Aussie Adventures Part 2 – The Best Laid Plans

Mother Nature had different plans in mind for us during the later half of our Australian adventure. Despite our best efforts we were unable to drive to Cairns due to the devastating Townsville Floods. We made it as far north as Airlie Beach where we hung out for a few days in the water park and pool at a great camp ground with other wet campers. With the roads flooded and closed and the rains showing no signs of stopping we were stuck.

After much debate, a few arguments, consulting with local authorities, rescheduling, cancelling and reworking our itinerary we turned around and headed back to Brisbane. Remember that 12 hours of driving on that stretch of road that had nothing to see or do? We got to drive it twice!

Along the way we discovered a Canadian inspired restaurant owned by a Canadian and his Australian wife. Pancakes with real Canadian maple syrup, wings with Frank’s hot sauce and authentic poutine – while not the healthiest of choices, were a fun treat and a little taste of home.

The one-in-100-year monsoon conditions and resulting floods were truly unbelievable and we are glad we were able to safely turn around. The area hit by the disaster will take years to recover and our sympathies go out to those affected.

After our turn around, another night in the lovely Mooloolaba, and a flight from Brisbane, we finally made it to Cairns. Our ultimate reason for getting to Cairns was to get to the Great Barrier Reef and our planned dive/snorkeling trip aboard Reef Encounter . The older two boys were scuba certified in Seychelles and our goal was to have the family see the reef, one of the seven wonders of the natural world, before it is gone. We had 3 nights (and maybe one birthday) on the dive boat. We would highly recommended this outfit to anyone who has the opportunity (divers or snorkelers). The team on board is amazing! A special thank you to our dive pros Pablo, Michael and Jasmine, who kept us safe and took some of the worry out of diving and snorkeling with kids. The food was excellent and despite a couple of rough and rocky days and nights the accommodation was spacious and comfortable.

We did a combined total of 30 dives (and Chase did about 7 snorkeling trips), including 3 night dives. David and I had dove the reef in 2002, but in a different location. We both agree that the reef and abundance of life isn’t what it was back then. A reminder of the catastrophic effects we humans and global warming are inflicting.

Despite the deterioration we were lucky to see plenty of sea life including turtles, cuttlefish, parrot fish, sharks, clown fish (Nemo!), giant clams, trumpet fish, giant trevally, crabs, lobsters, and shrimp.

For those interested in seeing more Dave is working on a reef diving compilation video – will send out a notification when that is ready.

Since all that diving and rocking and rolling on the sea can be exhausting our dive trip was followed by 2 days in Cairns at a nice Airbnb to rest and relax before our next continent…Asia!

Recap time:

We left Canada 28 weeks ago and so far have visited 26 countries, on 3 continents. We’ve slept in 56 different accommodations including a dive boat, cruise ships, apartments, hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, 2 campers, a tent, castles, a farm, an old asylum, a converted stable house and glorified huts in Africa. We’ve driven 18290 kms and taken 16 flights on 13 different airlines. Coincidentally our favorite airlines so far have been Air Ethiopia and Vietnam Airlines. The boys decided this based on the entertainment and treats and David and I on service, comfort and leg room (Dave appreciates not having to fold his long legs up like a pretzel).

As I type we are sitting in Hanoi at our hotel trying to get the boys to complete their daily school work before we go explore the city.

Stay tuned!

With Love,

The Travelling Babins

Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in to the ocean – Christopher Reeves