Hi from the edge of the Australian Outback

After long days of driving, Jessica and I found our way as far north as the road goes in Queensland, Australia. It is a beautiful area up there with lots of wildlife and mile after mile of rainforest.

Not all the animals up here are warm and cuddly. Look at this giant "Bird Eating" spider.

Here she is again, just waiting for a good meal.

And what do you think of this saltwater crocodile? Gotta watch out for those guys if you go swimming.

Jessica and I took a boat ride to look for those mean crocs.

We also hiked up into the rainforest with a native "aboriginal" guide who believed that a picture of him would steal his sole.

I liked this lizard we saw along the way. There were dozens of them hanging in the trees.

Our guide showed us how they use rainforest clays to paint their bodies, and what the body paintings mean.

Of course Jessica, who is always ready to try  new things, had to get painted too. I told her it looked like she had a disease.

I liked the tree ferns in the forest. This rain forest is the oldest on earth, and the tree ferns date back to the Carboniferous Period, way before the dinosaurs.

The Australian rainforest is filled with large and beautiful butterflies. Here are a few of them---

We drove up to Cairns, the northernmost city in Queensland, so that Jessica could spend a week SCUBA diving on the Great Barrier Reef, something that my ears will no long allow me to do. I hope she stays away from the jellyfish. She has a special wet suit to protect herself.

After I dropped Jessica off at her dive boat, I began my long drive back to Brisbane. I decided to drive back along the edge of the Great Outback. It is a boring drive, I can tell you, but I stayed wide awake looking out for kangaroos. I saw hundreds of them, all dead having been hit by giant trucks called road trains.

                                 

Gotta watch out for those guys because they can't stop for kangaroos or tourists.

Almost back to Brisbane. More later.

Ron