G'day Mates -

G’day Mates-
There is a wonderful Arnold Palmer golf course in Northern Michigan called Shanty Creek. It has 17 great holes and one so-so hole. When the owners asked Arnold about the 2nd hole, the so-so one, Palmer said it was the only way he could get golfers from hole no.1 to hole no.3. That is sort of the feeling we have about Samoa. We had to spend the night somewhere between Easter Island and Australia and Samoa was it. We were there for less than 24 hours. All we saw was Robert Louis Stevenson’s home and the weather was crappy. We think we will ask for our money back! Actually the drive to RLS’s house was interesting. Its summer here and the flowers are in full bloom. It was Sunday when we were in Samoa. The only reason we know for sure that it was Sunday was because everyone was going to church. In the space of about 25 miles we went by at least 10 churches. All were full and, most interestingly, everyone was wearing white clothes. (Editorial from Lynda: I enjoyed Samoa – lush vegetation, beautiful flowers, and very family-orientated people. Would you believe most of the houses we went by had small cemeteries in their front yard where relatives are buried? Nice marble stones, etc).
We are at a lovely resort in Australia. We’re told it is the number one honeymoon spot in Australia. The manager hosted a wine tasting for us last night. It was a bit disappointing because Australian wines have a good reputation and these were not particularly exceptional. The wine tasting was followed by a barbeque. If your stomach can get a bit squeamish over certain foods you may want to skip the rest of this paragraph………There was marinated kangaroo on the buffet. Tim tried it. He reports that it was a bit bland in taste and a bit dry. Lynda reports that Tim seemed to have a bit more “hop” to his step after dinner!
After dinner we had a special celebrity guest. We had been teased about this earlier in the day so speculation was rampant with such names as Greg Norman, Russell Crowe, and Nicole Kidman thrown about. Turns out to have been a keeper from a nearby zoo with a Koala Bear. It was fun because we could get up close and pet the bear.
This morning we had an hour and a half boat ride out to a platform on the Great Barrier Reef. Seas were reasonably calm so the ride was uneventful for Tim. J We were there for four hours. We went on a half hour ride on a partly submerged boat. It’s hard to describe. Where we were sitting was below the surface of the sea and we had windows to look out on to the reef. This was absolutely breathtaking. Lynda spotted a small fish that was different from all the others. Our guide identified it as a species of shark that is unusual to see in the place and at that time. He assured us that if we were snorkeling and encountered this particular shark that we would not be in any danger. The shark was only about three feet long and the guide said sharks only attack things smaller than it. All in all very exciting. After this boat ride we went snorkeling. What an incredible experience. Watching the fish swim in and out of the coral was fascinating, as was observing the many different types of coral. We also spotted giant clams among the coral. Our guides told us that unlike what you see on TV or in the movies, these clams are there to act as a filtering system for the reef. After lunch, Tim went snorkeling a second time. We were on the platform for a total of 4 hours. It was a beautiful day.
Tonight, for the first time, we are not eating together as a group. We have a choice of four different restaurants in Port Douglas where we can go to eat. So we are going out with two other couples we’ve met. One couple is from Birmingham, Alabama where Mike is the CEO of the Alabama Children’s Hospital. He has met Nick Sabin. Tim has stories to tell. The other couple is from Pittsburgh. Should be fun. Tomorrow we fly to Cambodia. We anticipate this being a real culture shock for us.
We apologize for not including as many pictures as we had hoped. Internet service from hotel to hotel has been spotty. We will do the best we can to include more pictures.
Tim and Lynda