On The Left: The Road Trip

Remember when you were just learning left from right in primary school.  And you had to really focus to keep them straight?  So it was when I pulled out of the Avis parking lot in Cairns, Australia with my screaming red Hyundai Getz.

Challenges I encountered:

1. You are sitting on opposite side of car, so it takes awhile to get a sense of how much of the car is to the left of you, and to accout for it while driving.  Thump thump thump was a sound I heard a few times as I closed in on the bump strip during a moment of distraction on the freeway.  Also whenever pulling out into traffic I had to constantly repeat under my breath left left left left...

2. Ever tried switching gears with your LEFT hand?  Luckily I am left handed so I had some coordination available.

3. Turn signal on right and windshield wipers on left.  Can't tell you how many times I was getting ready to turn, and at the crucial moment, I turned on my windshield wipers!

4. Round-a-bouts.  I actually decided that I liked them in the end, but trying going around about a dozen roundabouts with oncoming traffic, multiple lanes, merging (no stop signs of course) and entering and exiting correctly.  Oh yeah and don't forget the turn signal.  Phew!

5.  Wildlife.  To make matters worse, there are cassorwary crossing signs all up and down the coast.  The cassowary is a large flightless bird (think ostrich) that is endangered in Queensland.  Some of the signs depicted in a graphical way a car hitting a cassowary, and the cassowary laying dead on the road.  I was terrified that I would be partially responsible for their extinction.  Over the course of my few day drive, I had a wealth of false sightings - mostly sticks or logs poking up from the brush, resembling a long neck.  But luck was on my side.

Okay so those were the technical challenges I was facing.  Now onto the sights and highlights.  The first day, I drove up north to Mossman Gorge and Cape Tribulation.  Really beautiful area, humid, green. I enjoyed a "croc cruise" on the Daintree river.  There were only three of us, so we got a really private tour.  We didn't spot too many crocodiles, but the guide did assure us that there were about 70 adult crocs in the immediate area that he could identify.  And 300 in the whole river system.  So definitely no swimming!  One sobering moment was his description of a little boy from the area who was eaten the previous year.  A croc had gone far up the bank and into his family's yard, and grabbed him while he was out playing with his puppy.  The story just got more greusome as he went on the share the details of the recovery effort.  Enough to keep this lady FAR from the river.

The following day, I drove south.  The land is beautiful and green and a patchwork of rainforest (the Wet Tropics) and sugar cane fields.  And the odd fruit farm.  What was amazing was that most of the drive was on a smaller road and there was VERY LITTLE inbetween towns.  Refreshing when compared to driving many places in the US where citys and towns just run together.  I stayed in Ingham for the night, a very small town about an hour from Townsville.  The place I stayed was a very grand and historic 1920's house that used to board Italian cane cutters back in the day.  The Noorla Heritage Resort.  I arrived and it was deserted.  I couldn't help but note the similarity to the movie "The Shining".  Mostly the feeling of the place.  And the bar.  It had a very vintage bar that could fit 30.  And a large dark table and library on one end of the room, where you could imagine someone smoking a pipe.  See  bad pic below... camera doesn't do well in low light, but you get the picture.

The next day I went to Townsville.  Seemed like a really nice town.  Sadly I didn't get to do too much because I was sick so I got a nice hotel room, cranked up the A/C, ate PBJs and didn't come out for nearly 24 hours.  Simpsons seemed to be on non-stop.  The next day I went for a visit at JCU.  Funny thing- the guy giving me a tour was from Portland, Oregon!  We caught up a bit.  Never would have guessed, because he had an accent.

So this is where the road trip kinda fizzled out.  I drove back up the coast, then flew out of Cairns.  I'm now in Darwin, and starting to feel a bit more human.  I have been seeing the sights and am off to see Kakadu National Park tomorrow morning for a three day camping tour.  Should be awesome.  Catch up with you all after that!