Cairns and Melbourne

G'day mates!

We've been bad. Really bad. Every morning over the last couple of weeks, we woke up planning to post, but the excitement of the days carried us away from the computers. We promise we tried! Our new love for Australia has grown deeper after our fantastic visits to Cairns and Melbourne. These two cities, very different from one another, have given us a glimpse into two faces of Australia: the red-neckish outdoorsy face and the cosmopolitan chic-as-can-be face.

Cairns, reminiscent of a rural Wisconsin town circa 1985 because of its size, restaurant selection, and fashion sense (the mullets here are not "ironic"), was the outpost of our adventures on the Great Barrier Reef. Now, you may be thinking, "Surely, such an expensive destination as the Great Barrier Reef would have a fancy resort town as its tourist hub." You are right. That town is called Port Douglas, and it is roughly a one hour drive from Cairns, luring such celebrities as Bill Clinton to its elegant hotels. Cairns, on the other hand, caters more to the budget backpacker community, providing free dinners to backpackers and cheap beers on draft.

Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef was an absolute delight. We saw reef sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, and brilliantly colorful corals. One particularly impressive sight was when we were sailing out to the reef, and we saw a giant stingray jump out of the water several meters into the air, looking as though it was trying to fly away. It was beautiful.

When were weren't taking in the natural wonders of Cairns, we were taking part in the traditional Aussie pastime of the barbie. (Fact: 97% of Australians own a barbecue). If you are wondering what it was like to eat crocodile, kangaroo, and emu, imagine eating rubbery chicken, extra-juicy beef, and ostrich, and you've got the idea.

While Cairns gave us a chance to be stereotypical Australian tourists, Melbourne gave us the urge to never leave this country. Melbourne is incredible. It is Portland meets San Francisco meets Los Angeles meets London. The streets are lined with more cafes, art galleries, and restaurants than we could ever visit in our lives, thanks partially to the huge population of Italians and Greeks who live there (we have heard that Melbourne hosts the second largest population of Greeks of any city, second only to Athens). Like any good city, Melbourne has heaps of parks, including those lining the splendid Yarra River (site for a lot of rowing) and the beach (site for a lot of kite surfing). At any point of the day, there are hundreds of joggers, bikers, rowers, and swimmers working out in this glorious city. We have always been astonished that Australia, a country of only 20 million people, could produce so many Olympic medalists. Melbourne seems to be the reason why. Not only do the good weather and the scenery urge you to work out, but if you don't work out, you might see the after-effects of the pastries and souvlakis!

If eating and exercising aren't enough to make you pack your bags, Melbourne is the cultural center of Australia (Sydney might take issue with this, there is a more-than-friendly rivalry between these two major cities). There are always free art and music festivals, including TropFest, a free short film festival we watched last night under the stars in the park. Thousands of people were there, and the ambiance was fantastic.

We even had our share of animal-viewing in Melbourne. While Tanya normally opposes zoos for moral reasons, the Melbourne Zoo is praised for its humane treatment of animals, so we decided to give it a go. It was wonderful-- we got to see kangaroos (and after seeing how cute they are when they hop and lay, we will never eat them again!), koalas, emus (not that cute), and - our new favorite- the wombat. The wombat is probably the cutest animal ever. Like the rock hyrax in Africa, the wombat is fluffy, fat, and guinea pig-esque. Click here for a picture. Outside of the zoo, we saw the famed Australian black swan (nobody believed they existed before Australia was colonized) in the botanical gardens, a wonderful sight.

Before we go, we feel it necessary to comment on a major historic event in Australia that we had a chance to witness. A few days ago, for the first time - EVER- the Australian parliament issued an apology for the horrific treatment of the Aborigine (indigenous) people. It was a momentous event in Australia, and Melbourne was decorated with banners saying "Sorry." As it stands, the only homeless and drunk people we have seen-- all in Cairns-- are Aborigine. It is extremely sad.

Please click here to see our latest pictures. We will write more in a few days from New Zealand, our next stop in our adventure. We miss you all!