Quick update - Sept. 7th, 2006

Just a quick update while I use some free internet here at a travel agency. Perth was really nice. It got cool there the day I arrived, and there was some rain, but it was still in the mid 60s or so every day. The lady I stayed with (Diane) was most accomodating, and enjoyed showing me around the Perth area, taking me to several parks, among other things. I spent one day by myself wandering around in the actual city of Perth, then I spent another day exploring Rottnest Island, an Island in the Indian Ocean about 11 miles off the coast of Western Australia.

Currently I am in Cairns, Australia, up in tropical northern Queensland. The weather here is amazing.. hot and sunny (80s every day!), and I'm loving the t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops ("thongs" in Australia), and it's warm enough to wear them even at night. I've seen some pretty neat new birds here, and have explored a bit of the city thus far. I just got done booking my one-day reef tour and introductory scuba dive session for the Great Barrier Reef. Tomorrow (Sept. 8th) I'm heading out there to do some exploring. :) Don't worry about sting rays -- although it is possible that I'll end up seeing them, they are typically very docile creatures, and what happened to Steve Irwin (The Crocodile Hunter) was a "freak accident". I'm looking forward to fully enjoy my Great Barrier Reef adventure, and am not at all worried about sting rays. So don't anybody back home worry either. :) Although I'm not worried, it's still crazy to think that the croc hunter died only 50 miles north of where I am staying right now, just a few days ago. :( Crikey. RIP Steve, with your death we lost a great international hero and Australian ambassador who will be missed by many around world.

Only one more week until I'm back in Canberra! I'll try to post an update in a few days, but look for much more detailed updates soon after I return that will includeg pictures from this trip!