G’day all! It’s Amy here checking in from Cairns (that’s pronounced “Cans”, for all those unaware) as we’re starting to wrap up our long and wonderful journey with Carpe Diem. This past week has been a whirlwind of activity. As Shelby stated in her blog, we spent the majority of the past week doing an outback tour with Wayoutback Tours. The week involved a lot of getting up early, hiking, flies, and heat. It also involved sleeping in a “swag.” Which has a long-standing love affair with the good people of Australia. Now, I have to say, my relationship with my swag was much more rocky, she let me down a couple times, not being quite as waterproof as I was led to believe. Alas, it still was more comfortable than a sleeping bag, so all’s well that ends well. As for the daytime, in all honesty, when I heard the plan for each day, I may or may not have shed a tear in despair. However, Wayoutback and Tam, our fearless and charismatic leader, far exceeded my expectations.
My favorite day was definitely the King’s Canyon trek, the longest and most physically demanding of the hikes but the views more than made up for it. I also thoroughly enjoyed our last day with Wayoutback, in which we were given the amazing opportunity to speak with Loi, an Aboriginal woman. This is a chance that few people are given while in Australia as the Aboriginal culture is still quite separate from the “Western” culture that is modern Australia. They have core beliefs that include the preservation of land, an oral tradition of their literature, a very detailed system of kinship which governs who a person can marry (the Aboriginals, even being considered a “primitive” culture were still aware of the need for genetic diversity), and initiation ceremonies in which the youth of the clan learn their sacred stories. Aboriginal tourism has only recently emerged as an industry and because we visited sites that were in the center of Australia, which was colonized much later than the East Coast, a good portion of the culture has been preserved. Thankfully because it is a beautiful culture and I’m anxious to learn more about it in my own time.
Currently, we’re in Cairns! The city is nothing like I imagined but I adore it. It reminds me a little of Noosa on steroids. And that’s a compliment. We do official scuba-diving tomorrow that involves a night spent on an island! It’s going to be great, I can already tell. Can’t wait to see you all! Four days left!
Ciao,
Amy
