A new friend

A praying mantis adopted me while waiting for a minivan, and couldn’t be persuaded to leave! S/he kept climbing up my arm and into my hair, to the horror of everyone else around me, who thought I should kill it. Cue a long conversation about me being a conservationist and how praying mantids are “aggressive feminists”. Eventually I relocated her to a bush across the road.

If you don’t mind my asking, ma’am…

is there any hope for us?

This is the question I was asked by the polite young man at the check-in desk of the minivan company when I checked in for the van to Tacloban at 7:40 in the morning.

He might as well have asked me the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything.

It was not a question I was ready for. Not three weeks into living here. Not at 07:40 in the morning. And not after the comedy of errors that was my journey to the minivan company,

Where does all the sh*t go?

The next time you’re relaxing in a posh hotel or an ‘eco-resort’, the question you need to ask yourself is “where does all the shit go?”. This is inevitably the hurdle where all but the truly cleanest and greenest fall.

I don’t just mean what you flush down the toilet, but all the waste from the kitchen, the leftover packaging, the little bottles of half-used shampoo and soap wrappers, the cigarette ends and chewing gum and bottle caps. Where does it all go?

Ode to a pedicab

To the tune of “Smelly Cat” (with apologies to Phoebe Buffet).

Pedicab, pedicab,

I really hate using you

Pedicab, pedicab,

It’s not your fault.

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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Elections

Local and State Government elections are looming in Queensland, and this will be my first opportunity to vote as an Australian. I wish I was more excited about this, but frankly, the whole hullabaloo makes me want to run for the hills.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of democracy and I intend to participate in it, but I’m inclined to agree with the late, great, Douglas Adams –

“Well, I mean, yes idealism, yes the dignity of pure research, yes the pursuit of truth in all its forms, but there comes a point I’m afraid where you begin to suspect that the entire multidimensional infinity of the Universe is almost certainly being run by a bunch of maniacs. And if it comes to a choice between spending yet another ten million years finding that out, and on the other hand just taking the money and running, then I for one could do with the exercise.”
~ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Storm clouds

Driving into work this morning, I noticed these incredible storm clouds building up offshore, and took a little detour down to the Cairns Esplanade to take some photographs.

Escaping to Orpheus

Between Christmas and New Year I was lucky enough to get down to Orpheus Island, in the Palm Island group, to visit a friend who works at the JCU Research Station there. I’d planned to go down the year before but the roads were flooded after a cyclone on Christmas morning 2010 so I wasn’t able to get down.

Orpheus Island is a beautiful place. As well as the research station, there is a resort and public jetty, and it’s also possible to get a permit to camp in the national park.

Sunday strolls at the beach

After a week of rain, what a joy it was to see the sun again today! The perfect opportunity for a walk on the beach. The only challenge being… which beach to choose?! This morning I headed to Palm Cove with a friend for a walk and brunch – who can resist French toast with bacon and maple syrup on a Sunday morning? Not me, that’s for sure!

The sound of silence

I woke up around 4am this morning in a bit of a panic. It was eerily quiet. I couldn’t hear anything. You’re probably wondering what’s weird about that? It’s kind of hard to explain what it’s like when you wake up to absolute silence when you’ve heard rain hammering down so hard on your roof for 48 hours that you’ve been struggling to hear yourself think! Never mind cats and dogs, when it rains in the tropics, it sounds more like elephants!

The thing about living in a place surrounded by World Heritage rainforest… it tends to rain a lot. That’s why they call it The Wet Tropics!