Harold Reiter's Trip to Australia

I spent the first week, August 4 to 11 in Melbourne at the bienniel conference of the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions. World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions. There are some (fairly unexciting) photos of the meeting.
My self-guided tour of Daintree National Park had it moments. As game a tourist as I am, having an idiot as a guide is sure to lead to problems. DNP protects the oldest tropical rainforest in the world (100 million years old vs. the Amazon's infant of 10 million). 70 animals and 700 plants are endemic. First stop, Mossman Gorge for a 2.4 km hike to see the largest Strangler Fig Tree in captivity. It’s an epiphyte, which means it does not need roots (although SFT has them). It needs a host tree but it’s not a parasite like mistletoe. However, it eventually strangles its host (not a thoughtful thing to do). Then the darndest thing happened: it rained! With no warning from my guide, I was drenched. Imagine that, hard rain in the Tropical RAIN Forrest. On top of that, I made the trek exciting by getting lost, so the 2.4K stroll became a 5K struggle.
The rental car had the nasty inclination to pull to the right side of the highway, which is not a good idea down under. But I managed to avoid oncoming cars and being done in by any of the 145 Australian poisonous species of bugs and snakes that lurk under rocks and on tree branches.
The next day (Tuesday) I fulfilled a longtime dream of diving the GBR. In fact, I registered for two dives but smartly only paid for the first in case I fell victim to the sting of the infamous Box Jelly Fish or had a heart attack. I had to give up on the hot air balloon ride to get to fish (angle?) for Barramundi, an Australian delicacy on Wednesday.
The food is different- crawfish-like creatures called Moreton Bugs, crocodile, and kangaroo. Yes, I ate some of those adorable creatures. They are delicious! Grilled on the Barby, as they say, texture like beef, looks like beef, low in fat, not wild tasting like venison. And crocs are better than alligators any day. In case you want to explore Queensland, here are a few commercial websites to start. The Great Barrier Reef
Touring Queensland
Diving GBR

The footbridge overlooking the george in the tropical rainforest
I'm on my hike through the tropical rainforest. This is reputedly the biggest strangler fig in the world. Strangler Fig.
Same hike. You can almost make out the Jungle Perch. The water is clear and cool.
A typical beach along the road between Port Douglas and Cairnes. This one reminds me the remote beaches of Kauai, Hawaii.
Another beautiful scene on the same road in Northern Queensland. Rocky Beach.
Yet another scene reminiscent of Hawaii.
Same scene, one more time.
Being eaten by a giant crocodile. I'm waiting for the ferry to go to Cape Tribulation and visit the rainforest canopy tower. Considering all the georgeous scenery, there were very few travelers along the way.
Here I am at Cape Tribulation Beach, amazingly spacely populated.
Here's another dive boat, probably from Quicksilver.
After my three dives, I might look OK here, but I am struggling to get one foot in front of the other. I defintely recommend Quicksmart. There was a guide for every four novice divers and one for the eight experienced divers. After the first dive, subsequent ones were just 20 USD. Still, the third one almost undid me.
My trusty guide with one of my catches, a fish that uses an oval suction cup on its upper side to attach itself to sharks in order to feed of the uneaten leftovers after the shark's meals. I've forgotten the name of the fish. This might be what is called a Pilot fish.
The catch of the day, a mackeral.It would have made a great dinner, but we turned it back, which is customary for fishing trips like this one.
Home of a big crocodile. They have been known to reach 14 feet. There's a story about one coming six feet out of the water to grab a man standing on the edge of his boat!
A typical scene with the everpresent Mangrove trees in the background. For more about Mangrove trees.
You can see that I'm excited about my catch of the day! It was a hard-fighting crab. It too would have contributed to a great dinner.

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