Amazing Australia

We returned home from an amazing Australian Adventure to the final stages of a bathroom remodeling adventure.  We are thrilled two have two beautiful working bathrooms and one working shower.  We are only waiting for the master glass door.  Woo hoo -- it was a hectic summer of being displaced, but totally worth it for our fabulous new WC's.  (Thanks, Libby!)   No house is complete without a pet, so we are also excited to welcome Cooper home today.  Thanks to my parents who flew him from Denver.  Now that the house is put back together, all is tidy and my desk is functional again, I can work on photos, so . . . back to Australia, the fourth and last trip in our crazy summer of travel.  

Trip summary: We spent a few days in Brisbane visiting friends from sabbatical "08.  We celebrated Tim's 50th, complete with a pet Emu, Emma-Steve.  We sipped champagne with Karen, had beach fun with Carissa's family, and a lovely reunion dinner with some of the Possingham Posse.  Thanks, Claire, Rich, Peter and Jenny.  Thanks, Ruth and Simon, for hosting us.  

Then we flew to the northwest corner of Australia, met up with Bruce's parents, and settled into ship life on Odyssey.  For 10 days we cruised from Mitchell Falls to Broome exploring fascinating natural history along the way.   We hiked up lovely waterfalls, walked on squeaky white silica beaches, went blasting full speed through flooded mangrove mudflats with crocs and sharks lurking about, discovered abandoned pioneer settlements, marveled at huge Boab trees, scrambled into protected crevasses to appreciate aboriginal art, and took cooling dips in refreshing waterholes.  We saw humpbacks, turtles, and rare dolphins; found camouflaged cuttlefish; went crabbing, oystering and fishing; and were blown away by the milky way.  

Horizontal falls was a highlight of the trip, and certainly on my top ten most amazing geographical phenomena list.  The twelve meter tides gush in and out of a tight pinch in folded rocks, creating unfathomable amounts of water racing through the gap.  We went through the "waterfall" in a jet boat.  Wow!  The tides also creates waterfalls on Montgomery reef.  It is hard to imagine or explain.  A waterfall coming off a reef into the ocean, what??  Here are Kimberley Cruise Pictures 

No one can say we didn't make the most of the summer!  I am so grateful for all the adventures.  It is helpful for my mental health to relive all this fun.  I had requests for a slide show, so If you would like to come to a potluck dinner and travelogue let me know.  We will host a Japan night and Australian night later this month.  

hugs to all, MK