QE2 visits my beach... sort of :)

Hey folks.

It's been raining a lot lately, so not much new has been happening outside of work. However, there was a break in the weather this last Saturday afternoon so I went for a hike up a small nearby knoll called Saddle Mountain - it wasn't a lengthy hike (only a few Ks) but it was the steepest climb I've been on and don't you know it happened again! By the time I reached the top... the rain came; and once again I found myself hiking down a rainforest trail in the rain. Not one of those cold, icky rains... it was another warm, big-ole-fat-rain. I got soaked to the bones, but it was awsome!!

And as much as I enjoy the rain over here, I hope it's tapering off come the end of March when a bunch of us go to see Xavier Rudd at the Kuranda Amphitheatre up in the rainforest. He's a guy with his own unique vision of the folk-rock sound and you should definitely check him out. For those of you with MP3 players (or even just a computer with a CD burner), you can play/download some of his stuff from his website - www.xavierrudd.com .

In the meantime, here's a pic: there was a moment of measured excitement on Monday when the Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship moored just off Trinity Beach so passengers could be shuttled to shore via Yorkies Knob Marina to enjoy a day in the Cairns area and I gotta say... that ship is one HUGE mofo :)

I hope all is well back home with you and yours.

Cheers, Matt :)

My Hike to Winjin Falls

Today was the toughest hike yet, folks... but it was worth it! Round trip it was about a 12k hike up to Winjin Falls and with all the rain we had last week, the trail was a little rough going - slower steps finding firm footing as we climbed the mountain; and though I never flopped onto my keester, I came dang close a few times.

And when we arrived at the falls, the view fabulous!!! After taking a few pics, we all took a swim in the very cold river (for those Seinfeld fans out there - "There was shrinkage!") and then settled down for a lunch break before beginning our descent. We had to climb back up to the peak before heading down, and by the time we got to the top a storm front had formed.

So the first hour of our 3 hour return was spent trudging through a downpour that made our descent become a matter of avoiding the water flowing downhill. But nobody complained... I mean c'mon, we were hiking through a rainforest and it was all worth it :)

Again... the pictures don't do justice for actually being there - but here they are in order from top to bottom.

1) A picture of some of the members of the Cairns Bushwalking Club standing on the rockface at the top of the falls. They're great folks and I learned a lot about "Lawyer Vines" (aka: Wait-a-While Vines... no, I'm not making that up Kevin and Cristina :). It's a vine armed with oddles of thorns that hangs down along the path and if you get caught up in them, it gonna take a while to cut free of them. Luckily, I only got a few holes in my shirt sleeve from my encounter with one of them.

2) I made few folks nervous taking this pick because I was leaning out over the edge of the rockface to take a pic of the water landing about 300 feet below. It looks a little awkward, but imagine me laying on my belly and looking down to snap the pic of the falls and white water cascading downhill.

3) A pic of the water flowing away into the valley. Again, no justice in the pic - the view was awsome!!

4) A view of the valley while sitting on the cliff of the waterfall.

I hope everyone is doing well and it's not too cold :)

Cheers, Matt

Pics of Winjin Falls hike :)

Finally, a bit of Cairns

Hey again Everyone... I figured I've posted enough pics of the world around Cairns to justify a coupla pics of Cairns proper. Actually, I was shopping in town today for a kyak/canoe hybred and I finally remembered to bring my camera into town with me.

Here's some pics of the Esplanade in Cairns... it's sorta like walking through Thanuel (sp?) Market Place - tropical style. We'll definitely be hanging out here for a bit when you visit in July Pat :)

Miss you guys. Cheers, Matt

Pics of Cairns

Dang those Colts!

I didn't make it up to Daryl's today to watch the Super Bowl... I woke up this morning to an amazing down pour of rain and trying to drive up into the tablelands woulda been a mistake; so I relied on updates of the game from Pat...

Happy day, Patty! Dang your Colts!!

And they're still trying to decide if the front building up off the coast is gonna be a cyclone or not, but the last I heard is if it does, it should be hitting south of here... like I said, I only moved from one beach to another.

Go Patriots!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Hey there Patriots Fans!

I'll be heading up to Dr. Daryl's ranch up in the tablelands tomorrow to watch the Super Bowl on live broadcast - commercial free - starting at 9am Monday my time (6pm Sunday yours). It won't be the same as watching it on that monster screen at Kevin and Cristina's, or joining Scott and Thea for their annual Super Bowl Bash on the OBX, but it'll be the next best thing I can come up with.

And according to a documentary I saw on the discovery channel once, a Bear has no problems in taking down a Colt. Sorry, Patty - but you can't argue with proven science :)

Have a Great Super Bowl Sunday everyone!

Cheers, Matt :)