date Line, this was undoubtedly the longest day we have lived thus far!

We arrived in Los Angeles around 9:45am. Praise be to God, we got the absolute last seats on the flight to Chicago, with Sara covering on the jumpseat (not a pleasant way to end a day of 20+ hours of flying but once again we were glad to be together). The kids were cashed out nearly the entire trip to Chicago, finally giving in to the effects of flying halfway around the world in a day.

We arrived home around 8:30pm and were blessed with a dinner and some groceries by our friends and neighbors the Carollo’s. Some of the Svendsen's dropped by as well. We are so thankful for the many blessings and things learned during this trip. And most decidedly, we are thankful to be home.

What a wild and wonderful Fall Adventure!

On the Reef!

The primary reason for choosing Cairns as the last stop on the vacation comes down to this: the Great Barrier Reef. Today was our day to actually experience it.

After researching a number of different boat services, we decided to go with a company called Sunlovers. They have a really big boat which allows us to make the 40 km trip relatively quickly while handling the open seas with a little less rumble. Also, they have a large pontoon platform out on the reef that the boat docks to so there’s a lot of room and options for us once out on the reef.

We were definitely pleased with Sunlovers! Though the high winds continued again today keeping the passengers scrambling for the railings (and the crew handing out personal disposable bags), a dose of Dramamine and a keen eye on the horizon kept the Kaufman Crew from turning green!

The pontoon was as large as we had hoped for, giving plenty of room to spread our stuff out. As part of Barrett’s 12th birthday, we gave him an introductory scuba dive, on which I joined him as well. While Sara, Zachary, and Christa went to get their snorkel gear, Barrett and I got geared up with wet suits, weight belts, and the rest of the scuba gear.

It took a couple minutes for Zachary and Christa to warm up, so to speak, to the relatively cold water on the reef, but once they started seeing the enormous numbers of exotic looking fish, they were hooked!

The crew gave Barrett and me about a 20-30 minute overview of basic theory about water pressure, important hand signals, and some key diving skills before we actually headed into the water to practice. Barrett was engaged and confident the entire time. The three skills they taught included:

• Clearing water from our mask while underwater
• Taking the mouthpiece out of our mouth, then “clearing it” when putting it back in
• Throwing the mouthpiece over our shoulder (as if it got knocked out by a passing turtle and we couldn’t see where it went), retrieving it, then clearing it while putting it back in.

There was lady in her mid-50’s or so who joined us in the introductory dive. She was struggling to get through the skills, which delayed our departure from the practice pool. When we finally began descending down to the reef floor, she decided to back out. Though Barrett and I didn’t mind waiting for her (too much), we did pass a YAHOO! glance to each other was we knew this would get things going.

And going they did! It’s impossible to describe what we saw as our instructor James took us around Moore reef. The vibrant colors and unique shapes of the coral and fish were simply stunning. We were able to run our fingers through some soft coral and rub inside the “mouth” of giant clams and feel them start to close down on us. We were able to swim alongside and even touch some really big fish. We saw Nemo-looking clown fish hiding in their anemones. It was 30 minutes of pure awe that we will never forget.

We all downed some of the very good buffet lunch then did a lot of snorkeling together. The clear water provided a great view of the rich diversity of sea life without having to don the scuba gear. There was a semi-submersible ship that the kids enjoyed riding in that gave a unique view of the reef.

Near the end of the day they had a crew member give a short marine presentation in the underwater theater (think a mini-theater with windows looking out to the underwater life next to it). Then they did a fish feeding from above the theater which provided a remarkable feeding frenzy in the windows in front of us.

We could have easily enjoyed another hour on the reef but all good things must come to an end. The trip back has some rocky moments on the open seas but generally speaking it was more calm. Christa and Zachary slept through part of the trip. This was putting a big exclamation point on our time in Australia.

Once back in Cairns we went to dinner at the Red Ochre Grill, known for it’s modern Australian menu. Before the night was done we had dined on kangaroo, emu, and crocodile. This was truly a memorable last day in Australia!

Snorkeling on Green Island

Today was Day 1 of two planned days with masks on our faces and snorkels in our mouths. This first day was a to an island in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park called Green Island. Technically we weren't snorkeling on the reef itself but it was a good opportunity to gauge how the kids were going to do when we hit the outer reef tomorrow.

We had a relatively late departure time of 10:30am so we were able to sleep in (and the kids needed it!). It took a now famous rap song from daddy about "Uncle Toby is my homie" to get the kids moving. The Uncle Toby reference is to my cereal of choice, which, thanks to the high fiber content has brought me much grief. I think I'll start every morning for the rest of the trip with that little ditty!

The winds have been unseasonably high this last week so we were warned ahead of time that it could be a bouncy trip out to the island. We downed some Dramamine ahead of time and picked a strategic location on the boat (so we could see the horizon and not be splashed). Everyone weathered the 50 minutes on the high seas gloriously.

Green Island had many amenities to make it an easy destination once we got there. There were reasonably good restrooms (Aussies prefer the word toilets), showers, beach to hang out on when we weren't in the mood to snorkel, and a pool to swim around in if desired.

We hit the island just before low tide so the water level seemed woefully more shallow than expected. And there were enough people in the area that I'm sure we must have scared the gills off of any living creature that happened by. At one point as Christa and I were snorkeling she gave out one of the quotes of the day after not seeing any aquatic life for about 5 minutes: "Daddy, it's empty!" Thankfully the place wasn't empty and we were able to come across some beautiful fish, including some big parrot fishes.

Christa snorkeled like a champ. B and Z had some leaking mask issues that nagged at their enjoyment of the day. When we boarded our 2:30pm boat back to Cairns, we were hungry for more snorkeling, which is a perfect set-up for tomorrow.

Once back in Cairns the boys in particular were ravenous. Sara got a restaurant recommendation from a local retail salesperson: P.J. Thai. Our short walk got us there long before their dinner service officially began but they graciously served us. Everyone loved the meal of Stir Fried Prawns with Ginger, Pad Thai, and a panang curry with chicken dish. Each of the offerings were "I want to lick my plate" sort of good, and enjoyed by all.

We hung out at the Cairns Esplanade afterwards. Think nicely sized city park with a giant free swimming pool with trucked in sand beaches. They're really working on their downtown area and I can only say we all had a blast. The boys even made a friend in a local boy named Michael.

A trip to the chemist for some more Dramamine for tomorrow's trip and then we headed for home. We are extraordinarily excited about tomorrow's venture to the reef--our last planned full day in Australia!

A Day in Kuranda

Today was another trip to the rainforest, this time up to a town named Kuranda. Aside from driving, there are two primary ways to get to & from Kuranda. The first is a ski lift-like gondola ride called the Skyrail. The other is to take the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

We booked a 9:15am trip up via the Skyrail. Each gondola takes up to 6 people so it fit us perfectly. There were two stops along the way. The first had an aboriginal ranger named Milton who gave a half hour guided tour through a jungle boardwalk. We learned about spiky vines called Wait-a-While's and basket ferns and a host of other rainforest plants and tress that I can't remember the names of. He was entertaining and educational for us all.

The second stop overlooked a place called Barron Falls. It was impressive enough though an upstream hydroelectric plant restrains most of the water most of the year. Still, it provided a great view over the terrain of Barron Gorge, and the kids learned some about how men built the dam and hydroelectric plant many years ago.

Kuranda itself is a rainforest tourist trap. Think blocks of stores with souvenir shops, ice cream parlors, jewelry stores, and some over-marketed attractions. We sampled some ice cream, an Aussie meat pie, and some very good coffee. We particularly enjoyed a demonstration at a candy making factory (including a taste of the product they made)! When we got bored we played an extended game of tag in a park. It was clear that Kuranda was mostly about getting there and going home, not about being there.

We took the scenic train on the way down. There were some parts that were particularly scenic, including a better view of Barron Falls. It was about a 90 minute trip that might have been nice to be cut in half, all things considered.

For dinner Sara cooked up a wonderful taco dinner in the little apartment kitchen we have in our unit. Afterwards (and after dark) we headed outside with flashlights (Aussies call them torches) and searched for bats that we had earlier seen flying in the area. Sure enough, we were able to find some, seeing their shiny eyes reflect back at us. Z said it best... "It's kind of cool and kind of scary to go bat hunting!"

This all made for a fun second day in the Cairns area. We put together this quick little video for some memories from this great day!

Driving the Road to Mossman

We took a slow start to the day, including a morning dip in the pool. Let's just say the water temperature was, er, refreshing! Yowser! Regardless of the cool temp, all those under 40 thought it was juuuuuuust right, as evidenced this smiling pic on the right.


With the ocean a short walk away, we decided to take a walk over there as well. It's a beautiful beach, certainly less crowded than Kaanapali even with this being a school holiday weekend for most states in Australia. From mid-October through December/January, the waters off the beaches of Queensland is often frequented by dangerous box jellyfish (referred to as stingers). We're technically OK now but watched to make sure we weren't being careless about this.

A quick shower and change of clothes and we were off to the grocery store to stock up for our four days here. Then we hit the road to explore up north. Our goal: a little area called Mossman which is supposed to have a beautiful gorge that is safe to swim in (we were reportedly warned that crocs are a realistic danger for most waterways in Queensland. You can imagine how excited that got the kids about donning their swimmers).

The trip to Mossman had characteristics of the Road to Hana: windy, narrow, and beautiful scenery. This trip had the extra bonus of me driving it all on the wrong side of the road, which added a level of fun!

About halfway up we came to a scenic lookout parking area. Turns out it's a big hang gliding launching point and some brave soul was about to jump off a cliff strapped to a kite! We were all drawn into the drama as the guy began looking more nervous the closer he got to launch. The first 3-5 minutes seemed pretty tense for his crew on the ground (they complained a bit that he was too panicky, thus grabbing the bar too tight).

We got to Mossman before sunset and enjoyed a low light walk through the rainforest to the gorge. We saw some wild turkeys (black with a colorful beak) that scampered around in the bush around us.

We crossed a swing bridge where I took this picture. It's a true snapshot of our kids' personalities. Notice Barrett leading and focused. Notice Zachary dancing on the swaying bridge. Notice Christa cautiously grabbing on, wishing her brother was doing more walking, less jig!

Yep! That pretty much says it all!

We had an enjoyable walk through the gorge, with some wading in the water. We ran into two fellow Christians who are governesses at ranches more inland in Queensland. It was fun to share our awe of God's glory together.

It was dark by the time we hit Port Douglas on the way home (still a good 70 km from Yorkey's Knob). Little stomachs were growling in the backseat so we pulled out our trusty guidebook and found a reasonably priced restaurant that dished up what was probably our best value meal yet in Australia. The food was great: an asian stir fry, seafood platter, and curry of the day.

As it turned out, we got a dinner and a show as they had a large screen projection TV showing Australia's equivalent of our Super Bowl: the Grand Finals for rugby. You'd think our boys were hard core rugby fans the way they were glued to the game, cheering for their teams and questioning some of the referees' calls. Of course we know hardly anything about the sport but the more we watched, the more we were amazed at the sheer violence and athleticism of the sport. Note to self: Never let kids try out for local rugby team!

The twisty road home now had the extra thrill of being dark and twisty, without shoulders in many areas. Interestingly, in very little time I feel very comfortable flying along the road while driving on the other side of it. I'm not even hitting the windshield wiper stick instead of the turn signal anymore!

We got home in one piece in time to watch the last quarter or so of the Grand Finals. The Brisbane Broncos took the game from the Melbourne Storm, much to our general disappointment. But the day itself was not the least of a disappointment as we experienced a slice of Australia quite different than we had expected when planning a reef vacation to Cairns.