Day 8

Day eight dawned over Samoa. We actually tried to beat the sunrise so we could get some pictures, but I was too slow. I was trying to get ready as fast as possible, and grabbed the camera and we went out to the beach. Jan was taking pictures but the camera was beeping every time. I checked the LCD and it said there was no memory card. I had taken it out the night before to get the pictures off of it, and forgot to put it back. So I ran back to the room, threw the key on the bed, rifled my things to find the memory card and ran out of the room. Spot my mistake yet? I forgot to grab the key. I remembered it right when the door clicked shut behind me. So we took some pictures out on the beach and then started walking toward the lobby to see about getting back in the room. Everything around Aggie Grey's is so beautiful, we were taking pictures of the grounds and the kittens that were playing by the sidewalk. Until the batteries ran out. Again. The guy behind the front desk couldn't have been nicer. I gave him my room number and he encoded me a new card key. We took the dead camera back to the room and went back down the beach toward a little area they call the rain forest. That's where the hotel spa is. It's very pretty, with exotic flowers and plants everywhere. On our way back, we ran into a lady that worked at the spa and she told us to come back and get a massage. Sadly, we were due to leave fairly shortly, so we didn't have time. This is the first stop I was really disappointed with. Not because it wasn't lovely. Just the opposite. I wanted to stay longer and see the island. We weren't far from Robert Louis Stephenson's home, but didn't get to see it. We didn't even get to go swimming. Actually, we could have, we just didn't. We showered first instead of getting on our bathing suits and swimming first. The shower was interesting also. The hot and cold were reversed. I don't know if that was a Samoa thing, or just our room was messed up, but we assumed the hot water ran out and I took a cold shower. It was rather invigorating, though. We cross the International Date Line today, so we lose a day immediately. I'm really looking forward to Australia. Port Douglas sounds beautiful, and the place we're staying (the Sea Temple) sounds like almost heaven.

It was another fairly long flight from Samoa to Cairns, Australia. The time goes by amazingly fast, though. I spend most of it writing these entries and sorting through pictures. There are a lot of pictures to sort through and caption. I haven't said much about the airplane. It's a Boeing 757 Specially outfitted for these tours. On the flight from Easter Island, Eddie the First Officer came by and chatted with us. Like everyone else we've met from TCS, he was as nice as he could possibly be. He told us that the 757 can fly easily on one engine if need be, but that the plane is a gas hog because it's so overpowered. Very safe, though, especially considering the very long flights we have to make over water with no safe emergency landing area. The seats are very comfortable. They recline more than a normal airline seat, but they're spaced further apart so everyone has plenty of room. We have more than anyone else because we're sitting on the row where the middle door is. We're also right in front of where the lecturers give the lectures so we have to try to be attentive. The cabin crew is amazing. On the all-night flight to Easter Island (nine hours) they looked as fresh and alert at the end of the flight as they did at the beginning. I have no idea how they do it. They say they're used to it, but I don't think I could ever get used to being up all night working as hard as they do.

We arrived in Cairns around 2 pm, I think. We went through customs which is much stricter than anywhere else we've been so far. We had been warned at length that if we had any souvenirs made of wood, shell, or other natural materials, or food items, we needed to leave them on the plane because they could be confiscated. We had a big bag of snack bars in my luggage that we ended up throwing away, but when we told the customs man he said they would probably have been OK. After getting through customs, we boarded our buses to head to Port Douglas. Some people went straight to the resort, but most of us went to the Habitat Zoo. It has indigenous animals from the Australian rain forests. Koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, and lots of birds. We saw their cassowary first. It's a huge flightless bird with a very colorful head. I tried to get some pictures, but it seemed determined to either move when I was trying to shoot, or hide behind something. We saw the koalas next. Most were sleeping, which they apparently do a lot. A couple were eating, though, and we got some photos of them. Then we headed to the grassland area to see the wallabies. There were some in an enclosure, but right after that, there's an open area where they can hop right up to you. Which they will if you have some food for them. When you feed them, they grab your hand with their little claws so you can't get away. They're gentle, though. Unless you try to pull away. Then they let you know they mean business. Once they're finished (meaning all the food is gone), they let go. We moved on to the larger marsupials. The kangaroos of various types. The same food pellets are used for all of the animals (except the crocs), so we fed the kangaroos too. They were braver about coming up to people and being petted. Our last major stop was the crocodile pit. They had three freshwater crocodiles that I saw, which have narrower jaws, and are smaller than their saltwater cousins. There were a couple of the saltwater crocodiles, which have the wide jaw that looks so incredibly strong and dangerous. One of the crocs was sitting in the water just below the surface watching us, with just his nostrils and eyes sticking out above the surface.

After the Habitat Zoo, we went to the Sea Temple. It's an absolutely gorgeous place. Our room has two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and a living area. It also has a washer and dryer. That's more than just a convenience on a trip like this. Everyone had clothes that needed washing, and I'm sure everyone took advantage. The hotel even provides the soap for the washing machine. Since we get to go out to dinner, we needed to make reservations so we picked a restaurant named Two Fish that had an interesting menu. I got char-grilled bay bugs, king prawns and yabbies. The bay bugs are salt water crustaceans like little lobsters, and the yabbies are freshwater crustaceans like crayfish. It was all very good. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of it. Sorry, Dan.

After dinner, we were all exhausted so when we got back to the resort, we hit the hay.