Four times the size of California with one-eighth the population, the state of Queensland is vast. Inland it can be deadly dry. The northern coast is lushly tropical. It boasts five UNESCO World Heritage sites including the only place on Earth where two touch. It’s the home to real-life “cowboys” or stockman (as they say), crocodiles, venomous snakes, sharks, box jellyfish (one of the most lethal animals on the planet), and of course, the ever-present, ever-persistent fly! It’s also where we conclude our three month antipodean odyssey.
As I write Tony and I are on the 24-hour flight that brings us back to London and Coco! But I’m getting ahead of myself.
We began our Queensland tour in Brisbane. Brisbane struck me as a city turned inside-out. Since it averages over 300 days of sunshine every year, everything that can be outside, is outside!…restaurants, entertainment spaces, coffee shops, malls. Not to be outdone by the other major cities in Australia that face the ocean, Brisbane has constructed a huge city beach.
Against a lot of good advice from Australians, we decided to drive Queensland. I’ve learned from talking to the locals, they mostly fly around their country. For good reason, it’s massive, there are pockets of population surrounded by hundreds of miles/kilometers of emptiness. Also, there isn’t much in the way of super-highways or interstates. Tony and I typically thwart good advice, so we take to the roads in our trusty Nissan Trail X.
First stop the creatively named coastal town of Mooloolaba! Loved seeing Hugh and Julie there for a four-hour lunch by the sea. (It’s about then, that it hits me returning to “real” life is going to be tough.)
The next day we go to Australia Zoo, of Steve Irwin fame. After having invested several hundred hours of my life watching Steve Irwin wrestle crocs and handle snakes like a charmer, I wanted to see the zoo that inspired him and that he still inspires from the grave.
Tasmanian Devil (am I the only one that thinks of Bugs Bunny?)
Dingo
As I look at my photos, it occurs to me that Crikey, I don’t have any of the crocs. Bottom line, you got to see the prehistoric creature in person, no picture does him justice.
Next stop, Fraser Island, an ancient sandbar, which is accessible only by 4-wheel drive. It’s the largest sand bar island in the world and the only place where a rainforest grows out of sand dunes!
It’s also one of only two places in the world you can take-off and land on the beach. (The other is somewhere in Scotland.) So, of course we took to the skies with finely hosed young man.
Then back on the road. Tony and I wile away the time by solving the world’s problems, in our spare time we deliberate about what to do after our year of “Chasing the Sun”. Time is drawing nigh. I also amuse myself with various and and sundry photo opportunities, mostly made on the fly.
Incidentally, Australians brag they are the only people in the world that eat the animals featured on their country’s seal.
Next to Airlie Beach. Airlie’s claim to fame is that it’s the launching spot for visiting the Whitsunday Islands. So named because Captain Cook “discovered” them on what he thought was Whitsunday, but like myself that whole International Dateline thing confused him and it was actually Monday.
We had hoped to set sail around the Whitsundays, but weather was not favorable, so we settled for a day trip on a charter motor boat. The captain strongly discouraged us from going, saying if he wasn’t paid there’s no way he would go out on such rough seas. Intrepid tourist that we are, we bounced a bit, but God was smiling on us and there was mostly peace on the seas.
Next, we go inland to the Outback!
One of the few roads that takes one into the Outback sits right on top of the 23 degree south parallel, which is known as the Tropic of Capricorn, not surprisingly this road is called the Capricorn Highway. We followed that line into the “real” Australia.
First stop, Emerald (population 12,895), home of the largest painting on an easel in the world!
Barcaldine (population 1,337), home to the Monument called Tree of Knowledge, where the Labour Party began in Australia.
We drive for miles and miles and miles without seeing a car, a truck or a house.
When we get to a town. We delight in whatever it has to offer, in this case a xylophone. 
Sometimes we find ourselves looking for amusement, for instance-do you know what this is?
It’s the picture you get when you place your finger over the camera lens of your iPhone and click.
One of my favorite stops was Alpha (population 402) where we met Nola. Nola ran the visitor center and had a passion for petrified wood and rocks found in the area. This area of Australia was a highly pressurized so there are sapphire, rubies and opals it’s a jewelry box! Also petrified forest and dinosaur bones!
Eventually, we found our way to Longreach! Longreach (population 4,340) is home to two fabulous museums, the QANTAS Founders Museum and the Stockman’s Hall of Fame.
What I loved about Longreach was the fact real ranchers came into town. These guys were proper cowboys or stockmen (as they say). I’m not sure why, but it does a heart good to know there are still people out there that herd cattle, even if the guys on horseback are getting back-up from a helicopter. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos – – it just seems weird to sidle up to a stranger and say, “can I take your picture so the folks back home can see a real cowboy?”
I went to the local IGA, this is a beautiful grocery store. I mean they have roasted chickens and gorgeous produce. They even have Nutella! I was impressed because this town is teeny-tiny. I inquired of the cheery check-out lad, “how far do your customers travel?” He said, “It’s the only grocery store in 500 kilometers (310 miles) in any direction.”
From the metropolis of Longreach we go to Winton (population 954). We stayed in a old west style hotel where you’d expect Miss Kitty and Matt to be sharing the day’s news. But it’s real claim to fame is two-fold. First, it’s where Waltzing Matilda was penned and first performed. You’ve heard it. It’s the pride of Australia!
Also Lyndon B Johnson spent the night here one night. This of course begs the question what on Earth was LBJ doing in Winton? Turns out his plane crashed nearby and the North Gregory was his refuge.
Winton also has a wall made of junk. I don’t know why.
Not far from Winton is the Australian Age of Dinosaurs! We visited the actual lab where dinosaur bones are being cataloged and studied. It’s small but fascinating to actually touch the bones as they are being carved out from the rocks that encapsulate them. As the folksy genius explained after carving away a bit of rock, “we are the first humans to ever see that and no creature has seen it a few thousand years.”
On the road again….
Sometimes there are no fences. 
As we turn toward the coast, the landscape changes drastically. Eventually the dusty plains give way to sugar cane and the endless flat… ends….and becomes green mountains….
We spent our last week of our three month adventure in Port Douglas! A delightful small town on the sea!
We visited Daintree Rainforest which holds the distinct honor of being the only place in the world where two UNESCO World Heritage sites touch each other…..Daintree touches the Great Barrier Reef!
Once again, we saluted the crocodile… though he has a brain the size of a walnut, he has my undying respect!
We visited the Great Barrier Reef – – Tony dived it one day and snorkeled with me the next day. It’s an underwater extravaganza! The diversity in the types of coral and the colors of fish range from electric blue to big bird yellow. It’s magical! As I do not have underwater camera, you’ll just have to take my word for it! Or better yet, if you haven’t already, go see it for yourself!
So concludes our three month journey in the Southern Hemisphere…..
New Adventures ahead…..I know it’s an adventure because I’m not sure what’s going to happen next!
Chasing the Sun 
March 25, 2014 at 11:40 pm
Indeed, what an adventure!! Thanks for taking your loyal blog readers along with you! It has been a wonderful ride!