"I TRULY believe we can overwhelm the darkness of this world by shining something BRIGHTER and more BEAUTIFUL."

December 30, 2010

Kuranda

Hello from Kuranda, Australia!

I am slightly sunburned and really sleepy, but I am having a great time. What an adventure. I've lost tracks of all the flights, boat rides, ferry rides, and trains we've taken...probably for the better. Here's Josh and I on one of our flights:



(Jenna my love, the length of this post is for you. Slightly more novel-like :) So much has happened, so it can’t be helped!)

It's going to be very difficult leaving sunny Cairnes. The weather has been perfect, and it's been an incredible couple of days. Our first day was spent out at the Great Barrier Reef and our second day was spent in the Kuranda Rainforest. I’m hesitant to try painting a picture of either – both were stunning and I won’t do them justice.

Great Barrier Reef:
Unfortunately, my camera couldn't come with me underwater, so I'll just tell you that it was like swimming in a massive aquarium...a massive aquarium with a 60 foot drop off? The coral was gigantic and the fish were unbelievably colorful. A funny story for your amusement (and at my expense): Box jellyfish are apparently in season right now so naturally, we all took the advised precautions. This meant dressing up in red and blue thin “wetsuits” that covered us from head to toe. Think “thing 1” or “thing 2” from Dr. Seuss. I’m not kidding. I saw no jellyfish, so I really think it's a ploy to make tourists look absolutely ridiculous. And no, you don’t get to see a picture. We took just one, and it will probably be burned. :)

Kuranda Rainforest:
Our second day we took the southern hemisphere's longest skyrail cableway through the Kuranda Rainforest. We walked through a park and found some friends:




We finished the day on a trainride back through the rainforest. Say hello to Mom and Dad at the Barron Falls:


We have maybe twenty people touring with us through Australia. My family is having fun either guessing at people’s life stories, or just asking. There’s a man in our tour group who's quite the oddball, but with a sad story that make his antics suddenly endearing. He’s traveling per request of his deceased wife. She apparently battled cancer for years, keeping them from their dream of traveling. He’s making up for time she felt she stole. It was a reminder for me that you never quite know when life will take a turn. It was a reminder to not take for granted the people in my life.

I'll leave you with this:

"I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another. That’s the drama of life, swirling all around us....The big moments are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting...”

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Love, Janae

2 comments:

  1. where oh where did this quote come from --- absolutely LOVE it!!! another few things i love: your hat on the plane & your face wearing it!

    can't wait to see you SOON!

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  2. Were any of your flights cancelled due to the snowstorms ravaging Australia? We even had THUNDERSNOW!

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