Australia!

We have finally arrived in Australia. Today was a very, very, very long day.

We were up at 3AM, although none of us (except Liam) even really slept much before we "woke up". After a short flight to Auckland, we boarded our 5.5 hour flight to Cairns. It was a long flight and we were all exhausted, but I really have to sing our kids praises here, they are AMAZING travelers. Elle was totally enthralled with her seat back movie choices and Liam was a total angel the entire time. He barely made a peep. We had so many compliments on our childrens behavior! Of course as soon as we hit the car, Elle broke the spell...

We had a short drive to Palm Cove, and after nearly 10 hours of travel it was still only 1130AM local time due to the time change. On the way to Palm Cove we were amused to see a Kangaroo Crossing sign. This sign was not posted in jest.

We checked in to our place, a cute condo on the beach with a pool and more rainforest at it's center. We took a swim in the pool and later walked down the main street that runs along the ocean to check out the restaurants and shops (and Justin checked out the fishing pier). It's an adorably quaint beachy town that puts us in mind of the Florida Keys or a small Caribbean Island town. The buildings are painted in bright colors and the pace of life is leisurely.

However, it is mountainous and rainforest all around us. Walking down the street we heard some amazing bird calls and looked up to see 3 of the most gorgeous parrots I've ever seen, and maybe the first not in captivity. The beach is gorgeous, but empty. Jellyfish (marine stingers in Aussie speak) are terrible here this time of the year and the beaches are closed. They do provide a netted area that is safe to swim in, but even there it was empty. Maybe that was due to the other signs we saw posted-- Beware of Crocodiles. Crocodile attacks occur in this area causing harm and death. Hmmmm...

We put the kids to bed and sat outside listening to the jungle sounds. I honestly have never heard so many strange animal calls in my life. It's very cool and just a little spooky.