Fishing finally...Cairns and Sydney here we come.

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I’m writing this entry in an exhausted state because I have just spent the past 9 Hrs on a boat in the ocean fighting waves and fighting fish. The trip was a lot of fun and I can now say that I have caught fish in the Pacific Ocean. It was not a good day for fishing however I was able to catch several fish including a snapper and a Jew fish. I cleaned the Jew fish and prepared it with a light breading and some lemon and orange zest. There were no leftovers, so it couldn’t have been so bad. It was extremely wavy on the water so Nick and I were both feeling slightly sea sick at different moments but we both managed to keep our complimentary breakfasts down. There were 15 charter guests on our boat and 3 crew members. I’m too tired to go into detail about everything that transpired but I will say that I gained a whole new respect for the power of the Sea and that it felt good to catch some different species of fish.

For the past couple of days, I’ve been trying to drink as much wine as possible and sample good food from local restaurants. I’ll be posting pictures of some of the meals and wine that I have tasted and let you know what I thought about them.

Yesterday, Nick and I went to the Gold Coast and spent the day on the beach being thrown around by huge waves just off the shore and sun tanning in the surf. It was really fun and relaxing day and I made sure to wear plenty of sunscreen as this area is the melanoma capital of the World. There are actually skin cancer clinics all over the place and older people have visible scars on their faces and arms from the cancer removals. It’s hard to explain how much hotter the Sun feels here on your skin but it is a totally different intensity. Coming out of the water and lying on a towel, my swim trunks were dry in between 5 to 10min! Think about that for a second, completely dry. Anyway, we went to Surfer’s Paradise and Kirra beach, both spectacular. Definitely the nicest beaches I’ve ever been to and the sand is so soft and fine. Again I’m really tired, so I won’t elaborate much more right now, but know that the beach areas on the Gold Coast are a totally different experience that I could wax poetic about for a long time.

Tomorrow Nick and I fly to Cairns to start our insane adrenaline pumped escape early in the morning and we still have to pack. The first activity will be the most extreme and it will be occurring at 14, 000 Ft above the ground. Nick and I will be sky diving from that altitude and we will free fall for approximately a minute and a half. Our parachutes will then open and we will land on the beach below, hopefully. The next few days will be spent whitewater rafting, scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef and deep sea fishing for exotic fish. If that doesn’t get your blood pumping I don’t know what will. After these activities we fly to Sydney to check out all of the customary sights and sounds and recuperate on the famous Bondi Beach. We have made arrangements to stay at the Swiss Grand Resort and Spa which overlooks the beach and our room has an ocean view from the balcony. It should be very luxurious and there is no better way to celebrate surviving our trip to Cairns than to crack a bottle of Australian sparkling wine (which I have already pick out…it has undertones of passion fruit) in the in-room spa. Okay, I have to pack now so I’ll leave it at that. Wish me luck and I hope to post again.

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Photos

The stage is set
As the skipper said, "let's kick 'er in the guts and get to it".

What a view.
They have the World surfing championships just around that point in the background.

Nice Pasta and Wine
Pasta is Spiralli Calabrese and the wine is an Australian Barbera, much like a Shiraz except it lacks the whisky finish. Very nice indeed.

Skipper's Den
Look at all the switches and gauges. I learned how to use the depth sounder by the end of the trip. I can tell you what Reef structure looks like.

The Harbour
Just a little taste. There were hundreds of sea vessels of all shapes and sizes.

Views from the boat
There were some incredible views from the boat on our way out.

City by the Sea
That is the Gold Coast

That's good eatin'
I cleaned the fish when we got home and we ate it. The top one is a snapper and the bottom one is the Jew fish, the Jew tasted better...as has been my experience!

Fruit of my labour
It doesn't get much fresher than that.

Kirra Beach
That is an offshore oil rig. It just adds to the view I guess. The beach was incredible.

Jacob's Creek
Semillon Sauvignon Blanc...again it was very crisp but had hints of citru fruit in the bouquet...very refreshing. Those are cuban cigars..so oily and rich.

Comments

[Julian]

Looks amazing
The food you are making looks amazing. So fresh, can't get any better than that. And the wines, hope they were as good as the food.

[Cowboy Jake Down Under]

The wines are really nice
I'm going on a wine tour today and going to take a lot of photos. I'm behind on my posting, so I'll be writing up a bunch of stuff hopefully later today.