We slept well in the peace and quiet far from city streets. We had breakfast at 8:00 and got in the van to the boat at 8:40. The road to the dock was closed to tourists because it was underwater but the tour guide had permission to use it. The van was very high and … Continue reading Kakadu National Park Day 6 Australia by Heron Tour

After a 30 minute flight from Undara we landed on the small plane side of the cairns airport and taxied over by the flying doctors hanger. We finally had excellent phone and internet service. If you come to Cairns the thing to do is to take an excursion to the Great Barrier Reef but we'd … Continue reading Cairns

This was a very long flying day. We flew out of Cairns at 6:30 am. The sun was just rising in the sky. We flew north towards the Torres Strait Islands 157 islands only 18 are inhabited. The flight lasted for almost three hours. As we got closer I was astounded by the aquamarine color … Continue reading Australia by Heron Day 5, Cairns to Horn Island to Kakadu National Park

They unlocked the gate of the Historic Quantas hanger in Longreach at the Quantas museum where the airline had its start. Our pilot was waiting. We boarded and flew for almost two hours. Since there wasn't any phone service at the airport the pilot flew low over the resort to announce our arrival. The airstrip … Continue reading Undara Experience and Undara Volcanic National Park

We landed as the sun was setting in Longreach. Longreach gets its name from being at the Longreach of the rivers. The motel had recently been purchased by another motel so we registered in one and dragged our bags through the gravel to our rooms in the next motel down the road. Then walked back … Continue reading Longreach Australia by Heron Tour Day 2

I sat in the front with the pilot when we took off from Lightning Ridge. The noise was kept from my ears by earphones. But there was nothing keeping the excitement out of my heart. I was riding on the back of a huge bee as the propellers spun and the engine hummed at 120 … Continue reading Refueling in Charlesville then on to Longreach Day 2 of the Australia by Heron Tour

April 29th we survived driving through the tunnel under the Sydney harbor to find a small airport nestled in the western Sydney suburb of Bankstown. GPS directed us to the wrong side of the airport. A phone call to john Irving at Australia by Heron gave us directions to airport avenue and the terminal. We … Continue reading Sydney to Lightening Ridge Opal Fields

Getting an ETA tourist visa to Australia is a snap I just went online filled out a short application and they sent a text back . The visa is electronically attached to my passport so I didn't even have to carry any extra paper. The visa was for three months and after May 7th my … Continue reading Extending My Visa

Living in a foreign environment even one that supposedly speaks English leads to many misunderstandings.  Usually, if I listen closely and be patient I can appear to understand. That’s what my husband and I did on my first visit to Australia.  We were visiting cousin I had never met in Bundaberg. We’d been driving all … Continue reading Understanding Australian