12/23/2025
Our next update comes from Australia!
G'day from the land down under! It's been a continued sprint looking for all the things. We've been from the ocean to the rainforest in the last two days. Yesterday we got to the Great Barrier Reef, specifically Normandy Island and spent the day snorkeling there. It's sad to see the coral in such bad shape. I'm told and because it is in shallower waters that the warmer temps have been killing it off. There are signs of regrowth which is encouraging and I'm hopeful that our trip to the outer reef in a few days will yield more colorful and healthy corals. We did see Hawks bill and Green sea turtles, clown fish hanging out in rare blue anemones and tons of other species of fish. Even in stinger suits, te****le bits floating in the ocean still managed to sting the 3 square inches of the exposed skin on my face. Thankfully, not one of the nasty irukanji, but something rather annoying.
Today in the rainforest, we were on the hunt for cassowaries, platypus and the Boyds Forest Dragon... a lizard only found in the Mossman gorge area. Our guide found one and Leah found 2. She has really sharp eyes for these things! Unfortunately, we did not see a cassowary, nor did we see a platypus. But we've been given some more places to go on our own and we'll see what happens. Wish us luck!
On the way home, we managed to see a couple of dingoes, the red tailed black cockatoo and a sky full of these huge fruit bats they have here! It's really been something!
Here's hoping the driving on the left continues to go well. Also, we've learned, don't park under trees that have low hanging leaves. We came back to find our rental car swarming with ants. I'm sure the people watching us found it entertaining trying to get into our car.
Wishing you all the best and a Merry Christmas!
