Q Is for Queensland (Australia)

We're spending Earth Day 2020 in Queensland at the Great Barrier Reef

When I started doing the A to Z Challenge at the beginning of the month I had an idea of the stops on our journey, but not what day I'd be doing each post. I'm delighted to feature one of the great natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef, on Earth Day 2020. The reef stretches over 1800 miles parallel to the coast of the Australian state of Queensland. It's larger than the Great Wall of China and the same length as the distance from New York City to Denver. It's the world's largest collection of coral, composed of over 400 different types of coral. Unfortunately the Reef has been damaged by warmer ocean temperatures and runoffs of sediment, as well as poorly managed tourism. A toast to the health of the Reef and the ocean that surrounds it! 

I made my visit to the Great Barrier Reef during a stay in Cairns, a city in the north of Queensland. One of my favorite memories of Cairns is eating dinner at the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon. This is a wonderful picnic and swimming area built directly on the beach. It was lively and a lot of fun and K and I enjoyed sharing our picnic table with a family from Cairns. 

If you look carefully to the top left you can see the fruit bats that are also Queensland residents

After my day visiting the Great Barrier Reef my group spent the day in Kuranda. We traveled via the Kuranda Scenic Railway through a mountain rain forest, which is part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

   

On our way to a mountain rain forest and the town of Kuranda

Enjoyed this mural at the visitor center in Kuranda. Kuranda is only a town of 3,000 people, 

but I found it a fascinating place to visit. 

There is nothing like "cuddling a koala" at the Kuranda Koala Gardens. It was a very quick cuddle in order to keep my friend, Kiki, from getting tired, but it's an extraordinary memory.  There is a Government Code of Practice that's followed to keep the koalas healthy. 

Aren't you glad you brought your bathing suit and sunscreen for our day out of doors? Tomorrow we're flying over 9,000 miles to return to Europe to visit our next wonder of the world.  It's a twenty-four hour trip, but traveling via blog we can relax at home in our leggings and t-shirts. 

I've settled into my new not-so-normal: blogging, reading, cooking -- can't wait to eat out again --  cleaning the kitchen after cooking -- and walking (wearing a mask) around the neighborhood. I've kept up with my Weight Watchers workshops and synagogue activities via Zoom and my college class with our Facebook group.  I haven't taken up any new hobbies, but I am beginning to look for a class I can take online. I'm making every effort not to think about how long this phase of staying in will last. I don't think of myself as a senior, but I am and I need to be thoughtful about my activities.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. Much love and wash your hands!